Athletes from Howard County’s four girls swimming and diving teams are primed and ready to dive into the new season that begins today as Kokomo travels to Western and Northwestern is at Carroll.

Eastern gets underway Wednesday with a meet at Logansport. Taylor does not field a swim team.

The 2009-10 campaign reaches a climax with the sectional finals Feb. 6, presumably rotating back to Carmel this season after being held at Noblesville last season.

All the Greyhounds did a year ago was extend their national-record streak of state titles to 23, while the Millers finished fifth in the state.

Swimming with the big fish has become an all-too familiar sight for Western coach Brad Bennett, whose Panthers last season struggled without the leadership of Rae Andrews, a three-time state qualifier, and her graduating class of 2008.

“It was a rough year and it’s always tough to end [against] Carmel at Noblesville,” he said. “A lot of the girls weren’t happy with our results last year and our returning girls are working hard to make sure we have a better season.”

Western will be bolstered this time around with 14 freshmen Bennett says have already had a huge impact.

“We’ve got a great group of freshman girls who brought in a new attitude to the team — a lot of personalities that mesh with the girls who were here,” said Bennett. “I don’t have a Rae but I’ve got a lot of depth. It reminds me of Rae’s freshman year, just a lot of strong girls.”

Enthusiasm is high everywhere as the Katfish and Comets return strong numbers of around 30 athletes, and the Tigers bring back senior Shelby Roberts, their top scorer a year ago.

The following are capsules of the four county teams.



Eastern

The Comets are ready to fly high with another year of maturity for their burgeoning junior class, which includes Michelle Adams, a sectional finalist two seasons ago; Daryl Marie Ryan, Sarah Klemmensen and Emileigh Conwell, who will add diving to her swimming skills.

“I think we’ve got a bit of depth, so I’m pretty excited,” said coach Dana Culp. “We’ll see where we’re at the first meet and go from there because there may be a lot of juggling. We’ve got a good group of girls swimming.”

Shelby Davis, Chelsea Williams and Alyssa Summers swam at sectional as juniors last season and welcome classmates Lindsey Reprogle, who will also dive; Kayla Lamb and Kylie Wise, returning to the pool after a year off.

Sophomore Kelly Reed returns to swim and dive while freshmen Bailey Pressey and Audra Isaacs are hot on the heels of the veterans.

“With Bailey and Audra being freshman, they are kind of pushing everybody because they’ve been swimming for a while,” Culp said.

“I’m just hoping for a better [dual-meet] record this year. I’m looking for a few more wins and then we’ll see how we do in the [Mid-Indiana Conference].”



Kokomo

The Katfish begin their second year under coach Donita Walters, who is “excited about the possibilities of this team,” which is dominated by returning juniors and sophomores.

“What’s really exciting is that we have some girls back who put forth a great effort last year, girls who are stepping into leadership roles,” Walters said. “That’s making a big impact with the other girls’ attitude.”

Junior Lexi Laird leads the charge. She was All-North Central Conference and fifth in the sectional 100-yard backstroke and 10th in the 100 freestyle.

Other juniors returning include Abby Rolland, Sahara Johnson and diver Cara Russell. They’re joined by sophomores Morgan Brantley, Courtney Conwell and Jenna Gilbert, who was 10th in the 100 butterfly at sectional.

Rachel Pace was ninth in diving and is one of a handful of seniors, but she had surgery last week and won’t return probably until conference or sectional.

Ashley Volikas is another senior diver and classmate Kelsey Griffin is a breaststroker.

Clubbers Jessica Simmons and Alyson Rohlfing, according to Walters, will be relied upon heavily as freshmen.

“I look for these ladies to represent the Katfish program with pride and to build on the program’s success last year,” said Walters. “We lost Brittany Gauger (IUPUI) and Katie Hingst (Purdue), and that plays a significant role this year, but we’ve got some girls who are stepping it up because they know they have big shoes to fill.”



Northwestern

The Tigers won their first 10 dual meets last season as Roberts went on to capture ninth-place finishes in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 butterfly at sectional.

“She is definitely the leader of the team and has been working hard,” coach Cindy Britten said of Roberts. “I expect great things from her again.”

Other seniors returning include Stephanie Colter, Abby Tice and diver Shelby Barnett. Juniors back include Hannah Ault and Anna Sloss, while sophomores Brittany Jocius, Missy Ullmer and Beth Wilson all received their sectional baptism as freshmen.

Britten also has a wealth of newcomers and athletes returning to the pool. They include seniors Stefani Hott, Kinsey Kaufman and Kasey Reed; juniors Joanna Rozsahegyi, Tonya Jocius, Gretchen Catron and Lizzy Hubenthal; as well as freshmen Cassi Closson, Sarah Johns, Miranda Keller, Karla Martinson and Mollee Mygrant.

“I think they all will [make an impact],” Britten said of the five freshmen. “They all swam in middle school and are pretty talented. It’s nice to see them coming out for the high-school team.

“We lost a lot of talent but we’ve still got a lot of talent. I’m hoping we finish where we were or hopefully move up [in the conference]. I think we’ll give everybody in the county a challenge.”



Western

The Panthers will mix several veterans with that large group of newcomers in order to get things turned around.

“We’re just looking to begin a new season,” said Bennett. “I’ve got talent and I’ve got some really great attitudes that are excited to be swimming and are looking to do some big things.”

The youngsters will have to grow up quickly. Senior Kelsey Durr is the lone returnee who placed at sectional a season ago. She was sixth at Noblesville after winning the MIC title.

Other seniors include Sarah Marley, Amanda McKinney, Nicole Kuhn and newcomer Jennifer Dale, whose been a standout in other sports at Western.

Junior Katie Daine returns as a team captain, and she along with sophomore Erin Weber are two girls Bennett tabbed as leaders this season. Another junior, Ashley Gaskins, swam as a freshman and has recovered from her lost cross country season with a stress fracture.

Sophomore Gaenna Rogers is what Bennett calls “one of [his] powerhouses” and could swim just about anywhere. Classmates Monica Graves, Jena Bradway and Elise Briscoe also are back.

As for the freshmen, Bennett highlighted several, including Tori Berger, someone he said “is swimming like she’s got something to prove,” Katie Brown, Olivia Nixon, Lauren Price, Courtney Workman, Hannah Marley and Sarah Rogers.

“We don’t have just one outstanding superstar in any event,” Bennett said. “I’ve got a great group of girls who can swim fairly well in every event. That is going to be our strength this year, solid depth.

“We may not win events, but we’re going to take your points with second, third and fourth places.”