Everything changes when you're growing up.

The way someone perceives a situation from a mental standpoint is a huge part of those changes.And at the PIAA State Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell in March, Marian's Danny Berlitz had his mentality put to the test.Berlitz entered the two-day event as the No. 1 seed in both the 200 IM medley on Thursday, and the 500 Freestyle on Friday.Immediately following Thursday's race, the sophomore thought he had a silver medal - only to see it ripped away when he was disqualified for touching the wall with only one hand during a sequence."Thursday was definitely one of the worst days," said Berlitz. "If I had like five more yards, I probably could have won. But I thought 'hey, I'll take a second place'. And then, just to get crushed by getting DQ'd following the race was really tough."On Friday, his mental strength showed, as he was able to channel out Thursday's frustrations by taking home the gold medal in the 500 Freestyle. The performance capped off another stellar season that saw Berlitz capture the 2017 Times News Swimmer of the Year award."I tried to shove it off and worry about it after the meet," he said. "I still had an event the next day. And to come back and win a gold on Friday by .08 seconds was absolutely amazing. I was seeded first in both. Going in as the top seed, you have a different mindset."Last year, there were a bunch of seniors, and I wanted to just finish in the top three or four and get on that podium. This year, I had to win, and that was my goal. So I'm happy that I came out with a gold."It wasn't an ordinary bounce-back, with the stakes higher and more pressure on Berlitz to thrive in the 500, after ultimately coming away with nothing on Thursday."It was amazing," said Berlitz. "Everybody was talking about the top seed getting DQ'd yesterday. I heard everything that I could hear, including all of the fans in the stands. I just had to depend on myself and just race. Go in, forget about everything, and just race."Berlitz seemed to have a full head of steam leading up to the state competition.The sophomore broke two pool records at the Schuylkill League meet at Pottsville, and set a new District 11 record in the 200 IM a few weeks later."I did pretty good in the dual meets I entered at Tamaqua during the regular season," said Berlitz. "I also did really well at both leagues and districts. It just all built up, and it carried through all of the meets until states came."Not only did the 16-year-old expand mentally, he grew physically, too. The sophomore looks to have grown over three inches and now stands at about 6-foot-1."I grew a lot," Berlitz said. "I gained a couple of pounds, but I'm not heavy at all. I just adapted to stroke counts per lap, but nothing really major changed. It probably helped me overall. The longer distance per strokes and the longer reach I have now probably benefited me more."The consistency Berlitz displayed during the season just didn't happen accidentally. Berlitz worked relentlessly in the offseason to craft his skill-set."I train hard and bust my butt," said Berlitz. "I worked on technique and just did what I did last year and tried to keep improving on it. Getting bigger helped me. I worked on starts, turns, and underwaters."Everything combined together to help me shave off more time. I think I definitely improved on my top-of-water speed, but I definitely need to work on my wall and my underwater. If I can get those turns right, and get a little more speed on top of the water, it'll be great."The two-time Times News Swimmer of the Year gave major kudos to all of his coaches."Bill Moore and Tim Dando (the Marian head coach and assistant coach) are both amazing people," he said. "They motivate me all of the time and push me to my limits.Matt Beckwith trains me in everything. We go down to Muhlenberg College in Allentown to practice. He is the best coach I've ever had. He's amazing."It's been two years at the varsity level for Berlitz, and he already has countless accomplishments and accolades.Perhaps best of all, he's going to keep growing as his high school career continues.