CM swimmers ready to go

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The Central Mountain boys’ and girls’ swim teams bring back some solid participants. The kids are ready to go but lack of a pool has caused pre-season preparation problems. Even with the obstacles, coach Scott Bair says he has a great group to work with and is looking for another solid season.

There are 19 swimmers on the team this year, 10 boys and nine girls; nine of the 19 are back this year. The program also has five athletes swimming for their first time.

Sophomore Camryn Bair, who was Central Mountain’s first female state qualifier, leads the way for the returning Wildcats.  The team also returns five District 6 qualifiers in Ana Persun, Jonathan Hughes, Owen Wunder, Abrianna Hosley and Autumn Garman.

Both teams are looking to build off last year’s success. The boys’ team finished 7-3-1 and the girls were 9-2.  Coach Bair told The Record, “While we are a young team, five freshmen and five new to swimming, we feel we can still be very competitive with all teams we will face.”  Individually, the coach said, it is hoped to get at least half of the team to districts and again qualify a few for the state meet at Bucknell.

The biggest obstacle so far has been getting in the water. The first official practice date for winter sports was Nov. 18. The first day the teams were able to find a pool to swim in (at Jersey Shore High School) was Nov. 25.  In the interim the squads have had practice in the fitness center at the high school, with bike workouts, tabata workouts and other activities. The Lock Haven YMCA was still waiting for their pool heater and Lock Haven University early on has not been able to accommodate the Wildcats.  For this article, coach Bair said the teams were scheduled to go to Jersey Shore on Monday of this week and then should be able to utilize the Zimmerli Building pool at LHU starting Tuesday of this week.

The pool access/lack of practice time problems forced Central Mountain to withdraw from its first invitational that was to be held at Altoona this Saturday. Next on the schedule is the Blue Jay Invitational at Bloomsburg University on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Despite the pool challenges, coach Bair said he welcomes the new season opportunity: “We have a great group of student-athletes again this year.  They are eager to learn and willing to work hard no matter if we are swimming or doing dryland activities.  I am excited to see how far they will go this season!”