By BUTCH HARMON
It will be a learning experience for the Alma boys swimming team this year. With a roster loaded with freshmen and sophomores, the Panthers will be looking for growth and improvement as the season progresses.
“I think we will have some fun this year,” veteran Alma coach Jeff Huxley said. “We have a lot of kids who are early into their swimming careers, which is also where they tend to enjoy their biggest improvement. All of them have been training pretty hard.”
When it comes to experience, the Panthers are on the low end of the scale at this time. “Our average experience level is .7 years,” Huxley said. “We have two junior/senior level kids right now, and one of those kids is new. The rest of the team is freshmen and sophomores, and most of them do not have an age-group swimming background.”
Sophomore Brevan Bender leads the way for the Panthers this year. He specializes in the butterfly and backstroke. The Panthers also return junior Mason Molesky and sophomores Rees Wimmer, Kolton Kovac, and Todd Lovas.
“We have a lot of potential,” Huxley said, “but you don’t turn potential into production overnight. We are going to be a work in progress.”
Alma finished 20th at the Division 3 state meet last year.
Ionia finished 12th at last year’s D3 meet and returns a pair of state placers off that team. Senior Skyler Fish was second in the backstroke and fourth in the 100 freestyle. The Bulldogs also return senior Patrick Wood and sophomore diver Riese Penn.
Mason returns a pair of state placers in senior Corbin Shuler (50 free and 100 butterfly) and senior Brandon Stetler (breastroke/IM).
DeWitt placed third in the CAAC Blue last year and returns senior Dan Schroeder (IM/freestyle) and junior diver Arthur Hill.
Corunna will be looking for improvement this season behind senior distance swimmer Caleb Barnes and senior backstroker Christian Bitterman.
DIVISION 1
Rockford finished fourth at last year’s Division 1 state meet. While the Rams graduated a number of key swimmers, the cupboard is never bare, and plenty of talent returns this year. Senior Craig Wasberg earned all-state honors in a pair of events last year, as he took eighth place in both the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke. The Rams also return a pair of divers who placed in the top ten at the state meet in senior Shane Phillips (4th) and sophomore Jake Herremans (9th). Senior Jacob Davis (100 fly and relays) also returns. Juniors Timmer Hoffmeister (100 fly and backstroke) and David Newberger (200 IM and 100 breaststroke) also return as do sophomores Jacob Fase (200 free and 500 free) and Corbin Bremmyr (50 free).
Grand Ledge placed second in the CAAC Blue last year and will be challenging for the league title once again. The Comets will be paced by senior Zinghao Wang, who placed fourth in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100 breaststroke at last year’s state meet. Senior Tommy Sereseroz (200 and 500 free) is a key distance swimmer returning.
DIVISION 2
Midland Dow placed fifth as a team at the Division 2 meet last year. It returns a number of solid swimmers from that squad. Sophomores Nehemiah Mork (100 free), Zach Hoffman (200 IM), Nick Pixton (100 back), and Kevin White (500 free) will be among the team leaders this season.
Heritage has a strong nucleus of swimmers back. Junior Logan Yearham placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke at the state meet. The Hawks also return senior Elliott Plummer (100 and 200 freestyle).
Fenton will be a factor in Division 2 this year. The Tigers return seniors Brant Cassidy (50 and 100 free) and Mike Banner (500 free).
Okemos won the CAAC Blue last year and placed eighth at the D2 state meet. The Chieftains return senior Ian Poland, who finished fifth in the state in the 100 butterfly and 15th in the 200 freestyle. Seniors Jake Seeterlin (100 fly and 200 free) and Mitch Fountain (100 backstroke) also return.
St. Johns placed 14th as a team at last year’s state meet. The Red Wings welcome back senior diver Jared Gregory, who placed eighth at state a year ago. Junior Brad Garmyn (100 breaststroke and 200 IM) is another key returnee.