Lock Haven, Pa. - Clarion’s Ryan Thiel and West Chester’s Jackie Borkowski are the 2008-09 PSAC Men’s and Women’s Swimming Athletes of the Year as voted on the league’s head coaches. Both had standout performances at the PSAC championships this year and also turned in All-American performances at last month’s NCAA championships. Edinboro’s Max Niggel and California (Pa.)’s Marianne Juhl are the PSAC Men’s and Women’s Swimming Freshmen of the Year while Shippensburg’s Tim Verge has been named the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year and California (Pa.)’s Ed Denny has been named the Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year.
Thiel earned All-PSAC honors in three individual events at this year’s PSAC championships, as he finished second in the 50 free and third in both the 100 and 200 free. He became an All-Conference swimmer in seven total events as he was also a part of the second place 200 free, 400 free, 800 free and 400 medley relay teams. His efforts helped Clarion to a third place finish at the conference championships. Thiel then placed 14th in the 50 free and 200 free to earn honorable mention All-America in both of those events at NCAA Championships and was also a part of four All-America or honorable mention All-America relay swims, finishing as a part of the seventh place 200 free, the 12th place 400 free and the 14th place 200 and 400 medley relay teams, helping the Golden Eagles finish 13th at the national meet. He was named the PSAC Swimmer of the Meet at the PSAC championships and set two individual and two relay school records this year.
Borkowski wrapped up an outstanding career at West Chester last month at NCAA championships by swimming to three All-American performances in individual events and four as a member of relay teams. At NCAAs, she finished second in the 100 free and third in the 50 free and 100 back and was on the 200 free, 400 medley, 800 free and 400 medley relay teams that all placed in the top eight. Her efforts helped lead West Chester to a fifth place finish at NCAAs, two spots higher than last year. She was also named the Swimmer of the Meet at PSAC championships after winning five individual titles and setting four new conference records. She finished first in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 back, setting new conference records in all three and also was a member of the 400 free relay team that both won and set a new record as well as the winning 800 free relay team. Her performance helped lead West Chester to its third straight conference title. Borkowski wrapped up her career as a 14-time PSAC champion in addition to being the Conference Rookie of the Year in 2006.
Niggel made his mark on the PSAC as the freshman emerged as one of the top distance swimmers in the league this year. He finished in third place in the 1650 free and placed fourth in the 1000 free at PSAC championships. He also became one of the top backstrokers in the conference as he finished second in the 200 backstroke, just .39 of a second out of first place. He was also a part of Edinboro’s fifth place 400 medley relay team and sixth place 800 free relay team at PSACs.
Juhl had an outstanding freshman season for California (Pa.), helping lead the Vulcans to a third place finish at PSAC championships while also earning All-American honors at the NCAA meet. At the PSAC meet, Juhl won both the 1000 free and 1650 free, finished fifth in the 500 free and was a part of the third place 800 free relay team. The native of Denmark followed that up with a 13th place finish in the 1000 free and a fifth place finish in the 1650 free in a school record time at the NCAA meet to help the Vulcans finish in a school-best 14th place at the national meet.
Verge earns his second career PSAC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year honor after leading Shippensburg to a second place finish at the PSAC championships. The Red Raiders stormed from behind to overtake Clarion for second place at the conference championships and finish as high as second for the first time since 1996 with 544.5 points, an increase of 92.5 points from a year ago. Verge, who was also the men’s coach of the year in 2007,guided the Raiders to a total of 23 top-eight finishes at this year’s championships.
Denny is awarded the PSAC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year accolade after leading the Vulcans to the aforementioned third place finish at the PSAC championships, which was the highest ever showing for the Vulcans at the conference meet, as well as the highest ever finish for Cal at NCAAs. Denny, who just completed his seventh season as head coach at Cal, helped a school record nine swimmers qualify for the NCAA championships, led by Juhl and fellow PSAC champion Ester Bosch.
2008-09 PSAC Men’s Swimming Awards
Athlete of the Year
Ryan Thiel, Clarion
Freshman of the Year
Max Niggel, Edinboro
Coach of the Year
Tim Verge, Shippensburg
2008-09 PSAC Women’s Swimming Awards
Athlete of the Year
Jackie Borkowski, West Chester
Freshman of the Year
Marianne Juhl, California (Pa.)
Coach of the Year
Ed Denny, California (Pa.)