Swimming
Favorite athlete: Michael Phelps
Favorite team: Miami Heat
Favorite memory competing in sports: Setting a school record in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: One day during practice with my club team, my friend said she had to go to the bathroom in between sets, but instead she went to the vending machines and got an ice cream sandwich to eat in the locker room.
Music on iPod: Anything from Dave Matthews Band to Jay-Z to Avicii.
Future plans: Major in Business
Words to live by: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” John Wooden
One goal before turning 30: Travel across Europe
One thing people don’t know about me: I love to read
Ali McClure learned a lot about what it means to be part of a team from the very first team she was on.
Her family.
“My family really did prepare me,” the Wissahickon senior said. “Sports and being part of a team were a big part of growing up for me. We were all involved in a variety of sports, and we all supported each other.”
She followed in the footsteps of older brothers Michael and Alec.
“I started swimming in the summer because they did it,” she said. “I kept doing it because I really loved it.”
The McClures are a basketball family. Michael played for Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and Alec for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Father Mike is an assistant coach at his alma mater, Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and played at York College.
“Basketball is like the family business and I played basketball too, right up to eighth grade,” she said. “But swimming and basketball are in the same season, so eventually I had to make a choice and I chose swimming and my family completely supported my choice.
“I still really love basketball. We talk a lot about basketball at home and right now the tournament is going on and I’m watching as many games as I can, but I made the commitment to continue to swim and that was the right decision for me.”
Parents Mike and Connie are at every meet and even her brothers got to as many as they could. Ali has made her share of appearances at their college games.
“It was harder when Michael was in Boston because we didn’t get to as many games,” she said. “But I got to see Alec play a lot.
“It was a great experience to go to college games and it really motivated me to want to swim at the college level.”
She will do just that, having recently made a verbal commitment to swim at Vermont, where she plans to major in business.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful campus and I really connected with the coaches and the team.”
Wissahickon coach Laurie Hug will miss having McClure in her lineup.
“I started coaching the Wissahickon girls four years ago, so Ali was in the first freshman class that I coached for their whole high school careers,” she said. “She told me it would be weird to not have me on the deck next year when she swims in college.
“I think it will be even stranger for me to not have her in the pool. I will miss her and her upbeat, boisterous personality. She has matured into a terrific young woman and I wish her all the best in college.”
Former Central Bucks Swim Team teammate Andie Blaser (Central Bucks West) will be McClure’s teammate at Vermont.
“Andie gave me a lot of information about the program, and it’s so nice to go up there already knowing someone,” she said. “This is going to be my new family.”
Her family is already making plans to see her swim.
“Meets are on weekends and it’s not that much farther than Boston was so I think I’ll be seeing them a lot,” she said. “I’ve already been joking with them that they’ll have to invest in warm clothes.”
She sees the Wissahickon swim team as a family as well.
“It’s so sad that I’ll be leaving,” she said. “I’ve been swimming with some of those girls for so long. It was such an honor to serve as their captain.”
At the SOL American Conference championships, McClure was third in the 500 freestyle (5:26.30) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:00.63).
She also anchored the second place 200 medley relay for Amanda Zlotnikoff, Rachel Abrams and Lindsay Anderson (1:57.69) and was on the fifth place 400 freestyle relay along with Andersen, Dani Brouse and Zlotnikoff (1:57.69).
At the District One Class AAA meet, she finished 21st in the 100-yard butterfly with her time of 1:00.56. She was also 25th in the 500 freestyle (5:23.37).
“Ali made it to states in the 100 fly last year and had hoped to drop about a second to return this year,” Hug said. “Unfortunately, she ended up not qualifying this year.
“She showed great maturity and, after taking a little time to herself after her race at districts, she left the race behind her and didn’t sulk or show her disappointment.
“In this sport it is very easy to get wrapped up in your own events, and it can seem like the end of the world when you don’t reach your goals, so I thought it showed a great deal of character on her part to continue to appear upbeat and show honest support of her teammates and friends on other teams while she was disappointed in her own performance.
“After her final high school swim at districts in the 500 free, she came up to me and said, ‘Coach Hug, it has been a great run!’ rather than complain about her performance.
“When things are going well, it is easy to be upbeat and positive. In life things don’t always go as planned and based on what I witnessed with Ali at districts, I am confident she will be able to gracefully handle whatever life throws at her.
“She is a loyal teammate and even came up to states on the last day to cheer on her Wissahickon teammate Amanda Zlotnikoff and her Central Bucks Swim Team teammates Quinn MacMillan (Central Bucks West) and Ellie O’Brien (Central Bucks East) from other high school teams. It meant a lot to them that she made the effort to come up to surprise them.”
