Stellar swim career lands Staruch in HOF
This is the last in a series of articles profiling the 2023 inductees into the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame
LAKE ORION, Mich. — Timing is everything.
When Peter Staruch entered the swimming world as a 4-year-old in Butler, he was guided by legendary YMCA coaches John “Pump” McLaughlin and Jack Shilling.
“True icons as coaches,” Staruch said. “Their influence on me was immediate. They made swimming fun. I got into it right away.
“I remember being named MVP of our 9-10-year-old Cadet team. I think that’s when I realized I could be pretty good at this.”
A 1986 Golden Tornado graduate, Staruch went on to become one of the most decorated swimmers in Butler High School history. He went on to a solid career at Texas A&M as well.
Now he’s going into the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame. Staruch will join Butler track and field coach John Williams and girls basketball standout Kim Nowakowski Tarovisky at a 6 p.m. induction ceremony Dec. 22 in the high school cafeteria.
The trio will also be honored at halftime of the Slippery Rock-Butler boys basketball game that night.
“It feels good to be going in there,” Staruch said. “It’s been three years since I’ve been back in Butler. I’m looking forward to seeing what the school looks like now.
“Eric Namesnik, David Pichler, Nunzio Esposto ... I knew all of those guys through swimming there. They’re in the Hall of Fame and I’m honored to be joining them.”
During his high school career, Staruch swam the 200-yard medley relay with Namesnik, an eventual U.S. Olympic swimmer who was killed in a car accident a number of years ago.
Staruch, Namesnik, Kevin Pawlowicz and Chris Heinmann set a school record in that relay.
Staruch swam for three head coaches — Pat Madden, Larry Meinen and Gary Mato — at Butler. He was a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist in 1986. He won the PIAA championship in the 100-yard backstroke that year as well.
At the time of his graduation, Staruch held school records in the 100 backstroke and butterfly, along with taking part on the record-setting relay.
“We had some great swimmers on those teams,” Staruch recalled.
He was also a 10-time top 10 National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) performer in Pennsylvania during his prep career. Staruch reached that level in the backstroke, butterfly and with the 200 medley relay.
“I was very proud of those top 10 honors. They weren’t easy to get,” Staruch said.
He originally went to USC to continue his academic and swim career, but wound up transferring to Texas A&M. Staruch was selected to the U.S. Olympic Festival team in 1986 and reached the NCAA Swimming Championships as a member of the Aggies.
He graduated with a degree in industrial engineering.
“The coach at Texas A&M, Mel Nash, graduated from Gateway High School,” Staruch said. “He always keeps tabs on Western Pa. swimming and he knew about me.
“Los Angeles just wasn’t the city for me. I needed a smaller town and Texas A&M was a good fit that way.”
Staruch and his wife, Bridget, have three children. Sam is a wide receiver at the University of Michigan, Lauren is a volleyball player there. Claudia is a Math major in the Honors College at Wayne State.
“I’m very proud of all my kids,” Staruch said. “And I’m looking forward to coming back to Butler. My mother passed away in 2021 and I haven’t been back since.
“That’s going to be a special night.”
