David Becki is one such product. After a successful scholastic career, he trained 10 years as an assistant to Bill Kennedy before taking the head coaching position at Peters Township.

Plus, his sisters, Leslie and Leah, also swam for Kennedy's Lady Hawks, winners of 20 WPIAL titles, the most recent in 2008.

"Swimming against Bethel is like coming home," said Becki. "Everybody who has ever swum here, they have been part of one big family and part of a tradition. So to come back there is a lot of tension, tight competition and high intensity."

There certainly was drama in the dual that unfolded between the Indians and the Hawks last weekend. Becki's boys defeated BP, 95-70, but the BP girls used depth and a strong second-half showing to slip past the Lady Indians, 95-91.

"Bill Kennedy did an absolutely fantastic job. He's one of the best coaches in Western Pennsylvania. Plus, their boys are building a nice program, too.

"We are happy they have us on their radar. Bethel Park is one of the premier teams in Western Pennsylvania."

So far this season, only one team trumps the Black Hawks--North Allegheny. The Tigers have the top girls' as well as boys' teams in the WPIAL. In fact, the Lady Tigers snapped the Lady Hawks' winning streak in dual-meet competition back on Jan. 5. The fact that the 101-79 defeat drew headlines is a testament to BP's long-standing tradition of excellence. In addition to 20 girls' team titles, the boys have collected 28 district trophies. Each squad, too, has won its share of state championships.

"Honestly," said Kennedy of the attention the loss to NA drew, "we expected it. That's a given. But once it was over, I told the girls 'just start a new steak.'"

With the win over PT, the Lady Hawks are streaking towards another section title. They have key duals meets at Mt. Lebanon on Feb. 4 and at home with Upper St. Clair on Feb. 11 to close out the competition.

But the win over the Lady Indians left Kennedy in a state of ecstasy.

"This was a huge, huge win for us. I'm excited," Kennedy said enthusiastically. "We had some absolutely great swims for this time of the year. As far as the section goes, this was huge. Big," he emphasized. "This helps us continue to build confidence."

Though the Black Hawks, as ever other team in the district, is a long way from equaling North Allegheny, they expect to make a run in the WPIAL championships set for March 4-5 at the University of Pittsburgh.

"NA is a foregone conclusion," Kennedy said. "Five teams though are in contention to get that runner-up trophy.

Although he knows he has a strong squad, Becki puts the onus of second place on the Lady Hawks.

"NA is the best team. BP is the second best," he said. "BP was the best dual meet we have swum all year. The hardest we have swum," he stressed. "(My swimmers) are fantastic. We're hoping for a top five finish."

PT expects a top five finish in both the girls' and the boys' competition. Currently they are prepping for a showdown with Mt. Lebanon. The meet on Feb. 11 at Peters Township should determine the boys' section champion.

"The boys meet with Lebo will be great. That's a great program. The NA boys are great and the Lebo boys are right up there," said Becki.

Individually, both PT and BP have swimmers at the top or right up there in the rankings.

In the meet against BP, Becki was particularly pleased with Ashley Sherwin, who won the 500-yard freestyle, placed in the 200 free and swam two legs on relays. A senior, Sherwin has a top-eight time in the WPIAL for the 100 free.

"We are really excited about Ashley," said Becki. "After the 100 free, we made a call to put her in the 500 free. She's a great competitor. With her win, we were able to push the meet further than we even thought it would go."

The Lady Indians are also keen on Lauren Cassano, Gavi Krohner, Madie Caso and Leah McCloskey not to mention Emily Collins, Kelly Ponchione and Sarah Howard.

Caso and Krohner have submitted top times in the district for the 200 free and 100 butterfly respectively while McCloskey is a top breaststroker. Howard anchors the relays. Collins is another standout freestyler and Ponchione excels in the individual medley.

"We had some really great swims against Bethel Park," Becki said. "Cassano and Krohner are both excellent. McCloskey does a nice job and after what I saw of the medley relay, we will be faster. Our 400 free is just as fast and the 200 free should be fun, too. We just didn't showcase them all."

For BP, Leslee Keibler showcased her skills in the 200 free. She owns the top time in the WPIAL for the event with a 1:57.86. She is ranked eighth in the 100 free.

Emily Eiben stepped it up in the backstroke against PT while Casey Stasenko and Tessa Salicce stand out in the breaststroke. Eiben owns the fourth-best time in the district for both the backstroke and the individual medley. Stasenko and Salicce follow McCloskey in the breast in sixth and eighth position.

Sara Lewandowski is one of the top sprinters in the district, ranking sixth and fourth in the 50 and 100 free while Carianna Doyle and Sarah Aronson are BP's top flyers.

"We had some nice first places against Peters. Leslee was great and for Eiben and Stasenko to win the backstroke and the breaststroke and finish with a strong relay was awesome.

"Plus, all the girls who moved up places kept us in the meet. Our girls really stepped up and all those fourth-places were huge. Four-point flips," Kennedy added. "That's a testament to our depth."

In any given meet, BP has as many as 27 girls who can compete.

Among the other seniors are: Erica Brado, Margo and Melissa Drischler and Alyssa Hoffman. The juniors include: Mary Jo Bailey, Stacy Cadman, Samantha Lynn, Taylor Mutschler, Meghan Wuycheck and Shannon Zimmerman.

While Alysen Garland, Kellie Hirsh and Mallory Mutschler are sophomores, Aubrey Hoffman, Rachel LeViseur, Lily Mellott, Lauren Nath, Alexandria Quigley, Ashley Sams and Mallory Vincler are the fresh faces on the club.

"I'm excited for them all," said Kennedy. "We are all getting faster. Our girls push each other every day, every night. For example, our relays are not decided. We're still finding swimmers. These girls are all fighting for those spots on relays and possible trips to states."

States is a spot where Andrew Rich has swum for the Indians. He's one of the leaders for Peters Township, which ran its record to 5-1 overall with the win over Bethel Park. The senior owns one of the top times in the 100 butterfly. He's also a strong competitor in the 200 IM.

Junior captain Jake Pletz currently has a top time in the 500 free while his younger brother, Dan, a freshman, is a top middle-distance freestyler for the Indians.

John Flaherty excels in the backstroke while Jason Grimm sports one of the faster times in the 50 free. Ryan Higgins has a top-10 WPIAL time in the 100 free.

Meanwhile, Bethel Park boasts four breastrokers among the WPIAL's best. Among them are Sam Harkness, David Thieshen, Sean Hensler and Thomas Bailey. Thieshen challenges for a top four spot in the IM. He also has a top-5 time in the 100 fly and a top-20 time in the 50 free.

Erik Brinkhoff dominates the 100 backstroke ad freestyle for the Hawks with top-3 WPIAL times of 56.32 and 49.89 respectively. Zach Misak is No. 7 in the back.

Meanwhile, John Nappi and Sho Sugimoto provide a 1-2 punch for Mt. Lebanon.

Nappi ranks No. 1 in the WPIAL in the 200 IM (1:54.67) and No. 2 in the 500 free (4:40.96).

Sugimoto tops the charts in the 100 free (47.28). He is No. 3 in the 50 free (22.45).

Among Lebo's other top swimmers are: Sam Wilshire, No. 3 in the fly and No. 2 in the back; Bobby McFarland, No. 5 in the 100 free; Leo Hubbard, No. 5 in the 200 free and No. 7 in the 500 free.