Trib HSSN Boys Swimmer of the Week: North Hills’ Joshua Bogniard

By: Michael Love
Friday, January 31, 2020 | 5:30 PM

Joshua Bogniard continues to make his move up the swim ranks in WPIAL Class AAA.

The North Hills junior owns the second-fastest time in the boys 100-yard freestyle, according to the most recent WPIAL performance lists released Monday at WPIAL.org.

He clocked a time of 46.83 seconds in a meet against West Allegheny on Dec. 6, and only Stanford commit Richard Mihm from North Allegheny had gone faster (44.69) since then.

Bogniard is ranked fourth in the 100 back (52.63) and sixth in the 50 free (21.56). Those times were recorded Jan. 22 against Seneca Valley.

“Josh has a really strong work ethic, and he’s always willing to do what it takes to improve his technique in all four strokes,” North Hills coach Lucas Marsak said.

“His tenacity when he races is really impressive. He races 100 percent with a champion’s mindset.”

Marsak said Bogniard has a pretty good idea of which two individual events he will swim at WPIALs, but he still will take the final couple of weeks to nail down the final decisions.

He has qualified in every individual event except the 500 freestyle but hopes to get that cut soon.

North Hills swam against Section 2 rival Mars on Thursday.

“No matter what event he swims at WPIALs, he’s going up against some of the best in the state,” Marsak said. “He can’t control what they do or how they swim. He can control how he does, and we’ll see what happens.”

Bogniard stood on the medals podium at WPIALs last year with a sixth-place finish in the 100 back (51.62). He went on to placed 22nd in the event at states.

He also swam to 13th at WPIALs in the 50 free (21.96).

“This season started essentially right after states last year as he began to work towards goals,” Marsak said. “There was an immediate recognition of what it’s going to take to be among the best at WPIALs and states. He had a breakthrough season last year, but he knew how much more work he needed to put in.”

Bogniard tested his mettle at the USA Swimming Futures event at the Spire Institute in Ohio in August.

“He came away from that meet with a lot of motivation,” Marsak said.

Bogniard returned to Spire for the pre-Thanksgiving Mark Braun Invitational and also swam at the Pitt Christmas meet.

“They were both good opportunities to check in against really good competition,” Marsak said. “They were good measuring sticks for him to see where he was at those points.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: North Hills