Keys for Success:

Girls: “We have a really strong team right now,” girls team captain senior Maggie Kroeger said. “We have a lot of girls who have experience at the state meet and they are passionate about what they are doing and they want to win. And we just have to work together.”

Boys: “We have to work hard firstly,” boys captain senior Cameron Port said. “We have to show up to practice [and] get it done. We need to keep a positive attitude and remain disciplined.”

Goals for the Season:

“I always want to win,” said assistant swim coach Nick Joslin. “Realistically that isn’t always possible, but definitely want to do well at the state meet is our ultimate goal.”

Important Meets: 

Girls: “We have our rivals [both the boys and girls] Millard West and then the Prep/Marian meet,” Kroeger said. “Those will be good ones.”

Boys: “State,” Port said. “That’s kind of what the whole season leads up to.”

What to Expect at State:

Girls: “On the girl’s side we have some very fast people,” Joslin said. “Our senior class has been pretty fast throughout all their four years. And we have some very fast underclassmen as well. We will certainly have some state champions, if not a team championship.”

“We aren’t putting the pressure on to win,” Kroger said. “We did that last year so I don’t want to say we are expecting a win. But we have really strong swimmers and we should do very well.”

Boys: “On the guys, we don’t have quite as much natural talent as we do on the girl’s side,” Joslin said. “We will have guys that will do well at the state level.”

“We want to win state,” Port said. “That’s kind of the goal. We also want to beat all of our best times.”

Challenges:

“Especially during the winter while doing two-a-days, exhaustion is going to hit the kids at some point,” Joslin said. “They need to push through that tiredness and stay focused on keep their end goals.”

Changes from Last Year: 

“From a training stand point,” Joslin said. “[Head swim coach Doug] Krecklow added more sprint oriented sets into the season than he has ever done. Lifting and other strength exercises will be the same.”

Girls: “We have to keep our moral up and our motivation up,” Kroeger said. “Last year we put too much pressure on ourselves at state. This year we want to keep it more positive, less pressure and more excitement. We want to have more fun with it.”