Norwin notebook: Swimmer gets in on ground floor at Southern Indiana

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, February 12, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Norwin senior Joey Testa moved from Katy, Texas, where she was a standout for Katy Aquatics in the AAA Junior Olympics. She still holds records there.

But she earned her college scholarship as a Norwin Knight.

Testa, who moved to the area in eighth grade, recently signed to swim at Division II Southern Indiana, which will debut its program and compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Testa is a two-year WPIAL qualifier on three relays: the 200-yard medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.

This season, the 200 free relay team broke a school record with Testa on board.

She qualified individually in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.

Southern Indiana could become a Division I program in the near future.

Testa’s other offers came from Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara, Merrimack and Malone.

“The facilities are first class and include a brand new multi-million-dollar natatorium,” she said. “Coach (Cameron) Kainer really made me feel at home and that he had a vision for my future and how they could help me become the best student-athlete I could be. I was also very interested in helping to build a program from the ground up, including any potential move to Division I.”

Wrestling wins playoff match

Coach Kyle Martin saw his Knights rally for a thrilling victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. Albert Hewitt pinned Travis Hall at 172 pounds in the final bout of the match as Norwin won, 34-33.

Josh Page (215 pounds) and Luke Passarelli (120) also won by fall for the Knights, while Carson Handra (113) and Conner Henning (132) scored decisions and Chase Kranitz won a major decision at 160.

The Knights’ run ended in the quarterfinals with a 52-10 loss to No. 1 seed Waynesburg.

Hockey drops 3 of 4

Norwin hockey dropped its third game in four tries with a 2-1 setback against Westmont Hilltop on Feb. 7 at Palmer Imaging Arena East. Alex Thomas had the lone goal for the Knights, who saw goaltender Owen Burmeister make nine saves on 11 shots.

The loss has the Knights (10-4-1) tied with Kiski Area (10-6-1) atop the Class A Southeast standings at 21 points.

Hoop it up

The Norwin girls basketball team took a seven-game winning streak into its final Section 1-6A game Feb. 10 at Penn-Trafford with a chance to win or share the Section 1-6A title. The Knights had already secured a WPIAL playoff berth for the 22nd straight year. They were slated to host a first-round game.

Brianna Zajicek had 15 points, while Alyssa Laukus and Lauren Palangio had 12 apiece as Norwin toppled Butler, 58-41.

The Norwin boys, meanwhile, remained in the playoff chase in Section 3-6A with a 70-27 win over Greensburg Salem, resulting in a sweep of the Golden Lions.

Adam Bilinsky had 17 points, Justin Weaver added 15, Ty Stecko 14, and Michael Fleming 12 for the Knights.

Norwin had section games left against Fox Chapel and Penn-Trafford.

College scene

Updates on Norwin alumni playing in college:

Baseball

Seton Hill: After a 39-8 season that included a 23-4 mark in conference play, the Griffins are favored to win the PSAC West Division. They won the Atlantic Regional title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last season. The team returns PSAC West Rookie of the Year Owen Sabol (Norwin), a junior infielder, and senior relief pitcher Nash Bryan, a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-American, among others. Marc Marizzaldi was the conference coach of the year.The Griffins will open the season ranked No. 9 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.

Wrestling

Bucknell: Sophomore Kurtis Phipps (Norwin) improved to 13-3 in duals this season with a decision at 133 as the Bison defeated American, 29-9.

Men’s volleyball

Thiel: Freshman JC Govanucci (Norwin) had 16 kills, five digs and two blocks as the Tomcats fell to Penn State Behrend, 3-2.

Men’s indoor track & field

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats had three winners at the Jim Wusle Invitational at Mount Union. Junior Joey Bujdos won the 1,000-meter run in a school-record time of 2 minutes, 37.31 seconds, while he also anchored the distance medley relay that also won with a time of 10:56.11. Other members of the team were junior Tyler Laughery (Norwin), Collin Wilson (Latrobe) and freshman Aiden Jackson.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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