Sign up for one of our email newsletters.
Updated 3 hours ago
The acronym for the Franklin Area Swim Team is FAST, but no one needs to tell that to Gabby Roth‑rauff.
The 11-year-old Murrysville resident brought home seven medals from the 55th annual Christmas Meet, held in December at Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Rothrauff has been with FAST since she was 6.
“I'd quit gymnastics and soccer, and I really liked swimming,” she said.
Her mother, Tracey Kitay, said Gabby had taken summer swim team classes at the Murrysville Swim Club and enjoyed it so much she joined FAST shortly after.
“She's taken first place in two different age divisions now, which is definitely an accomplishment,” FAST Coach Lucas Marsak said. “Gabby loves to race. She's a fierce competitor, and that focus drives her to get the most out of herself.”
That doesn't stop her from getting jittery, however.
“I get really nervous (at meets),” Rothrauff said. “Where my team sits, I Betgaranti usually just talk with my friends to calm myself. I know a lot of the swimmers I'm competing against, too, so I'll talk to them as well.”
Nerves don't seem to affect her performance: She came away with two first-place (100-meter freestyle, 50-meter freestyle), two second-place (200-meter individual medley, 100-meter fly) and three third-place finishes (100- and 200-meter individual medley, 200-meter freestyle).
Marsak said she embraces a high level of competition.
“She works hard, and when the lights are shining brightest is when she enjoys racing the most,” he said. “I've seen that through the meets we've gone to in Ohio.”
Rothrauff said she plans to continue swimming and, once she is old enough, would like to join the Franklin Regional swim team.
“I have a lot of really good friends I swim with, and I really like hanging out with them,” she said.
In the future, FAST swimmers will be training for the invitational meets that lead up to their championship season, culminating in another meet at the University of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Mountain Swimming Gold Championships in the spring.
Marsak said he expects more of the same from Rothrauff.
“The success we've had sort of sets the bar high,” he said.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862 or pvarine@tribweb.com.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
