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Orstein wants to go out a winner
jtuscano@observer-reporter.com
Kaitlyn Orstein has spent enough time in water to grow gills.
After a sparkling career that included record-setting performances at Mt. Lebanon High School and Washington & Jefferson College, she is ready to be more grounded.
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Orstein decided not to enter a regional qualifying event for the United States Olympic Trials. The decision was difficult but it came down to a matter of time and timing.
"I've always been about high school swimming and college swimming, and I want to focus on that," said Orstein. "I have a better chance at the NCAAs than I do at the Olympics."
The Olympic Trials are scheduled for June 29-July 6 at the University of Nebraska.
"The trials and nationals are too close together to do both," said Mike Orstein, W&J's swim coach and Kaitlyn's father. "What's the difference if you place 29th or 38th (at the Olympic Trials)? She wants to see how many NCAA championships she can win."
The number stands at five now.
Kaitlyn, also is an 11-time All-America, a status obtained by finishing eighth or better in the NCAA events.
The Presidents' Athletic Conference championships have been her own little pool party. She has won 25 PAC titles, including four this year, and the conference did not need long debates before naming her the Most Valuable Swimmer in all four years.
"It's more exciting to do the NCAAs," Kaitlyn said. "I want to end my swimming career on a high note."
Kaitlyn was a late arrival to competitive swimming at age 10. With the promise of being able have her ears pierced, she joined the swimming program in the Mt. Lebanon district and has been in the water for the past 12 years.
Dedication is nothing new for her and swimming has been her life for the past dozen years. Like many athletes who are committed to her sport, Orstein has had to make sacrifices in her social life.
"You can't go out with your friends on the weekends and you can't stay up late," she said. "I'm a people person so that was hard to do."
The rewards have been great and some of the fringe benefits have helped ease the pain from those sacrifices. Like the time Kaitlyn was honored as the High School Female Athlete of the Year at the Dapper Dan Banquet at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center after her senior year at Mt. Lebanon. She got to sit next to another athlete who also accomplished a lot in a short period of time.
"Ben Roethlisberger," she said. "That was pretty neat."
Kaitlyn won six PIAA titles while at Mt. Lebanon, four in the 100 breaststroke and two in the individual medley, She is a 25-time NISCA High School All-American.
Those gaudy accomplishments got the attention of Tennessee and Kaitlyn was offered a full scholarship. But the school was never a good fit and she returned to W&J to swim on her father's team.
At W&J, she set every record but three: the 200 butterfly (2:10.4), which Brittany Bertoli set in 2007; and the one- and three-meter diving.
In the NCAA tournament, Kaitlyn won the 200 and 400 individual medley events in 2005, her freshman season. She defended the 400 IM title as a sophomore and, last year, won her second gold in the 200 IM and touched first in the 200 breaststroke.
"She had some lofty goals for herself," Mike Orstein said. "I feel real good about her accomplishing them."
Two years ago, Kaitlyn competed on Team USA in the Maccabi Australia International Games held in Sydney. She came away with five gold medals.
One final honor came this week, when she appeared in the "Faces In The Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated magazine. She is only the third athlete to make it into that section of magazine. Brian Dawson, a record-setting quarterback on the football team, appeared in the Dec. 2, 2001 issue; and Leigh Sulkowski, the Presidents leading scorer of any basketball player (men or women) in the school's history, appeared in the Dec. 30, 2002 issue.
Preparation has always been key for Kaitlyn in preparing for a meet and for her goals in life.
"I'd like to coach swimming some day," she said. "I would also like to teach yoga."
To those ends, she secured her realtors license and now has the flexibility to fit her working career around her coaching and teaching aspirations.
"This going to be my last (competition)," she said of the NCAAs. "It's a little sad but I'm ready to move on."
