CLAY TWP — She wore Moniteau High School colors, but swam for Knoch.

She competed, but her triumphs didn't count for the Knights — she scored no points and technically won no events.

She couldn't go on the road with Knoch at away meets.

Still, Moniteau senior Regan Kelly wouldn't trade her vagabond high school swimming career for anything.

“It did kind of stink I didn't get points for the team,” Kelly said. “But at the same time, I grew up with all the Knoch girls swimming for the (Butler) YMCA. We still pushed each other. We still cheered for each other. You could say I pretty much wasn't on a high school team my whole career, but it didn't feel like it.”

PIAA rules allow a high school team to take in one independent swimmer. Since the Warriors didn't have a swimming and diving team, Knoch accepted her.

During meets, she wore a skull cap with the Moniteau logo on it and a suit that was either black or red — the Warriors' school colors.

It got Kelly a lot of confused looks.

“Other schools when they swam against Knoch would see me and say, 'Wait, who's she?'” Kelly said. “Do we have to watch out for her?'

“When I explained it to them, they all thought it was neat.”

Kelly was very familiar with Knoch coach Corrie Jones from her time swimming on various Butler YMCA teams.

When it came time for Kelly to compete in the District 9 meet in St. Marys — a two-plus-hour drive from Butler — Jones made the trip to watch Kelly swim.

“She was at the WPIAL meet all day and then she drove all the way up to St. Marys,” Kelly said. “That meant a lot.”

So did her experience swimming for Knoch.

“I've met tons of new people and so many people accepted me with open arms,” Kelly said. “It's amazing how many friends I've made through swimming.”

Kelly, who's mother Heidi was a swimmer, wasn't too keen on the sport as a little girl.

In fact, she cried.

“I was bawling my eyes out when I first started, I'm not going to lie,” Kelly said. “I was in the second or third grade and my mom was holding me and the coach said, 'Let her go. She can do it.'”

It didn't take Kelly long to discover that she was quite good at it.

She gravitated toward the sprinting events — the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle and the 200 individual medley — and she's excelled in those events throughout her high school career.

Kelly was second at the District 9 meet this spring in the 200 IM with a time of 2 minutes, 19.46 seconds. She was also third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.94 seconds.

She just missed advancing to the PIAA swimming and diving championships.

Kelly said a lot more than people think goes into being successful in the sprint swimming events.

“You can breathe when you get out of the pool,” Kelly said, laughing. “There's no room for error.”

Actually, knowing when to breathe may be the most important part of those short events.

“You have to breathe at the right time,” Kelly said. “If you breathe at the wrong time, it may cost you the race. You can feel your lungs burning, especially at the end of the race, but you have to know when to breathe.”

Kelly, who also swims for a USA Swimming team, will begin her next chapter next season at Westminster College.

“I'm really excited for the new journey,” she said. “Westminster was always my dream school.”

There were others that came calling, namely Clarion University, Penn State Behrend and Gannon University.

“There were more pros for Westminster,” Kelly said. “It was always my No. 1.”