Leah Kunkle is the hunted.
The Kiski Area junior is nearly 3 seconds ahead of the field as the top seed in the girls 200-yard individual medley at Saturday’s Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association swimming championships at Derry Area High School.
Kunkle, twice a WPIAL individual medalist last year, also is the No. 2 seed in the 100 breaststroke as she hopes to drop more time at the annual meet that serves as an unofficial kickoff to the run to the WPIAL championships at the end of next month.
“Leah just has that desire to win,” Kiski Area coach Ryan Berberch said. “That often is an uncoachable trait. As a coach, you can influence it, but it comes from within and she came into the season with a lot of big goals for herself and also for her team.
“She already has multiple (WPIAL) cuts, so she has options. She got them early on, so that takes the pressure off of her or anybody who is trying to establish themselves in that way.”
Kiski Area, in the second year of its swimming co-op with Burrell, will join swimmers from Valley as well as Southmoreland, Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe, Hempfield, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Franklin Regional, Derry, Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon, Greensburg Salem and the Kiski School in event heats starting at 10 a.m.
Valley will be represented at the WCCA meet for the first time since 2021.
Medals will be awarded up to sixth place, and Kiski Area swimmers reached the podium numerous times last year as the girls finished fifth in the team standings and the boys took fourth.
“We love the county meet because it is a nice opportunity for the teams to see where they are and see how their training is going as they work towards personal bests,” Berberich said.
“It is a good measuring stick. It is such a fast meet with some of the best swimmers who will stand out at WPIALs in a few weeks. A lot of these kids know each other from year-round swimming. It’s just fun to bring the kids down there to face some really great talent and work to get a PR or two.”
Joey Roos, a junior from Burrell, is the third seed in the boys 500 free (5:07.21) behind Valley senior Damien Mauro (second, 5:05.58) and Franklin Regional junior Thomas Westerman (first, 4:40.19).
He’s also the fourth seed in the 200 free (1:53.99).
“Joey is such a talented swimmer, and he’s taken that next step this year,” Berberich said. “He is a hard worker who is dedicated to getting better. He knows when to bear down and put in the work but also knows when to have a little bit of fun, and that helps keep the pool deck atmosphere relaxed.”
Also entering the WCCA meet with top-four seeds for Kiski Area are junior Connor Erwin (third, 200 IM, 2:05.83) and the girls 400 free relay (third, 3:52.75).
Records are expected to be broken again Saturday. Last year, three individual records were set along with two relay marks.
Valley first-year coach Mikayla Flory said Mauro is ready to make an impact in the distance freestyle Saturday.
“Coming into the season, we expected Damien to just take off, and he has,” Flory said. “He got a number of WPIAL cuts right away. He really set the tone for the season. He is really looking for more time drops, especially this weekend.
“The majority of our team is brand new, and them just seeing what he can accomplish and how fast he can go, it is really inspiring for a lot of our newer and younger swimmers.”
Mauro, a fourth-year swimmer for Valley, broke the school record in the 500 free Dec. 4 against Freeport. His time of 5:05.58 is the sixth-fastest time in WPIAL Class 2A this season.
“I had been chasing that record since my sophomore year,” Mauro said. “Last year, at a YMCA meet after WPIALs, I swam a time that was under the record, and it got me pretty excited.”
Mauro went a 5:01 split in his 1,000 at the Pitt Christmas meet, so he knows that a sub-5:00 time is there for the taking, possibly at WPIALs as he works to get on the podium.
He also owns WPIAL qualifying cuts in the 200 free, 200 IM, 100 back and 100 breast.
Mauro, who also swims for the Sampson YMCA’s club team in Plum, was 16th in the 200 free and 18th in the 500 free at WPIALs last year.
Saturday, he said, will be a good test.
“I am looking forward to some fast racing,” Mauro said. “I am seeded next to some fast people, so it’s always nice to be next to them and get that competitive push.”
In addition to his No. 2 seed in the 500, Mauro is seeded eighth in the 200 free (1:56.97).
Mauro will lead a contingent of eight other Valley swimmers to the WCCA meet. He will be a part of the boys 200 medley and 400 free relays.
“We are looking forward to time drops, and potentially adding more WPIAL qualifiers to the list,” Flory said. “We might not be up there in terms of time and seeds in a lot of cases, but I just want all of them to go into their races Saturday with excitement and energy and to just be proud of themselves for how they compete.”