Returnees: Boys: Senior — Chip Samuelson. Junior — Jeff Ross. Sophomore — Chip Setterfield. Girls: Seniors — Katelin Beals, Allison Brougher, Maggie Carney, Madison Kavanaugh, Felicia Lizza, Allison Lohnes, Grace Osborn, Stella Petroff, Hanna Scott, Morgan Stage. Juniors — Audrey Bonn, Addie Cain, Katherine Heck, Veronica Monnin, Amelia Samuelson, Ashlyn Zerangue. Sophmores — Allie Hoendorf, Christina Lohnes, Maddie Young.
Newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Matt Pettit, Ian Collins. Girls: Freshmen — Sarah Cain, Regan Engel, Maddie Gaier, Stephanie Lohnes, Alexis Vaske, Maggie Yontz.
FYI: Ross was 10th in the 100 fly at state last year. Samuelson was 11th in the 100 free. Lohnes was 10th in the 100 back (58.64). Ross and Samuelson also swam on stat-qualifying relay teams.
Coach’s comment: “I have been blessed with an extremely talented and driven swim team. Most of our swimmers have been or currently are members of the nationally recognized SPY swim program at the Springfield YMCA. I cannot overemphasize how vital this training has been in the development of our swimmers. The tremendous effort and attitude our team brings to the pool every day speaks to the leadership and unity within our squad. This is a special group of swimmers, and I have no doubts about the individual and team success that this season holds for them.”
Greenon
Coach: Carl Eckell, 21st season (boys) and 20th (girls); Kim Dillon, fifth season (boys and girls)
Returnees: Boys: Senior — Kyle Miller. Sophomores — Will Irvin, Nick Vieu, Shane Witt. Girls: Seniors — Lizz Scott, Meaghan Graver, Emmie Wenzell. Juniors — Stephanie Loyd, Danielle Mathews. Sophomores — Danielle Baker, Lydia Dean, Megan Ianni, Sara Nolan.
Newcomers: Boys: Senior — Brandon McNeil. Sophomores — Taylor Bennington, Joseph Lazarte. Freshman — Andy Caldwell. Girls: Sophomore — Johnny Gibson. Freshmen — Rachel Boggs, Elizabeth Clinch.
Coach’s comment: “We are building on the team and individual successes of last season under the leadership of our captains, Lizz Scott and Stephanie Loyd.”
Kenton Ridge
Coach: Heather Shaffer, seventh season.
Returnees: Boys: Seniors — Dylan Atkins (swam freshmen year only), John Littell. Junior — Tyler Byers. Sophomores — Joey Brown, Gabe Rastatter, Jacob Snyder. Girls: Seniors — Abby Funk, Kylie Meyer, McKenzie O’Neal. Junior — Marisa Zink. Sophomores — Chloe King, Jenna Smith.
Newcomers: Senior — Jacob Glass. Junior — Robbie Ashbaugh. Sophomores — Jordan Brown, Zach Ferguson, Marcus Lykins. Freshmen — David Davis, Dakota Lewis-Griggs. Girls: Junior — Alyssa Burchett. Freshmen — Abby Baucant, Hannah Blair, Julia Littell, Baylee Mayhugh, Arielle Stickford, Alexis Yirak-Cosby, Olivia Zink.
FYI: District qualifiers from last year include Littell (200 free, 100 breast), Rastatter (200 free, 100 free), Snyder (500 free) and the girls 200 medley relay. Littell also made a state appearance in the 100 breast.
Coach’s comment on boys: “We lost some great talent to graduation, but we still have many of our district qualifiers from last year. With all of the newcomers, there will be some competition for the fourth relay spot. I am expecting John, Gabe and Jacob to improve on their performances from last year and be a source of motivation for the others.”
Coach’s comment on girls: “We have great senior leadership and strong talent from the top to the bottom. I am excited to get the freshmen more developed as competitive swimmers and to see what we can do with their potential. I have no doubts that we will be a stronger team than last year. Hopefully, we will make more progress at the sectional and district meets.”
Northwestern
Coach: Kate Johnson, first season.
Returnees: Girls: Ashton Buckley, Kristy Bradford, Allyssa Stickry, Ashton Gerard, Ally Ulery. Boys: Nick Hurst, Ken Snyder, Chad Burks, Mason Stalder, Cameron Riley.
Newcomers: Girls: Juliane Golonka, Caroline Boisseau, Tyler Buckley, Taylor Dennis. Boys: Jeremy Singler.
FYI: Johnson was hired as swimming coach this week.
Coach’s comment: “It has been a late start. We have just put together a team. We are looking forward to building our team and our talent this season.”
Shawnee
Coach: Jason Hill, sixth season.
Returnees: Boys: Seniors — Jacob Dockter, Danny Valley, Graham Welsh. Juniors — Joey Mullen, Spencer Rowland, Adam Wagner. Sophomore — Bryce Frederick. Girls: Senior — Kacie Miller. Juniors — Kendra Crew, Nicole Deam, Samantha Wilt. Sophomore — Abigail Baldridge.
Newcomers: Boys: Junior — Dylan Naufahu. Freshmen — Justin Crew, Brennan Miller. Girls: Junior — Devyn Cooper. Freshmen: Katie Wagner, Emma Warax, Lauren Kampman.
FYI: Crew placed fifth in the state in the 200 breaststroke and seventh in the 200 IM last season. She was also a district champion in the 200 IM and runner-up in the 100 breast. ... The girls and boys teams both placed second at the Central Buckeye Conference meet last season behind Tippecanoe. ... Mullen (200 free, 100 fly), Kacie Miller (200 free, 500 free) and Dockter (200 free, 500 free) were also district qualifiers. ... The boys and girls team each sent three relay teams to the district meet.
Coach’s comment on girls: “We have some holes to fill on some of our relays this year, and it’s not completely clear who the top four are going to be for each relay. Fortunately, we have a dedicated group of first- and second-year swimmers who are determined to step up to the challenge. They’re working extremely hard and showing considerable improvement each day. Most importantly, they’re learning about teamwork and being totally committed to their teammates. This will make us all stronger going forward.”
Coach’s comment on boys: “We graduated an outstanding group of seniors last year and will greatly miss their contributions. Fortunately, their leadership and integrity was absorbed by many of the returning lettermen, and they are doing a great job carrying on the tradition of excellence that’s been established over the last several years. The attitude is always positive, even during the most challenging practice sets, and the guys continually encourage and motivate each other. With the hard work and determination I’ve seen so far, there’s no limit to the level of success we can achieve this season.”
Springfield
Coaches: Ryan Scholl, second season (boys); Stephanie Scholl, second season (girls).
Returnees: Boys: Juniors — Sam Thompson, Tyler Thornsbury, Tre Woods. Sophomores — Grady Bader, Trevor Keriazes, Taylor Lapp.
Newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Grant Osborn, Kyle Pressler. Girls: Freshmen — Chelsie Davis, Sarah Elliot, Evy Kearns, Mackenzie Latham, Taylor Titus.
FYI: Keriazes advanced to the district meet last season.
Coach’s comment (Stephanie Scholl): “We have a young team with a lot of enthusiasm, and we’re working very hard.”
Tecumseh
Coach: Sheli Randall, fourth season.
Returnees: Girls: Juniors — Alexa Adams, Emily Green, Morgan Mumma, Katy Moore. Sophomore — Kassidy Randall. Boys: Juniors — Chris Ward, Connor Measel, Ryan Kelley, Matt Ross.
Newcomers: Girls: Senior — Leona McDaniel. Junior — Jamelia Kimaiyo. Sophomore — Courtney Speakman. Boys: Seniors — Eric Allen, Jeremy Herdman, Andrew Thomas.
Coach’s comment on girls: “Many of the girls have trained hard in the offseason and are well-prepared this year. They are a strong and competitive team. We hope to make a run for some individual events in the CBC and maybe even the title. Our only downfall will be our lack of numbers and the fact that we will be unable to have an A and B relay in all the relay events.”
Coach’s comment on boys: “Many of our boys are using swimming to cross train for other sports this year. Ironically, they have discovered they are good swimmers. I look for the boys to do well this year and surprise some teams.”
Urbana
Coach: Kendell Burcham, sixth season.
Returnees: Boys: Senior — Andrew Angles. Juniors — Cody Saylor, Brian Walker, Wayne Wildman. Sophomore — Brandon White. Girls: Seniors — Rachel Routzong, Megan Routzong, Kaitlyn Lebo, Jillian Weithman, Kelli Weinert. Junior — Chelsee Baker. Sophomores — Savanna Burcham, Tessa Mcmanamay.
Newcomers: Boys: Eli deNijs, Michael Haffner, Stephen Mathews. Girls: Bree Barrett, Deanna Blumenshein, Sara Clarke, Emmy Runyan, Taylor Smith, Brittany Travis.
FYI: Routzong, Savanna Burcham, McManamay and Lebo swam with the team’s 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams that qualified for the district meet last season.
Coach’s comment: “We have four of the five girls that qualified for districts back this year. I’m expecting that they will continue to be strong swimmers and leaders for the team and qualify in not only relays this year but individual events as well. The strokes of all the returning swimmers look strong and it appears that they are just picking up where they left off last year, which is very encouraging. They’ve all stayed in shape in the offseason. The new swimmers are good athletes and are taking instruction well, so I think a few of them will be very competitive for this year.”
Yellow Springs
Coach: Kara Jacob, first season.
Returnees: Girls: Seniors — Elizabeth Malone, Ericka Chick. Sophomores — Zoey McKinley, Rachel Meyer.
Newcomers: Girls: Juniors — Alex Brown, Ashley Merritt. Freshman — Emma Romohr. Boys: Freshman — Connor Gravley.
FYI: Malone has signed a national letter of intent to swim at Saint Bonaventure. ... Chick was third in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 free at state last year. Malone was fourth in the 100 fly (57.41) and 12th in the 200 IM.
Coach’s comment: “This season we have a team of seven girls and one boy. There are two freshmen, Connor and Emma, and two first-time swimmers, Alex and Ashley, who are both juniors. The team has been practicing hard for the past five weeks and is really looking good in the water. We are excited about our upcoming meets in January and are looking forward to a great season.”
Compiled by David Jablonski
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