LH boys look to build on last year’s success
WPIAL swims get under way Laurel Highlands swam into unchartered waters a year ago, and made quite a splash, grabbing the school’s first-ever gold medals and finishing second in the WPIAL boys team championship to Class AA powerhouse Shady Side Academy.
Now, no longer wet behind the ears, the confident Mustangs have experience on their side, and maybe another chance at making history, according to coach Bill McCombie.
“I think with the amount of seniors we had last year we might have had a little more leadership,” McCombie said. “And I’m not saying we didn’t have quality swimmers. But this year, even with the smaller number of swimmers we have, I think we have more quality. The swimmers we do have are seeded higher and should get us more points.”
Laurel Highlands will try to go one better than last year when the WPIAL Swimming Championships begin today at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
A year ago, the Mustangs finished in second place, well behind Shady Side Academy, but comfortably ahead of third place Montour. Laurel Highlands began last year’s championship by winning the 200-yard medley relay and capturing the school’s first gold medal.
Adam Collins, Steve Hunchuck, Chris Hunchuck and Tony Marghella won the relay race with a time of 1:43.15. This year, Ben Bonchosky has replaced Marghella, and the Mustangs haven’t missed a beat, coming into the WPIAL finals as the top seed with a mark of 1:42.87.
It is in the relays that McCombie feels his team may be very successful, with the 200-yard freestyle squad coming in as a second seed, and the 400-yard freestyle team being seeded No. 9.
“It’s possible we could wind up with top-three finishes in each of those events,” McCombie said. “The 200-medley relay is ours to lose. We’re seeded almost two seconds higher than second place. And in the 400, we definitely have a shot to finish in the top three.
“The team race is going to come down to Shady Side Academy, Indiana, Moon Township and us. The way we’re seeded and the way the point system goes this year, it’s going to be a tight race for the WPIAL crown. I look for it to come down to the last relay on Friday. I’m getting excited just talking about it.”
Laurel Highlands has fewer swimmers competing in this year’s championships, but the swimmers who are here should be able to benefit better from the WPIAL’s new scoring system. A year ago, the top 12 swimmers in each event were awarded points. This year, that number has risen to the top 16.
“At the beginning of the season, I knew we’d have a chance at matching our success from last year, but I didn’t think we’d have a chance to win it until the seeds came out. It looks like Shady Side Academy lost as much as we did, but Indiana and Moon have a lot of depth.”
Laurel Highlands already has scored 11 points, thanks to Dave Johnson’s eighth-place finish a week ago in the diving competition at Pine-Richland High School. Moon had three swimmers place in the top 16 (No. 7, No. 12 and No. 13) and has 21 points, while Shady Side Academy’s Jared Scheck finished fifth and captured 14 points for the Indians.
The order of events for today is as follows: 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay. On Friday, the events, in the order they will be contested, are as follows: 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.
Class AAA swimmers will warm up both days between 9:15-10:30 a.m., with the timed finals running from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. In Class AA, the warm-ups will be held from 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m., with timed finals taking place between 3-5:30 p.m.
Laurel Highlands boys and Uniontown’s girls will compete in Class AA, while Laurel Highlands girls, Uniontown’s boys and Connellsville’s boys and girls squads will compete in Class AAA. Belle Vernon will compete in Class AA in both boys and girls action.
Individually, Collins will attempt to defend the100-yard butterfly title he won as a junior, while Connellsville junior Marie Nedley is back to defend her gold medal in the 500-yard freestyle. Both are top-seeded in their respective events.
Collins is also seeded No. 4 in the 100-yard butterfly, an event he won a silver medal in last year while breaking the school record with a time of 53.24. Chris Hunchuck is seeded No. 8, while Uniontown’s Mac Festa is No. 17. In Class AAA, Connellsville’s Alan Nedley is seeded No. 17.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, Steve Hunchuck is seeded second, while on the girls side, Belle Vernon’s Stacy Hoffman is No. 12.
For Uniontown, junior Kaitlyn Johnson will try to improve on her silver medal a year ago won in the 50-yard freestyle. Johnson went on to finish sixth in the state last year, and as a freshman, finished third in the WPIAL. She is seeded No. 3 this year in the 50 free, and No. 4 in the 100 fly.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Erin Barbetta is seeded fifth in the 50 free and No. 8 in the 100 backstroke, while on the boys side, Bonchosky is seeded No. 8 in the 50 free. Uniontown freshman Katie Patek is seeded No. 18 in the 100 backstroke and No. 21 in the 50 free.
Behind Nedley in the 500 freestyle, Southmoreland’s Kaitlyn Ramey is seeded No. 17, Belle Vernon’s Alana Puscavich No. 23 and Uniontown’s Jess Dzara No. 26. On the boys side, Alan Nedley is the No. 25 seed.
Two Uniontown girls relay teams are seeded, the 200 medley squad of Johnson, Stephanie Altman, Patek and Ashley Hager No. 8, and the 200 freestyle team of Patek, Dzara, Hager and Johnson, with Altman a possible go as well, seeded No. 14.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Nedley captured a bronze medal a year ago and is seeded No. 13. Teammate Heidi Halfhill is the No. 25 seed. In the 100-yard freestyle, Halfhill is the No. 14 seed.
Scoring in individual events will be as follows, with the top 16 finishers receiving points: 1st (20 points), 2nd (17), 3rd (16), 4th (15), 5th (14), 6th (13), 7th (12), 8th (11), 9th (9), 10th (7), 11th (6), 12th (5), 13th (4), 14th (3), 15th (2) and 16th (1). For relays, points are doubled.
“Instead of having swimmers swim two individual events, I kind of loaded up the relays more, having the kids swim three relays and one individual,” McCombie said. “The kids are just as excited as last year, maybe more. They know now there’s the possibility of them doing something else, which is winning the meet.”
McCombie is in his second year as head coach after serving 11 seasons as an assistant under Ed Yauger. Darren DeCarlo and Bill’s brother, Bob, serve as his assistants.
“They’re a ton of help during the season,” Bill McCombie said. “They keep the kids together and keep them going. They have been coaches themselves. It’s not like having a head coach and two assistant coaches; it’s like we have three head coaches. You can’t beat that.”
Rian Davis coaches Uniontown’s boys, while Molly Harbst is in her first year at the helm of Uniontown’s girls team. Jim Ramey coaches at Connellsville, with Belle Vernon being led by Rob Reda.