Wawasee Swimming Teams Look To Reload
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
When a school loses as many swimmers as Wawasee did to graduation, the word "rebuild" is often heard. However, when a program with a winning tradition loses that many swimmers, such as Wawasee's, the word more often used is "reload."
There is no doubt that the boys and girls teams at Wawasee have a lot of holes to fill and have numerous question marks. However, head coach Roger Karns knows that rebuilding is not something he needs to worry about at Wawasee.
"I hate to use the term rebuilding, because it makes it sound as if you start over," Karns said. "I don't think you do that. We're kind of reorganizing. We've got some good kids here and if they're willing to accept the new role of increased responsibility, I think we can do OK."
So, Wawasee won't start over from scratch after a season in which the girls team went 11-1 and the boys team went 11-0. They will just do a bit of tweaking. Take the girls' first meet of the season against DeKalb, for instance.
The Warriors lost Stacy Naugler, a swimmer who competed in three relays at the state meet last year and qualified for regionals as a diver, Christine Shivers, Jennifer Ganshorn, Stacey Kraft, and Lindsay Kaiser to graduation, along with four other swimmers. Plus, two of this year's top swimmers, Karen Shipley and Kassie Biddle, were out of the DeKalb meet with injuries.
Add all that in and this Wawasee team might have been expected to struggle against DeKalb. However, the Warriors went on to a workmanlike 111-75 victory. Even though Wawasee ended on top, it gave Karns a chance to see what needed to be done to continue in the tradition of winning teams at Wawasee.
"I'm pleased that we came out of the meet with a win, but we've still got a way to go here," Karns said. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Then, when you start your first meet with the shoulder and back injuries that we had, you don't get those answers that you want."
Karns may not have found all of the answers, but what he did find was a gritty team that could have rolled over and didn't. His Warriors won nine of 12 events, led by youth and experience. Sophomore Laura Lundin went to the state meet last year in the 100 and 200 freestyle as a freshman and placed first in one individual event and two relays against DeKalb. She also placed second in the 500 freestyle.
Senior Jenny Marty added a first place in two individual events and swam on two winning relay teams. She will probably be the steadying influence for the team this year.
"She's a pretty versatile kid," Karns said. "She's been to the state each of her previous three years. She's a member of all three school-record relay teams, so obviously, she's a pretty big deal."
Karns also got help from a pair of seniors, Jaime Conn and Carrie Grothaus. Both will provide some Spackle for the holes that Karns speaks of.
Conn placed first on the diving board and Grothaus took first in the 100 freestyle and swam on the winning 200 medley relay team. She also placed second in the 100 backstroke.
"We're hoping that as the season progresses, the team will improve," Karns said. "We've been fortunate to have some kids that have some good athletic talent and are committed to working hard and doing what it takes. We've had kids that are willing to take part in the tradition."
That goes just as well for the boys team. They haven't started their season yet and have as many question marks as the girls team. Wawasee lost Ryan Harper, Ryan Moore, Marcelo Azenha and Dave Close.
"Those are guys that you hate to see go," Karns said. "We've got guys that need to step up and fill in some spots and keep that depth going. I think we've got a good core of those guys back, but we graduated some pretty important members last year."
Some of the members that will carry on the tradition of last year's 10th place finish at the state meet are Dan Cone, Kyle Metcalf, Andrew Thornburg, Dustin Lytle, and Chad Thorson.
Cone will swim freestyle for Karns, while Metcalf and Thornburg will do numerous events. Both swim butterfly and individual medley and Metcalf will also swim the backstroke. Lytle and Thorson will be a potent 1-2 punch diving.
"If we continue to improve as a team all the way through the course of the season, then I think one of our major goals will have been met," Karns said. "It will be a new role (for the swimmers) and they will have significantly increased responsibility. If they take that responsibility for success of the team, then we'll be fine."
Area Prep Swimming Capsules
BOYS
Warsaw
Coach - Chris LaLonde
Record Last Year - 11-2
Key Losses - Alex Wood, Nick Wood
Top Swimmers - Mike McCammon, Nick Leininger, Brian Smith (breaststroke), Jed Wandland (distance), Evan Mock (distance), Kevin Cowan (diving)
LaLonde - "We'd like to see about the same results as last year. Our conference is not as strong this year. Our depth is pretty strong, so I'd like to see us end in the top two or three in the conference and the sectional. All of our seven seniors could go far. They know what it takes and they will all contribute for us. They fill almost every event for me."
Manchester
Coach - Dave Owens
Record Last Year - 9-5
Key Losses - Josh Niccum (500 freestyle conference champion), Travis Kline, Ben Weller, Tom Wion
Top Swimmers - Charlie Summerland (backstroke, butterfly, distance), Jeremy Stacy (sprint freestyle, distance freestyle), Joel Harting (butterfly, medley relay, individual medley), Rod Smith (relays, backstroke, individual medley), Reed Christiansen (diving)
Owens - "We have a few more meets this year and we think we can be competitive, if not win, every meet except maybe Fort Wayne Snider. We still have a goal to win the conference. It will be between us and Oak Hill to win it. At sectional, a top four finish would be nice. It's going to be a fun year with seven new guys. They have strong talent and a great attitude, and along with a good core group, it should make us strong by the end of the year."
Wawasee
Coach - Roger Karns
Record Last Year - 11-0
Key Losses - Ryan Moore, Marcelo Azenha, Ryan Harper
Top Swimmers - Dan Cone (freestyle), Kyle Metcalf (butterfly, individual medley), Andrew Thornburg (butterfly, individual medley, backstroke), Dustin Lytle (diving), Chad Thorson
NorthWood
Coach - Mary Robertson
Record Last Year - 3-9
Key Losses - Martin Bentley, Ross Martin
Top Swimmers - Ben Larson (freestyle), Shawn Persing (diving), Andrew Whitehead (200 individual medley), Nick Abel (freestyle)
Robertson - "We only have eight swimmers, so we're going to have to improve individually. They are a young team, so if we keep working and get more numbers, we could improve."
Valley
Coach - Steve Doerscher
Record Last Year - 8-4
Key Losses - Scott Whetstone, Matt Craig, Matt Baker
Top Swimmers - Jason Parish (200, 100 butterfly, 500), Guilherme Ferrode Grava (backstroke, freestyle)
Doerscher - "We're not going to have the depth to win a lot of meets this year, but I'd like to see us do well at sectionals."
GIRLS
Warsaw
Coach - Eric Mohler
Key Losses - Stephanie Ellis
Top Swimmers - Megan Jones, Katie Beehler (medley relay, individual medley, 100 freestyle), Melissa Smith (200 freestyle, backstroke), Jaci Thallemer (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 free relay), Hillary Barlow (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 free relay), Buffy Feinstein (200 medley relay, 100 butterfly, 200 free relay)
Mohler - "I'd love to win sectional this year, but it will be even tougher this year than last year. We finished second or third at sectionals and I'd like for us to improve on that and our record in dual meets. I'd like to see each girl improve their personal bests. I'm looking forward to a good strong team at the end of this year and next year."
Manchester
Coach - Abby Zerkel
Key Losses - None
Top Swimmers - Heidi Yoder, Sarah Gilbert, Annie Spangle
Zerkel - "I want to see them improve on their personal bests. The girls have set a lot of goals for themselves. I haven't set any for them, but as long as they reach the goals that they have set for themselves, then I'll be happy. We have more swimmers than before, so we should be near the top of our conference."
Wawasee
Coach - Roger Karns
Record Lost Year - 11-1
Key Losses - Stacy Naugler, Christine Shivers, Jennifer Ganshorn, Stacey Kraft, Lindsey Kaiser
Top Swimmers - Jenny Marty (butterfly, individual medley, freestyle), Laura Lundin (100 freestyle, relays), Jaime Conn (diving), Kassie Biddle (individual medley, freestyle), Karen Shipley (breaststroke), Kristi Martin
NorthWood
Coach - Mary Robertson
Record Last Year - 5-6
Key Losses - Michelle Bowman (diving), Lisa Cripe (diving)
Top Swimmers - Jessica Warnken (individual medley, 500 backstroke), Sarah Eaton (breaststroke, 200 freestyle), Rachel Eaton (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle), Amanda Hoover (backstroke), Megan Cunningham (breaststroke)
Robertson - "I'd like to see our record be over .500 this year. We don't have a lot in terms of numbers of swimmers, so we will need to improve individually."
Valley
Coach - Steve Doerscher
Key Losses - None
Top Swimmers - Eve Boggs, Hillary Vanlaningham, Amber Drudge, Kiley Gast, Shannon Kollin, Angela Weller
Doerscher - "The top five or six swimmers are the best team I've ever had here. We had seven first-place finishes the other day and we lost by 30 points. People will look at that and say that we're not doing that well, but that's not the case." [[In-content Ad]]
When a school loses as many swimmers as Wawasee did to graduation, the word "rebuild" is often heard. However, when a program with a winning tradition loses that many swimmers, such as Wawasee's, the word more often used is "reload."
There is no doubt that the boys and girls teams at Wawasee have a lot of holes to fill and have numerous question marks. However, head coach Roger Karns knows that rebuilding is not something he needs to worry about at Wawasee.
"I hate to use the term rebuilding, because it makes it sound as if you start over," Karns said. "I don't think you do that. We're kind of reorganizing. We've got some good kids here and if they're willing to accept the new role of increased responsibility, I think we can do OK."
So, Wawasee won't start over from scratch after a season in which the girls team went 11-1 and the boys team went 11-0. They will just do a bit of tweaking. Take the girls' first meet of the season against DeKalb, for instance.
The Warriors lost Stacy Naugler, a swimmer who competed in three relays at the state meet last year and qualified for regionals as a diver, Christine Shivers, Jennifer Ganshorn, Stacey Kraft, and Lindsay Kaiser to graduation, along with four other swimmers. Plus, two of this year's top swimmers, Karen Shipley and Kassie Biddle, were out of the DeKalb meet with injuries.
Add all that in and this Wawasee team might have been expected to struggle against DeKalb. However, the Warriors went on to a workmanlike 111-75 victory. Even though Wawasee ended on top, it gave Karns a chance to see what needed to be done to continue in the tradition of winning teams at Wawasee.
"I'm pleased that we came out of the meet with a win, but we've still got a way to go here," Karns said. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Then, when you start your first meet with the shoulder and back injuries that we had, you don't get those answers that you want."
Karns may not have found all of the answers, but what he did find was a gritty team that could have rolled over and didn't. His Warriors won nine of 12 events, led by youth and experience. Sophomore Laura Lundin went to the state meet last year in the 100 and 200 freestyle as a freshman and placed first in one individual event and two relays against DeKalb. She also placed second in the 500 freestyle.
Senior Jenny Marty added a first place in two individual events and swam on two winning relay teams. She will probably be the steadying influence for the team this year.
"She's a pretty versatile kid," Karns said. "She's been to the state each of her previous three years. She's a member of all three school-record relay teams, so obviously, she's a pretty big deal."
Karns also got help from a pair of seniors, Jaime Conn and Carrie Grothaus. Both will provide some Spackle for the holes that Karns speaks of.
Conn placed first on the diving board and Grothaus took first in the 100 freestyle and swam on the winning 200 medley relay team. She also placed second in the 100 backstroke.
"We're hoping that as the season progresses, the team will improve," Karns said. "We've been fortunate to have some kids that have some good athletic talent and are committed to working hard and doing what it takes. We've had kids that are willing to take part in the tradition."
That goes just as well for the boys team. They haven't started their season yet and have as many question marks as the girls team. Wawasee lost Ryan Harper, Ryan Moore, Marcelo Azenha and Dave Close.
"Those are guys that you hate to see go," Karns said. "We've got guys that need to step up and fill in some spots and keep that depth going. I think we've got a good core of those guys back, but we graduated some pretty important members last year."
Some of the members that will carry on the tradition of last year's 10th place finish at the state meet are Dan Cone, Kyle Metcalf, Andrew Thornburg, Dustin Lytle, and Chad Thorson.
Cone will swim freestyle for Karns, while Metcalf and Thornburg will do numerous events. Both swim butterfly and individual medley and Metcalf will also swim the backstroke. Lytle and Thorson will be a potent 1-2 punch diving.
"If we continue to improve as a team all the way through the course of the season, then I think one of our major goals will have been met," Karns said. "It will be a new role (for the swimmers) and they will have significantly increased responsibility. If they take that responsibility for success of the team, then we'll be fine."
Area Prep Swimming Capsules
BOYS
Warsaw
Coach - Chris LaLonde
Record Last Year - 11-2
Key Losses - Alex Wood, Nick Wood
Top Swimmers - Mike McCammon, Nick Leininger, Brian Smith (breaststroke), Jed Wandland (distance), Evan Mock (distance), Kevin Cowan (diving)
LaLonde - "We'd like to see about the same results as last year. Our conference is not as strong this year. Our depth is pretty strong, so I'd like to see us end in the top two or three in the conference and the sectional. All of our seven seniors could go far. They know what it takes and they will all contribute for us. They fill almost every event for me."
Manchester
Coach - Dave Owens
Record Last Year - 9-5
Key Losses - Josh Niccum (500 freestyle conference champion), Travis Kline, Ben Weller, Tom Wion
Top Swimmers - Charlie Summerland (backstroke, butterfly, distance), Jeremy Stacy (sprint freestyle, distance freestyle), Joel Harting (butterfly, medley relay, individual medley), Rod Smith (relays, backstroke, individual medley), Reed Christiansen (diving)
Owens - "We have a few more meets this year and we think we can be competitive, if not win, every meet except maybe Fort Wayne Snider. We still have a goal to win the conference. It will be between us and Oak Hill to win it. At sectional, a top four finish would be nice. It's going to be a fun year with seven new guys. They have strong talent and a great attitude, and along with a good core group, it should make us strong by the end of the year."
Wawasee
Coach - Roger Karns
Record Last Year - 11-0
Key Losses - Ryan Moore, Marcelo Azenha, Ryan Harper
Top Swimmers - Dan Cone (freestyle), Kyle Metcalf (butterfly, individual medley), Andrew Thornburg (butterfly, individual medley, backstroke), Dustin Lytle (diving), Chad Thorson
NorthWood
Coach - Mary Robertson
Record Last Year - 3-9
Key Losses - Martin Bentley, Ross Martin
Top Swimmers - Ben Larson (freestyle), Shawn Persing (diving), Andrew Whitehead (200 individual medley), Nick Abel (freestyle)
Robertson - "We only have eight swimmers, so we're going to have to improve individually. They are a young team, so if we keep working and get more numbers, we could improve."
Valley
Coach - Steve Doerscher
Record Last Year - 8-4
Key Losses - Scott Whetstone, Matt Craig, Matt Baker
Top Swimmers - Jason Parish (200, 100 butterfly, 500), Guilherme Ferrode Grava (backstroke, freestyle)
Doerscher - "We're not going to have the depth to win a lot of meets this year, but I'd like to see us do well at sectionals."
GIRLS
Warsaw
Coach - Eric Mohler
Key Losses - Stephanie Ellis
Top Swimmers - Megan Jones, Katie Beehler (medley relay, individual medley, 100 freestyle), Melissa Smith (200 freestyle, backstroke), Jaci Thallemer (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 free relay), Hillary Barlow (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 free relay), Buffy Feinstein (200 medley relay, 100 butterfly, 200 free relay)
Mohler - "I'd love to win sectional this year, but it will be even tougher this year than last year. We finished second or third at sectionals and I'd like for us to improve on that and our record in dual meets. I'd like to see each girl improve their personal bests. I'm looking forward to a good strong team at the end of this year and next year."
Manchester
Coach - Abby Zerkel
Key Losses - None
Top Swimmers - Heidi Yoder, Sarah Gilbert, Annie Spangle
Zerkel - "I want to see them improve on their personal bests. The girls have set a lot of goals for themselves. I haven't set any for them, but as long as they reach the goals that they have set for themselves, then I'll be happy. We have more swimmers than before, so we should be near the top of our conference."
Wawasee
Coach - Roger Karns
Record Lost Year - 11-1
Key Losses - Stacy Naugler, Christine Shivers, Jennifer Ganshorn, Stacey Kraft, Lindsey Kaiser
Top Swimmers - Jenny Marty (butterfly, individual medley, freestyle), Laura Lundin (100 freestyle, relays), Jaime Conn (diving), Kassie Biddle (individual medley, freestyle), Karen Shipley (breaststroke), Kristi Martin
NorthWood
Coach - Mary Robertson
Record Last Year - 5-6
Key Losses - Michelle Bowman (diving), Lisa Cripe (diving)
Top Swimmers - Jessica Warnken (individual medley, 500 backstroke), Sarah Eaton (breaststroke, 200 freestyle), Rachel Eaton (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle), Amanda Hoover (backstroke), Megan Cunningham (breaststroke)
Robertson - "I'd like to see our record be over .500 this year. We don't have a lot in terms of numbers of swimmers, so we will need to improve individually."
Valley
Coach - Steve Doerscher
Key Losses - None
Top Swimmers - Eve Boggs, Hillary Vanlaningham, Amber Drudge, Kiley Gast, Shannon Kollin, Angela Weller
Doerscher - "The top five or six swimmers are the best team I've ever had here. We had seven first-place finishes the other day and we lost by 30 points. People will look at that and say that we're not doing that well, but that's not the case." [[In-content Ad]]