Manchester University is part of the field for Kenyon College’s Relays to begin the second season of Spartans’ men’s and women’s swimming and diving Saturday, Oct. 17.
Meet Details: Action begins at 12 p.m. … Swimming competition is set at Kenyon College’s James A. Steen Aquatic Center in Gamiber, Ohio, with the diving portion being held at Trumbull Aquatics Center on the campus of Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
Spartan Shorts: Coach Mike Kroll and his teams eagerly anticipate 2015-16. “It’s a fun meet to get up and going,” Kroll noted about Saturday’s season opener. “Most of the relays are sprint-oriented, so it’s a chance for everyone to get out and swim fast as well as do so against top-notch competition.” … MU’s men’s and women’s rosters have a combined total of nearly 30 student-athletes, a big jump from the inaugural season in which 10 individuals made up the two teams. “It’s been great (so far),” Kroll said. “This bunch is energetic, and right now, we’re finding ways to take that energy and put it in the right direction. They’re all optimistic about the season and are ready to get started. I want (the energy level) to go and see where they take it (early on), but also to remember what we’ve been working on in practice and strive to race well each chance they get. This is the time of year when you program your body on how to race so, when we get (to the end of the season), we don’t think about it and just go.” … Some of the individuals that Kroll has seen strong things from, in early practices, are the freshman men’s quartet of Andrew Hinds (Elkhart, Ind.), Quinn-Michael L’heureux (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Guerby Ruuska (Rensselaer, Ind.) and Tyler Brand (Pendleton, Ind.) and the women’s quartet of freshmen Mikayla Goetz (Highland, Ind.) and Annie Barce (Fowler, Ind.), sophomore returner Emily Clark (Peru, Ind.) and freshman diver Jennifer Swan (Yorktown, Ind.). “Both groups have shown promise in all areas,” Kroll said. “Jennifer has done well on the boards, too. Once the fall sports seasons conclude, we’ll get a few more women’s swimmers and divers, while we have (freshman) Jacob Light (of Fort Wayne, Ind.) who is trying out diving and has made good steps.”
Rose-Hulman Trip: The Spartans take a southern trek to Terre Haute, Ind., Friday, Oct. 23, to face the host Fightin’ Engineers of Rose-Hulman and Millikin University of Illinois.
Swimming news courtesy of Manchester Swimming & Diving.