MHS newcomers help at Somerset meet
By: Justin Feil
In their first year of swimming for Montgomery High School, Meghan and Mike Leddy have made a much-anticipated impact.
Meghan won the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke at the Somerset County Championships to help the Cougar girls finish third behind winner Mount St. Mary and runner-up Pingry on Saturday.
"It was a lot of fun," said the junior. "There was a lot of energy in the pool. There were a lot of people cheering. Everybody was behind each other and cheering each other. It was a lot of fun."
Mike finished seventh in the 500 freestyle, just behind teammate Alex Fagard, and was the top MHS finisher, 11th overall, in the breaststroke as the Cougar boys were fourth in the SCC on Friday. Bridgewater-Raritan won the boys’ meet, Hillsborough was second and Pingry was third while MHS was within 20 points of the latter two.
"It was really loud," agreed Mike, a freshman. "There were a lot of teams and lots of cheers. When anyone got on the block, it was a lot of fun. You don’t want to let your team down. You want to try really, really hard."
The Cougars will be looking for their best again when they host the Skyland Conference Championships on Wednesday.
"Definitely having our home pool is an advantage," Mike said. "I think we’ll do good. Pingry will not be there. They’re one of the teams that beat us. We’ll do good."
The Leddy siblings have been happy to add their efforts to the Cougars teams. It is the first year for both, who swim for Eastern Express, with the high school team.
"I knew it would be a nice bonding experience," Meghan said. "A bunch of my friends were doing the team too. It’s nice to hang out with them after school at swim practice.
"In previous years, my schedule never worked out well. Freshman year, they didn’t have their own pool so we worked out at the same time and I couldn’t do it. Sophomore year, all the big U.S.S. meets were the same as the high school meets. This year I was able to come and be a part of the team. If I was going to do it, I wanted to be a part of the team and be part of the team effort."
Meghan is the sort of impact swimmer that the Cougars had been hoping would join their team. She missed several days this season to swim for the United States National Junior Team at the Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii and has been a fixture on the national swimming scene.
"She still surprises me," said MHS girls’ coach Claire Scarpa. "She’s been everything you expect and then some."
Scarpa has kept Leddy primarily in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly, though she did the backstroke at counties. Leddy’s versatility makes her even more valuable to the Cougars. She already has the school record in the 200 IM, 100 fly, 100 back and 500 free. She has also swam the fastest 100 free, but it came off a relay leg, not a flat start.
"Times aren’t my main focus," Leddy said. "I wanted the team experience. I wanted friends on the team and to help them as much as I could. It was more about the effort than the times I’m putting up there."
She is also on the girls’ record-holding 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Leddy is happy to swim wherever the Cougars need the help.
"Her best event is the 200 back, but we don’t have that in high school," Scarpa said. "I need her more in fly. That’s why I’ve been using her in fly. I can throw Kara Dubiel or Jill Prentice in the backstroke. They’re solid enough. I don’t have anyone who can swim fly fast enough. I can put her anything and she’ll win except maybe the breaststroke."
That talent level is something that makes it a little tougher to be her brother. Mike has gotten used to a popular question he gets.
"People always walk up to me and ask, are you Meghan Leddy’s brother?" he said. "I want to be able to beat her. She’s still really fast though. I look up to her."
Mike has made a solid name for himself as well. Though just a freshman, he has helped strengthen the Cougar boys in the 500 and 100 breast, and the breast leg of the medley relay, in his first season of high school swimming.
"He’s our fastest breaststroker," said MHS boys’ coach Noelle Kellner. "It’s nice having him come in after losing Doug Pung last year. We had that spot to fill and he’s done a good job.
"He’s one kid that works really hard, and always with a smile on his face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without a smile on his face. He’s a good kid."
Both Leddy siblings are assets to their teams. Both have been thrilled to see how well their teams have done. The MHS boys are 8-1 after a narrow in over rival Hillsborough, while the girls are 8-2. Both are looking to build on their county performances as they prepare for the state tournament meets.
For the boys, Drew Talarick was second in the 100 back and third in the 200 free, Kyle Jennings was second in the 100 fly and sixth in the 200 free, Jeff Stirling was third in the 100 fly and fourth in the 50 free, Brian Stirling was fifth in the 100 free and sixth in the 50 free and Nick Warner was sixth in the 100 back. They were third in the 400 free relay and fourth in the 200 free relay.
"We were very pleased with our finish," Kellner said. "We knew it would be a tough meet. I was overall pleased with their swims. I know we’re really excited about conferences now."
On the girls’ side, Laura Noisten was third in the 100 breast, Erica Hydrusko was third in the 100 free and fifth in the 50 free and Jillian Prentice was sixth in the 500 free. The Cougars were second in the 400 free relay, and fourth in the 200 and medley relays.
"They did well," Scarpa said. "Pingry snuck up on us in the second-to-last event. We had some good swims. What’s most encouraging is our depth. We went 4-5-6 in the 200 free and 6-7-8 in the 500 free. We’re definitely solid. The fact that everyone is so young, that we had a lot of underclassmen do well, is encouraging."
The Leddy siblings are looking forward to finishing out their first season of high school swimming in fine fashion. Beyond Wednesday’s conference meet, they are hoping to help their teams advance far into the state tournament.
"We’ll do really well this year," Mike said of the boys. "We have a lot of depth this year. All our swimmers are really good. I knew we had a lot of freshmen coming in. And I knew we had Drew and the Stirlings. I knew we’d do well."
Added Meghan: "The dual meet aspect of it, it’s so different from club swimming. You really don’t experience it coming down to a last relay of a really close meet. The thrill of being in that, it’s so different. It’s amazing."
And having Meghan Leddy to anchor that final relay is quite an edge for the Cougar girls. She is just happy to be part of the team for the first time, and with her brother also being a part of the MHS swim program for the first time, it’s worked out well.
"My mom likes it," Meghan said. "She can drive us to the same places. It’s been fun having my little brother around.
"We’re both experiencing it together. Typically me being the junior, I should know about it. It’s both our first times. We’re having a blast."