Kostelnik battles to finish fifth in 500 freestyle
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands junior Lexi Kostelnik, shown here at WPIALs, earned all-state honorable mention honors by qualifying for the "B" final in the girls 500 freestyle at the PIAA Class AAA Swimming & Diving Championships at Bucknell University on Thursday.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Connellsville freshman Tatum Detwiler finished seventh in the girls 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.94 in the WPIAL Class AAA Swimming Championships at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool on Friday.
Albert Gallatin's Caleb Dankle finished with a time of 4:54.31 to finish 15th overall in the boys 500 freestyle in the WPIAL Class AAA Swimming Championships at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool on Friday.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands’ Lexi Kostelnik, second from right, took fifth place in the girls 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:07.37 in the WPIAL Class AAA Swimming Championships at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool in Oakland on Friday.
Connellsville sophomore Ian McCombie finished 26th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:03.81 in the WPIAL Class AAA Swimming Championships at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool on Friday.
Lexie Kostelnik figured she’d go for broke Friday morning and let the chips fall where they may when she took to the pool for the 500-yard freestyle.
Battling the flu and bronchitis, the Laurel Highlands junior survived the distance race to come home from the WPIAL Class AAA Championships at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool with a fifth-place medal.
Connellsville freshman Tatum Detwiler won her second medal in as many days after eighth in the 100 breaststroke.
Kostelnik had a tough time Thursday in the 200 freestyle, just missing the podium in ninth place. Her illness didn’t go away overnight.
“I’ve been sick. I came down with the flu two days ago and now I have bronchitis after coughing so much,” explained Kostelnik. “It’s not fun.
“My body was so tired. I couldn’t breathe.”
Her result in the 200 freestyle weighed on her as she prepared for the 500 freestyle, where she entered as the top seed.
“I was upset I didn’t do my best yesterday (in the 200 freestyle),” said Kostelnik. “Today, I tried to give it what I had.”
Kostelnik basically took the approach she had nothing to lose.
“I was scared to take it out too fast in the 500 (freestyle). I laid back and wanted to get into my race. Smart and steady. If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have finished,” explained Kostelnik. “I was trying to do my best and hope it would be good enough.”
Despite the way she felt, Kostelnik came back to swim in the 400 freestyle relay.
“I didn’t want to let anyone down. I had to give everything I had to give them a chance,” said Kostelnik.
She has about two weeks to heal and is looking forward to the state meet.
“I want to show them my hard work paid off in the pool,” added Kostelnik.
Detwiler finished seventh in the final heat with a time of 1:05.94, but was bumped to eighth in the final standings.
Still, the freshman was just as excited to win her second medal as she was her first in the 200 IM.
“This is my best event. I knew this was my best,” said Detwiler.
“My start, that’s what I’m best at. That’s how I get fast. I tried to get out fast in the first 50 (yards),” Detwiler said of her strategy. “The first 25 of the last 50 felt pretty good.
“The last 25 yards I can’t feel anything. I just had to keep going. Once I see (the wall), I try to get to it as fast as I can.”
Detwiler finished fifth in the 200 IM, but only the first three automatically advance to the PIAA meet. The chance remains for Detwiler to earn a spot in the finals on time.
“I just have to wait. I hope I make it into states,” said Detwiller, adding with a big smile, “Fifth and eighth, for a freshman, it’s good.”
Although he didn’t medal, Albert Gallatin’s Caleb Dankle had another strong performance. The sophomore finished 15th in the 500 freestyle with a 4:54.31, shaving 12 seconds off his seed time.
Laurel Highlands freshman Gwyneth Hamilton pared two seconds off her seed time in the 100 backstroke to finish in 18th place in 1:00.85.
The Fillies finished 20th in the team standings with 33 points. The Lady Falcons were close behind in 22nd place with 32 points.