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Thursday, March 15, 2001

By Paul Zeise and Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

SCHOOL: Mt. Lebanon

WHO IS SHE? A freshman for the Blue Devils' WPIAL Class AAA champion girls' swimming team.

PAST WEEK: Orstein won two gold medals and two silvers at the PIAA swimming championships at Penn State University. She won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.24. She also swam a leg for the Blue Devils' winning 200 medley relay team and won silver medals as a member of the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

THIS SEASON: Two weeks ago, Orstein won four gold medals at the WPIAL championship and helped her team unseat three-time defending champion Bethel Park for the team title. She won the 100 breaststroke in a record time of 1:03.25 and was a member of all three of the Blue Devils' victorious relay teams (200 medley, 200 and 400 freestyle). Her time in the breaststroke also gave her All-American status.

MOVING IN: Orstein moved to Mt. Lebanon from Peters Township last summer and joined the Mt. Lebanon Aquatic Club, which is run by Mt. Lebanon's varsity coach Tom Burchill. That raised some eyebrows, but Orstein's father, Mike, said no one from Mt. Lebanon tried to recruit her.

"We wanted a change and we were thinking of moving anyway," he said. "And we wanted to be a little closer to the city. My thoughts were, if we were going to move, we needed to do it before Kaitlyn got to high school. But I am not going to lie and say that Mt. Lebanon's swimming program, its success and the chance to have her coached by someone as skilled as Tom Burchill didn't play a big part in our decision to move here. We, like most parents, want what is best for our children, and the school's academic reputation and swimming program are as good as it gets. And in just one year, Tom Burchill has done an absolutely amazing job of developing her."

FATHER KNOWS BEST: Mike Orstein was a four-time All-American swimmer at Springfield College and is the head coach of the Washington & Jefferson College men's and women's swimming and diving teams. He also coaches the Presidents' water polo teams. The women's water polo team is ranked eighth in Division III.

BUSY MONTH: Orstein left yesterday for George Mason University where she will compete in the sectional meet (formally called junior nationals) against swimmers from the East. She will swim eight events during the three-day meet. On March 27, she leaves for Austin, Texas, where she will compete in the 100 breaststroke at the Senior National Meet, which is basically time trials for the USA Swimming national teams.

-- By Paul Zeise

	Will Durkee, left, and Ric San Doval: PIAA champions. (John Heller, Post-Gazette)

SCHOOL: Shady Side Academy.

WHO ARE THEY? Seniors who won PIAA Class AA wrestling championships in Hershey.

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT: Neither San Doval nor Durkee lost a match this season. San Doval was 42-0 at heavyweight; Durkee was 46-0 at 152 pounds.

SECOND TIME AROUND: It was the second PIAA title in a row for San Doval, but this one meant more to him.

"It's easy to do something once, but to come back and do it the second time is always harder," said San Doval, a Hampton resident. "When I sat down my freshman year, my ultimate goal was to win the state my senior year. Then to already accomplish your goal in your junior year -- that puts added pressure on you as a senior."

Durkee, a Shadyside resident, qualified for the PIAA tournament last year but had a 1-2 record. "A lot of people expected Ric to go undefeated this year," he said. "I kind of had something to prove."

As a junior, Durkee wrestled only one match before the section championships. During the season, he had to battle bone chips in his knees, two broken fingers and mononucleosis.

THE OTHER SPORTS: San Doval was an excellent fullback-linebacker on Shady Side's football team; Durkee was a standout midfielder on the soccer team. San Doval was all-conference in football; Durkee was all-section in soccer. It's not unusual to see a talented football player also enjoy success in wrestling. But a soccer-wrestling combination is unusual.

"Will is nuts with wrestling. He's insane," San Doval said. "He wakes up in the morning, lifts and runs before school. He'll even practice during school and then after school. Then sometimes at night, he'll go down to Pitt and practice. That kid is something else."

THE FUTURE: San Doval will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League and play football. His final wrestling match will be March 24 when he wrestles for the Pennsylvania All-Stars in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic.

He has no intentions of trying wrestling in college. "Right now, I'm glad it's all over, except the one match I have left."

Durkee has not decided on a college yet. He also is looking at Pennsylvania, along with Virginia and Columbia. "I'm going to wrestle in college," he said. "I'll see after my first year if I have time. If I do, maybe I'll try soccer, too."

Durkee will wrestle for the Western Pennsylvania All Stars in the Dapper Dan Classic.

-- By Mike White