Turner turning the corner
BUTLER TWP — Swimming will be a part of Annabelle Turner’s life for a long time.
The Butler senior recently took a big step toward making that reality, signing a letter of intent to continue he academic and swimming career at Westminster College. She plans to major in secondary education.
“I want to be a teacher and coach down the road,” Turner said. “That’s my No. 1 goal.”
First-year Golden Tornado swimming coach Troy Kroll says Turner has the qualities to be a good coach. But her own swim career is far from over.“
“Annabelle is very coachable. She takes directions well and she is a fantastic teammate,” Kroll said. “She cares about the other athletes on the team and I’m sure that’s something Westminster was looking at. All of those qualities can be found in good coaches.”
Turner opted for Westminster after also considering Grove City College.
“They have a high-caliber swim program there and I like their education program,” she said of Westminster. “It’s a nice campus, too.”
Turner swims the butterfly leg on the Golden Tornado’s medley relay. Her goal this season is to help that relay medal at the WPIAL meet. Individually, she excels in the 100-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle.
“The butterfly is her strongest event,” Kroll said “She’ll do a number of relays for us. Annabelle has the ability to swim anywhere from 50 yards to 500. She’s in great shape and one of her biggest assets to us is her leadership.”
Besides getting ready for her senior season, Turner has had to adjust to a new head coach. Dave Bocci stepped down as Butler coach after last season with Kroll stepping into the position.
“I liked our other coach, but it’s been great working with Coach Kroll,” Turner said. “He’s challenging us and I like the workouts.”
“She’s adjusted well,” Kroll said. “Its not easy for a senior to go through a coaching transition, but I could tell very quickly how serious she is about improving as a swimmer and getting the most out of her final season here.”
Westminster is coached by Pat Smith, now in his eighth season as head coach. He served as an assistant coach with the Titans for seven years beforehand. Westminster has not had a losing season on the women’s side since 2018.
The Titans were Presidents’ Athletic Conference runner-up in 2019-20 and won the league championship during the 2018-19 season. Slippery Rock High School graduate Natalie Carlantonio is a freshman on the Westminster squad.
“All I want to do is continue improving as a swimmer,” Turner said. “If I can find a place on their relay teams as a freshman, maybe help out that way ... anything to help the program continue to be successful.”
