Stephanie Dawson Karwoski was part of the foundation that formed the Knoch High swimming program in 1995.

A decade later, she couldn't bear to see it collapse.

Three years ago, Karwoski returned to the program she helped establish and took the reins as Knoch's boys and girls swimming coach.

Her husband, then-fiance Scott Karwoski, is an eighth-grade history teacher in the South Butler School District.

"The kids heard I was back in the area and the program needed a coach,"Stephanie Karwoski said. "They lobbied with Scott to ask me to do it.

"I was here when we built the program. I wasn't about to see the program fold because there was no coach."

With her help, the program didn't fold. In fact, it's thriving.

The Knoch boys entered this week's meet at Shady Side Academy sporting a 7-1 record, losing only a two-point decision to Deer Lakes. The Knight girls are 6-2.

Two years ago, both teams had losing records.

When Karwoski competed in high school, she was one of only five swimmers on the team.

"We weren't even considered a team,"she said. "We swam independently. We tagged on at meets involving other schools whenever we could."

Knoch has a full team today, featuring 15 boys and 17 girls. Only four of the swimmers are seniors. Nineteen are freshmen or sophomores.

Rachel Tano, a junior this year, placed third in the WPIALmeet in the 100-yard breaststroke last year.

"We may have multiple WPIALplacers this year,"Karwoski said. "I'm pretty confident."

Knoch is succeeding despite having no pool of its own. The Knights practice for an hour after school at the Butler Family YMCApool.

Every member of Knoch's team must hold a junior membership at the YMCAto use the facility.

The Knights swim their home meets at Butler High

Karwoski coached swimming at Penn Hills for a year before leaving to accept a guidance counselor position at Slippery Rock High School.

"We practiced for an hour and a half in the morning, then another two hours after school,"she said of her Penn Hills schedule. "You can do that when you have your own pool.

"The time commitment our kids put in is impressive. They get on a bus after school to come to the Y. By the time they get here and are in the water, we have maybe an hour to practice. Then they have to board the bus to return to the school.

"The fact these kids have been able to beat more established programs that have their own pools is phenomenal,"Karwoski added.

Knoch wins this season have come against Kittanning, Springdale, Burrell, Freedom, Highlands and Butler.

Team captains include Matt Mahan, Doug Vogus and Justin Doehring on the boys side, Pam Pivaronas, Hannah Zibert and Tano with the girls.

"There were only 20 kids out for the team when I was a freshman,"Vogus said. "Now we have more than 30. Word just spread around the school and kids get interested."

Because of pioneers like Karwoski, today's Knoch swimmers are able to participate.

"She's as good a coach as she was a swimmer,"said John Chamberlain, who coached Karwoski in high school and serves as her assistant coach. "Stephanie is a phenomenal lady. She's very good with people.

"Her and Jen Lasko were my two big swimmers back in the day. The time and effort they put in was unbelievable. That same effort has put the program where it is now."

Some swimmers' parents have helped Karwoski manage the increasing roster numbers as well. Pete Pivaronas has two daughters on the team — senior Paula and freshman Pam — and serves as a volunteer assistant.

"Our team is really close,"Pam Pivaronas said. "Everybody stands and cheers for each other through every event."

Karwoski plans to walk away from coaching when this season is over.

"The kids have been awesome to work with, what with their work ethic and heart,"Karwoski said. "I'm ready to move on to other things in life. The program is on solid ground and it's better to walk away on top."