Academic and athlete success define DeAnn Loree Pertz

There are some who believe that it’s not possible to achieve the highest levels of athletic and academic achievement at the same time. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, so you have to focus on one or the other. Proving this theory wrong is DeAnn Pertz, a senior at Titusville High School in Titusville, Pennsylvania. In the classroom DeAnn carries a 4.13 GPA, is class vice president and has received offers for academic scholarships. She has a love for chemistry, biology, physics and math and has aspirations of going to medical school and into forensic science.

In other words, she’s freaky smart and is on the right track for a successful career in the medical profession. Equally impressive is her athletic accomplishments. Although she is a multi-sport athlete and has been a three-sport state qualifier with 11 varsity letters, the sport that DeAnn has made the biggest splash in, so to speak, is swimming. She holds numerous schooland regional records. Her specialty is the freestyle, and her best times in this stroke include the following: 50, 24:75; 100, 55:00; 200, 1:58.13; 500, 5:31.37. In the summer DeAnn makes the 90-minute, round-trip drive to Erie, DeAnn Pertz accepts her statue for the BFS Female High School Athlete of the Year.

Shown, left to right, are her coaches: Rhonda Laird, swimming; Scott Salvo, strength and conditioning; Ernie Axton, cross-country and track; and Kevin Dawson, swimming and strength and conditioning.

DeAnn’s primary sport is swimming, but her participation in distance running events has helped her overall endurance, so there is little drop-off in her performance when she returns the pool.

“DeAnn’s work ethic is unmatched,” says Salvo. “A lot Pennsylvania, to do club swimming with Coach David Schultz. Says DeAnn about club swimming, “Our training of high school athletes look at professional athletes as their role models. Athletes at Titusville High School do not up in Erie is a lot harder than the training in high school, have to look too far when searching for their role model but I do better in high school events because I’m more because DeAnn is definitely someone they can look up to focused on it.” Asked what she likes about swimming, for leadership qualities, both in athletic competition and DeAnn replied, “I like how I can concentrate on myself, in the classroom.

DeAnn puts it but it’s still a team sport and all together with her attitude, her you have a team to support personality and her willingness to you.” help teammates and classmates.” DeAnn’s other sports DeAnn is a normal high include track and crossschool girl, likes to hang out country, which she says with friends, listens to all types keeps her endurance level of music, does scrapbooking, high so that when she is involved with many school returns to the pool there is and church activities, and puts little drop-off in her times. her strength to good use by “You have to get adjusted, The Pertz family: Jay, Karen, DeAnn, Jayla doing chores for her neighbors.

but running helps my “Shoveling snow is not one of my aerobic endurance for the favorite activities,” she admits, “but I get paid!” distance swimming events.” She also says that when she first started lifting she was worried about getting bigger, but she soon found that was not an issue. Her favorite Good Beginnings BFS core exercises are the box squats, where she regularly To reach the highest levels of athletic achievement, lifts over 210 for reps, and the power clean. DeAnn’s athletes have to start young. DeAnn is no exception, says strength coach, Scott Salvo, has high praise for her her mother, Karen. “DeAnn was athletic from the get-go. accomplishments.

She’s done a lot of different sports growing up: soccer, softball, volleyball, golf, and she even tried gymnastics. And she always excelled in everything she did and has a quiet, humble personality.” In middle school, Jay, DeAnn’s father, says the athletic focus for DeAnn started leaning towards swimming. “In eighth grade, DeAnn came to us and said that she wanted to swim in a summer program, which wasn’t offered in our area. The closest one was in Erie, so we contacted a coach up there and we DeAnn has always loved the water.

In these photos she is shown with her dad during her first swim lessons, followed by DeAnn with her sister, brought her up for an interview, and he Jayla, in an early competition, then all grown up as a school record holder accepted her. This opportunity to train and scholarship athlete. and compete with better swimmers was ing room with an orthopedic surgeon) and pathology. She very helpful.” even did a job shadow with a coroner, which could be conAcademically, Karen provides some insight into her sidered familiar territory, as her father is a funeral director. youngest daughter’s success.

“We have expectations of our As a result, DeAnn visited five colleges last summer, looking children, but both DeAnn and her sister, Jayla, have always for a good medical program that was close to home with a been excellent students. DeAnn is very disciplined and has swimming program. For these reasons she decided to attend really good time management skills.” Karen says DeAnn Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. would accompany her to the library when she was young When BFS began the Athlete of the Year program and competed in math and spelling bee competitions.

“And nearly 20 years ago, we wanted to select athletes who it’s not that we were telling her to enter these competitions excelled in not just sports but also academics. We wanted – she wanted to do them.” well-rounded young men and women who could serve as To explore potential career fields, DeAnn has been role models. DeAnn Pertz of Titusville, Pennsylvania, has involved in the job-shadow programs offered through her so many positive qualities that she is our obvious choice school. Her first program was in radiology, and then she for 2008. Congratulations, DeAnn!

explored orthopedics (even being able to go into an operat- DeAnn’s hard work with the BFS program has helped make her our number-one choice for our most prestigious award. l-94” w-36” h-60” stock Stock (Black Paint/ version Gray Upholstery) #400020

From BFS Magazine — May/June 2008. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).