LH boys swim team shooting for perfect season
With a victory tonight, Laurel Highlands boys swim team can put the finishing touches on the school’s first perfect regular season since 1989. That the victory would come against cross-town rival Uniontown is enough to raise the hair on coach Bill McCombie’s head, which may become a lot smoother because of a promise made before the season started.
“The guys on the team were talking before the season began about going undefeated and I made them a deal,” McCombie said. “I told them if they went undefeated, they could shave my head. I wasn’t sure if they could do it, but I knew there was a chance.”
Chances are, McCombie will look more like McKojack in the near future. Laurel Highlands (19-0, 4-0) appears to keep getting better and better as the season progresses and could make a serious run at a WPIAL Class AA team title when the championships are held March 3-4 at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Mustangs call Section 5-AAA home, but come playoff time will compete at a lower classification because of WPIAL enrollment standards.
Led by team captains Jimmy Tesauro and Alex Mundel, along with Adam Collins, who has posted WPIAL-qualifying times in every event, Laurel Highlands has already clinched at least a tie for the section championship.
The Mustangs assured themselves their second straight section title with a 102-82 win over Canon-McMillan last Thursday. Now, only a major letdown against Uniontown can prevent Laurel Highlands from claiming the crown outright.
“We actually thought we had more of a chance to go undefeated last year, but we hit a couple of bumps,” McCombie said. “We’ve hit a couple of bumps this year as well, with some swimmers missing meets and others missing practices. But these guys have rose to the occasion.
“There have been meets in past years where that extra something we needed wasn’t there. But these guys have made it happen time and time again.”
The Fillies swim team has all the motivation it needs as well tonight, having a chance to claim a section title for the first time since 1977.
“It’s definitely been awhile,” McCombie said. “We weren’t expecting the girls to make a run at the section title for another year or two, but I have a good group of freshmen to go along with the more experienced swimmers.”
McCombie took over the head coaching position this season after serving as an assistant for eight years under Ed Yauger, and, as a freshman, was a member of Laurel Highlands’ last team to go unbeaten through the regular season when he swam under the guidance of the late Roland Culley in the 100 backstroke and 200 IM.
First as a competitor, and now as a coach, McCombie’s seen his share of the Uniontown rivalry, which for the most part, has gone Laurel Highlands’ way in recent years.
“We have some big meets, but this is always The Big One.”