TAMAQUA
Fresh off a 13th-place finish in the Class AA 100 breaststroke at the PIAA Swimming Championships, Tamaqua's Joann Butkus talked about her high school career.
As a senior, the Susquehanna University-bound Butkus won four Schuylkill League gold medals, captured four District 11 Class AA silver medals en route to helping the Blue Raiders finish second in the team standings, and placed 12th and 13th, respectively, in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke at states.
It's a season that made Butkus an easy choice to be named the 2013-14 Republican-Herald All-Area Girls' Swimmer of the Year, the third straight year she received the honor.
Blue Mountain junior Nathanael Marino, who qualified for states in four events, is the All-Area Boys' Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season.
"I touched the wall, I looked up, and it hit me," Butkus said back in March. "That's it, I'm done.
"I've had an amazing time with my coaches, with my teammates.
"I have the best fans in the world up there in the stands, and I have a whole bunch at home. I couldn't be more thankful for this career that I've had. It's really overwhelming."
Standing beside her was Tamaqua coach Ashley Stanek, who guided the Blue Raiders to their third Schuylkill League girls' team title in the past four years.
Stanek and Butkus will forever be linked for reviving a proud Tamaqua girls' program that had gone 11 years without winning a Schuylkill League team title until their arrival four years ago.
That link took an interesting twist since the season ended.
Stanek, the 2013-14 All-Area Coach of the Year, resigned a few weeks ago due to personal reasons. It leaves Tamaqua not only looking to replace
a talented group of seniors, but a head coach as well.
Youthful leader
Stanek was a 1,000-point scorer as a swimmer from 2001-05 at Tamaqua, and returned as an assistant coach under Eric Lech for the 2010-11 season.
When Lech retired after a successful 11-year run as the Blue Raiders' leader, Stanek was hired to replace him.
The Tamaqua girls have gone 30-5-1 (14-1 league) over the past three seasons, including a 9-1 overall and 5-0 league mark this season. After two subpar seasons, the Tamaqua boys also excelled this season, going 8-2 (3-2 league).
All-Area selections Butkus, Miranda Amey and Carly Trovinger comprised a senior class that lost just one league dual meet in four years. Junior Danielle DeCindio and freshman Rebecca Kanaskie, a state qualifier in the 200 IM, also earned All-Area honors this season.
"Never in all my years involved with sports have I seen a girls' team get along so well as this year's team," Stanek said. "This senior class has been together so long ⦠there was no drama all year. Their personalities really complement each other. The seniors had great leadership, and the underclassmen went with the flow and followed their example.
"Being together for so long and knowing each other so well, they pushed each other, and that made a big impact in their successful senior year. They really pulled together this year."
Stanek, a third-grade teacher in the Tamaqua Area School District at the West Penn Elementary School, is working on finishing her master's degree online through Wilkes University to become a reading specialist.
She will have to complete a 100-hour internship next spring, from January to April, right in the heart of the swimming season. When you put together her daily teaching job with her college course load and the internship, there was no time for swimming.
The 26-year-old also got engaged to Andrew Feher of Riegelsville, Lehigh County, earlier this month, and the couple is planning a November wedding.
"It was a very, very hard decision," said Stanek, who submitted her resignation shortly after states. "I'm really passionate about swimming. It was a very, very hard decision for me.
"In everything I do, I give 100 percent," she continued. "With my course load ⦠I'm going 7 to 7 to begin with ⦠I don't know if I'll have extra time to do extra work. That's the main reason."
Being a young coach who brought great enthusiasm for the sport with her to every practice and every meet, Stanek developed a good bond with her swimmers. Those bonds, and watching her swimmers improve, will be something she'll miss.
"Swimming is a big part of my life," Stanek said. "I'll miss seeing the kids' improvement. That's the most satisfying thing over the past three years, seeing kids improve over the season or the course of several seasons.
"It's very rewarding to see kids respond to the different things I tried to help them with. The freshmen that came out for the team, I can't wait to see how far they'll come over the next three years."
Grand finale
The start of Stanek's coaching career coincided with the start of Butkus' high school career. An accomplished youth swimmer, Butkus entered with high aspirations and expectations.
Over the past four years, she failed to disappoint. Her accomplishments speak for themselves:
- Captured 12 gold medals at the Schuylkill League championships
- Won 13 top-four medals at the District 11 Swimming Championships, including six silver, six bronze and one fourth. In her other three events, she placed fifth.
- Was a four-time state qualifier, earning at-large berths in two events each season and reaching the consolation finals four times.
As a freshman, Butkus placed 24th in the 50 freestyle (25.37) and 18th in the 100 freestyle (54.86), then took 20th in the 100 butterfly (1:01.78) and 24th in the 100 freestyle (55.08) as a sophomore.
Butkus placed 14th in the 50 freestyle (24.90) as a junior, then teamed with Amey, DeCindio and Caroline Kanaskie to place 16th in the 400 freestyle relay (3:47.38). This year, she was 12th in the 50 freestyle (24.66) and 13th in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.07).
In addition, she:
- Holds a bevy of school records, including the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.
- Was a two-time qualifier to YMCA nationals.
The daughter of Diane and Peter Butkus of Tuscarora, Joann excelled outside of the pool as well during her four years at Tamaqua.
The school's female scholar-athlete this year, Butkus is ranked fourth in her class and will major in chemistry at Susquehanna with plans to become a physician.
Butkus is a member of the Science, Spanish, Math, English and National Honor societies, a member of Tamaqua Area Student Government Association (treasurer), Physics Club (president), Biology Club (president), Chemistry Club, World Language Club, Leadership Council, Student Advisory Board and the gifted program.
"Joann is very driven and determined," Stanek said. "She's the type of athlete who gives 100 percent. She wants to do well. It's very easy from a coach's standpoint, because she already wants it."
"She has always given 100 percent. She's put her all into her high school career. This has been a huge part of her life. All the time, all the dedication, all the effort really paid off for her."
Unfinished business
While Butkus has completed her amazing high school career, Marino still has one more chapter to go. Based on what happened this season, that chapter will be a must-read.
This season, the Eagles' junior won four gold medals at the Schuylkill League Swimming Championships, then helped Blue Mountain win its second straight boys' dual-meet team title.
Marino won a pair of golds at the District 11 Championships, teaming with freshmen Mark Boran and Stephen Johnson and junior Joey McLaughlin to win the 200 medley relay (1:43.65), then grabbing his first individual district gold medal by dominating the 100 breaststroke (1:00.83).
That same Eagles quartet also qualified for states by placing third at districts in the 200 freestyle relay (1:32.39), and Marino earned an at-large state bid in the 50 freestyle after a third-place finish at districts (22.26).
It was the third straight year Marino qualified for states, but the first time in the 50 freestyle. His district time in the 50 free broke Blue Mountain's 21-year-old school record of 22.59 set by Paul Klepchick in 1993.
States, however, remain the one thing Marino has yet to master, and that is his goal entering next season.
As a freshman, Marino placed 26th in the 100 breaststroke, then was 13th as a sophomore in the same event.
This season, Marino did not advance to the evening session in any of the four events. Both relay teams placed 17th, while Marino was 22nd in the 50 freestyle (22.61) and 17th in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.09).