O-R Athlete of the Week: Ava Komoroski
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Name: Ava Komoroski
Grade: Sophomore
School: Peters Township
Sport: Swimming
Komoroski’s week: After finishing the WPIAL Class 3A 100-yard freestyle race, Komoroski poked her head out of the water and searched for the scoreboard.
She liked what she found on it.
“I looked up immediately and saw the No. 1 beside my name and I was so happy. I honestly couldn’t believe it. It was crazy.”
Komoroski finished the race at 51.58 to win her first WPIAL gold medal. She also had a runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle.
Once the realization that she had won a WPIAL title set in, the celebration began.
“I got bombarded by all my friends,” Komoroski said. “I couldn’t even make it around to see my coach afterward for at least five minutes. Everyone I knew was coming up and congratulating me, which was crazy. I was jumping up and down. I finally got to see my parents and my coach and they were super excited, too.”
Chasing Roy: Komoroski put up the top seed time for the 100 free during a midseason meet, which opened her eyes to the possibility of winning at the WPIAL Championship. At that midseason meet, Komoroski was in a lane beside Mt. Lebanon standout Syliva Roy. Roy went to the Olympic trials this past summer and Komoroski pointed to that race helping her confidence.
“She’s really fast and it was really fun racing her, which I think helped me get such a fast time,” Komoroski said. “I knew she was going to have such a fast time, so my goal was to race her until the end. It worked.”
Ready for states: Komoroski qualified for the PIAA meet in both the 100 and 50 free. The state championships are March 12-15 at Bucknell University. It’ll be Komoroski’s second time at the PIAA meet and her goal is to make the A-final and hopefully catch the eye of some college coaches.
“I want to drop more time and go a 50-point, because this coming season I know colleges are going to be looking and I want to put up the most impressive time I can,” Komoroski said. “I’m seeded sixth right now, but I want to get as high as I can on the podium.”
Special Olympics: Komoroski has been swimming competitively since she was seven years old and when she’s not in the pool working on her craft, she enjoys being a volunteer coach with youth programs and working with the Special Olympics.
She does so through a program at her club team Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics out of Upper St. Clair.
“I’ve coached five or six different individuals ranging from 12-year-old girls with cerebral palsy to 42-year-old men with down syndrome, so I really have to adapt my teaching style to fit them,” Komoroski said. “It’s super rewarding. They really love me, and I love them. They are the sweetest people you’ll meet. I love volunteering there. It’s been a fun opportunity to take my love for swimming and teach it to others.”
Compiled by Jerin Steele