ORWIGSBURG - Their pairing was a shot-in-the-dark, let's-see-what-happens kind of thing.
A football player turned swimmer matched with two talented freshmen and a two-time state qualifier.
Blue Mountain's 200 medley relay team never swam together in a competitive meet until they stunned the field to capture gold at the District 11 Class AA Swimming Championships.
Friday, they'll attempt to continue their Cinderella story at the PIAA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium.
The Blue Mountain quartet of freshman Mark Boran, junior Nathanael Marino, freshman Stephen Johnson and junior Joey McLaughlin will be among nine Schuylkill League swimmers that will compete in the two-day Class AA competition that kicks off Friday morning.
They'll be joined by Tamaqua's Joann Butkus (50 free, 100 breaststroke) and Rebecca Kanaskie (200 IM), Schuylkill Haven's Allison Adams (50 free) and Millersburg's Cole Davis (200 IM, 500 free) and Ian Lloyd (100 fly, 100 back).
Marino (50 free, 100 breast) and Boran (100 back) will also compete in individual events, making it a busy two days for the Eagles.
The Class AA portion of the four-day state championships begins Friday with competition in the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay.
Boys' preliminaries are set for 8 a.m., with the girls' prelims at 10:30 a.m. Individuals and relay teams that place in the top 16 during the preliminaries return in the evening for the consolation finals and championship finals. The boys' evening session begins at 5:15 p.m., with the girls' events starting at 7:30 p.m.
Action continues Saturday with competition in the 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay, following the same time schedule.
Seeded 16th, the Eagles could be one of the first teams in the pool Friday. How they got to Bucknell is an interesting story.
McLaughlin, the football player, suffered severe tendonitis in his right shoulder during football, then re-aggravated it during the Eagles' loss Dec. 19 to Schuylkill Valley. He missed more than a month, returning to action Jan. 22 against Pottsville.
A freestyle swimmer, McLaughlin teamed with Johnson, Boran and Marino to win the 200 freestyle relay at the Schuylkill League Swimming Championships. The Eagles also won the 200 medley relay at leagues.
Boran (backstroke) and Marino (breaststroke) have been mainstays on the medley relay team the entire season, with Johnson swimming freestyle. When the fourth member of the relay was dismissed from the team due to disciplinary reasons, Johnson was shuffled to breaststroke and McLaughlin inserted at freestyle for districts.
The result? A blistering 1:43.65 that earned the Eagles district gold and a trip to states. The same foursome then earned an at-large bid in the 200 freestyle relay by finishing third in 1:32.39. The Eagles are seeded 19th in that event at states, with fellow District 11 teams Salisbury and Southern Lehigh seeded first and third.
"Things started out kind of slow," McLaughlin said. "But it all came together in the end.
"We thought we had a good chance to make states in the 200 free relay. When we won the medley relay, we were shocked."
Marino will be competing at states for the third straight season, having finished 26th in the 100 breaststroke in 2012 and placing 13th in the same event a year ago. He's seeded seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.83) and 15th in the 50 freestyle (22.26).
He's shared his experiences at states over the past two weeks, helping them prepare for the big-time atmosphere.
"I've been telling them all the fun things, all the things they need to prepare for, and everything they need to be ready to do as soon as we get there," Marino said. "I've been trying to explain everything that I can to them. I have been there two times, no one else here has. So, I've been trying to teach them all that I can."
Boran has also been at states before ⦠as a fan. His older brother Tommy was a three-time state qualifier, placing 14th in the 200 IM as a senior in 2011.
Marino and Boran also competed in the Bucknell Invitational on Dec. 21, with Boran swimming the IM and backstroke and Marino competing in the backstroke (13th) and breaststroke.
"The swimmers are really fast up there," Boran said. "I was told that in the morning prelims I need to have my best time. You have to go all out and do it."
The Blue Mountain quartet is the first Schuylkill League boys' medley relay team to qualify for states since 2005, when Scott Thomas, Eric Stencovage, Dave Keck and Ben Meck earned one of the final at-large berths, reached the consolation finals and placed 12th in 1:43.83.
They are the first Schuylkill League school to send two boys' relays to states in the same year - Blue Mountain (2005-07) and Panther Valley (2005-09) each sent two girls' relays to states multiple times - while the 200 freestyle relay squad is the third area foursome to make it in that event in the past three years.
The Schuylkill Haven quartet of Austin Bayliff, Dylan Slotterback, Andrew Chesaskis and Sean Spotts and the Shamokin squad of Kyle Koontz, Dylan Bowers, Scott Bradley and Mike Rodarmel both qualified in 2012, with the Indians placing 13th in 1:31.96. The Hurricanes were disqualified.
"It's phenomenal in the first place that our medley team won at districts. We didn't expect that," said Marino, who will swim in three events Friday. "We expected to get in with our free relay, and we got bid in, so that was awesome.
"Two relays ... didn't expect it. But I know we'll be able to do it."
The highest a Schuylkill League boys' relay team has placed at states is 10th, done twice by Pottsville in 1989 (Seth Diamond, Eddie Padinskie, Sean Gallagher, Bill Gudelunas) and 1999 (Chris Grabowski, Luke Bulino, Dave Pillus, Mark Depauli), both in Class AAA.
The Eagles' goal in both relays is to place in the top 16 in the prelims and return for the night session.
"We're going to need to get to sleep and get a full night of sleep. There will be no screwing around. All business," Marino said. "It's going to be really early, and we have to prepare for it. I think we can do it."