1988 Spencerport alum and 20-year Harley School Athletic Director Peter Mancuso is among a slate of inductees scheduled for induction into the Section V Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame this summer.
Mancuso balanced coaching varsity sports (swimming and baseball) and teaching physical education classes with the responsibilities of Athletic Director at The Harley School and served on the Section V executive council as the chair of Finger Lakes Golf and Baseball and as Section V’s Class D swimming and diving chair.
He was named Boys Class D Coach of the Year six times, Boys Genesee Region Coach of the Year five times and Girls Genesee Region Coach of the Year three times, leading the boys to a 213-86-7 record and the girls to a 173-54 count.
The Class D Swimming & Diving Chairman led his squads to seven Girls Intersectional Championships, 16 Girls Genesee Region Division titles, nine Girls Genesee Region League Meet Champions, five Class D Boys Section V championships, 11 Boys Genesee Region Division title winners and 12 Boys Genesee Region League Meet Champions.
He also coached seven New York State Meet qualifiers.
“My interest in coaching started when I was young and I would help (former elementary school Physical Education teacher at Munn School and early mentor) Scott Johnson construct lineups and gather times on who we would swim against – both for the girls and boys teams (I was the girls swim team manager my sophomore and senior years),” Mancuso said. “I loved the tactical aspect of putting a lineup together to maximize points and your swimmers’ abilities. This has shaped my coaching plans, as I always try and have my swimmers be as versatile as they can and develop abilities in all four strokes.
“I’d scout meets to gather times and work with both Johnson and (fellow Hall of Famer and another mentor Steve) Dzina to give them some help with the lineup. I appreciated their willingness to allow me to be involved back then and do so even more now. Because of that, I’ve always been willing to allow my team to suggest and help with lineups if they were interested.”
Mancuso was on varsity swimming for the Rangers for four seasons and a captain as a senior while competing in high school. He earned the Duane Tucker Award at the annual Athletics banquet for being the Outstanding Academic Athlete and the Monroe County Executive’s Community award – given by Thomas Frey to a student who has volunteered their time to help others – both in his senior year.
“I was very proud of the success my teams had at Harley Allendale Columbia (HAC) and also the efforts that were made to upgrade the pool and its ability to host a meet. The pool underwent a major renovation while I was there and we also began the process of getting into the electronic timing age with scoreboards, touch pads, etc.
“I incorporated many things from my Spencerport years into my coaching, including chalk talks for big meets and the HAC Invitational (modeled after the Spencerport Christmas/Holiday Relays), which turned into one of the best small school Invitationals around.”
The induction ceremony will take place Friday, August 22, at Ridgemont Country Club in Greece.
