Time is significant to Danny Berlitz.

Personally, the Marian freshman doesn't have much of it. His days often both start and finish when it's dark outside.The sacrifices when it comes to his free time have helped Berlitz produce blazing times in the pool.It has also earned him the 2016 Times News Swimmer of the Year award."I wake up, eat breakfast, go right to school and go through your normal tests and quizzes," said Berlitz. "Right after school, I go home and I stay there for maybe five minutes. I'll get my clothes changed and pack. Then, we jump in the car and we head an hour and 15 minutes down to Allentown. I'll practice there for two to three hours, then we'll come home and it's 9:30 or 10 p.m. already. Just enough time to eat supper and go to bed."All of Berlitz free time is put directly into the pool - and it didn't take long to see his incredible work ethic reward him.Berlitz made his first career Schuylkill League appearance in January against Schuylkill Haven. The frosh shattered the Tamaqua pool record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.10."It was a little scary, but at the same time, I knew that I've already faced kids that were bigger and faster," said Berlitz, who has often competed at USA swimming events. "USA has multiple big meets, that generally features all college kids and high school seniors. I was the youngest one competing by at least a few years. In USA, there's only one pressure meet. But, in high school, you want to do well in every meet to get seeded high at districts. Looking back, it was definitely relieving and rewarding."As Berlitz looked back in time, it seemed that pressure was never a deterring factor in his performance. He barely knew how to swim when he broke records at his first meet, a long, long time ago."I was six years old in my first meet ever. I was only swimming for about two weeks at that time," he said. "My coach thought I was decent and he just put me in a meet to see how I would do. I broke three records out of the four races I swam in. It was then that we realized I should continue with this, and I'm glad I did because I'm here now."Berlitz went on to enter the Schuylkill League Swimming Championships this season. Although he had eight-and-a-half more years of experience under his belt at this meet, the results were still the same, as Berlitz went on to compile more record-breaking times. The frosh destroyed both the previous Schuylkill League and pool record (Pottsville) in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:42.90.Time wasn't an issue for him at districts, either. Berlitz broke the D-11 record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:57.62. He buried the competition the following day in the 500 freestyle, posting a time that was a dozen seconds faster than the silver medalist."Since I was 12, I've been swimming with Parkland Aquatics and was competing in some open events during home meets," Berlitz said. "I tried to race against them (older competition) and my times have benefited from doing so. I just love this sport. Everyone involved in it is amazing."As if his freshman campaign wasn't impressive enough, he earned two medals in state competition at Bucknell. Berlitz placed fourth in the 500 freestyle and fifth in the 200 IM."Coming off of a fourth and fifth place at my first-ever States is amazing," Berlitz said. "It's a big relief, and I can now get back to practice, get better, and hopefully win a gold next year."Berlitz sacrifices almost all of his personal time outside of the pool. The time yielded outside has greatly benefited his time in the water. His success is truly a testament to his investment and dedication to the sport."My goal is to have the whole Tamaqua record board say "Danny Berlitz" by my senior year. That's what I'm shooting for," said Berlitz, who used the Blue Raider pool to establish qualifying times for both the league and district meets. "I definitely want to win districts for the rest of my three years here, and I'm hoping to medal in states next year. But, by my junior and senior year, I want a gold at Bucknell."