North Xtra: North Allegheny brothers getting 'choosy'
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There is a lot of guesswork for a swimming coach that goes into choosing events for swimmers at the WPIAL championships.
Coaches want to give their swimmers the best chance to succeed and some events are faster than others, depending on the year.
A lot of the guess work in Class AAA is trying to figure out what North Allegheny is going to do.
Coaches do not bother even asking North Allegheny coach Kirk "Corky" Semler what his plans are for his premier swimmers.
"They don't ask me because they know I won't tell them," Semler said, laughing. "They won't even waste their breath, they find out when the program comes out."
Each swimmer is permitted to compete in two individual events at the WPIAL championship meet, presuming, of course, that they have qualified for them.
As a general rule of thumb, if you are pursuing a WPIAL gold medal, it would be wise to avoid choosing the same event as North Allegheny's Buerger brothers.
Jon Buerger, a sophomore at the University of Virginia, won WPIAL titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay in his high school days.
Last year as a junior, Jon's brother, Matthew, won WPIAL titles in the 200 medley relay and 200 individual medley. Jon and Matthew's younger brother, Zachary, was part of that 200 medley relay last season as a freshman and he would have won gold in the 200 individual medley if it wasn't for Matthew, who finished less than four tenths of a second ahead.
Working with his elite swimmers over the years, Semler does not spend much time anticipating which events they might choose. Instead he chooses to let his swimmers compete in their strongest events, which can still be a difficult choice.
"We don't worry too much about where anyone else might be -- let's swim to our strengths," Semler said. "But these kids are so good, they have a lot of strengths."
Matthew Buerger has the third fastest reported time in Class AAA in the 500 freestyle (4:48.84) and fastest reported time in the 100 backstroke (51.69). Zachary has the fastest reported time in the 100 butterfly (51.35) and second fastest in the 200 individual medley (1:56.16).
Matthew Buerger is one of the best sprint freestylers in the state. If he chose to swim the 50 and 100 freestyle, he might be favored to win both. Matthew and Zachary are also capable of excelling in the 200 freestyle.
"There are a lot of options," Semler said.
The North Allegheny boys swim team is undefeated in dual meets and the Buerger brothers are undefeated, except against each other.
The races between Matthew and Zachary at practices and meets are extremely competitive.
"It depends on what day you are talking about," Semler said when asked who would win. "Many times Zach has been superior in practices but in meets Matt is still the faster swimmer."
Jon Buerger still holds school records in the 50, 200 and 500 freestyle as well as two relay records.
Matthew Buerger, a University of Notre Dame recruit, holds records in the 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle and 200 individual medley and also two relay records.
Zachary Buerger has yet to set a school record but it almost seems inevitable at this point.
"Zach isn't up there yet, but he will be," Semler said. "You almost have to wait until they graduate to compare [the three brothers]. Matthew is probably a little more versatile than Jon was. I would like to see how it ends up.
"Matthew and Jon are very similar in what they will end up accomplishing. Zach is the unknown, he is almost as good as them as a sophomore. Zach could develop into one of the best ever in the state in a lot of different events. The jury is still out."
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
