Heading into its toughest stretch of the season, the Eureka girls swimming and diving team continues to gain confidence.
Eureka registered dual meet victories over Parkway Central and Parkway West as well as first-place finishes in the Rockwood Summit Quad and Nancy Brandt Invitational. The Wildcats lost Jan. 12 to Parkway South, but were resting many of their key swimmers in preparation for the Kirkwood Invitational and opening up opportunities for their younger athletes.
“We’re a little bit stronger than we have been in the past, so we’ve been able to go up against a lot of teams and win, versus last year where we may have lost just because our depth wasn’t there,” second-year head coach Anna Jovanovic said.
On Jan. 14, the Wildcats placed second at the Kirkwood Invitational with 296 points, 74 behind the host Pioneers.
The success is coming at the right time, with Eureka having just two remaining regular-season meets, a dual against Lafayette on Tuesday, past the Leader deadline, and a trip to Columbia for the COMO Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Preliminary races for the Suburban Conference Yellow will be held on Jan. 31, followed by district competition and the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 2 state meet Feb. 16-17 at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.
Junior Haiden Schoessel, who finished fourth in the state 50-yard freestyle last year, has posted the top times in the state this season in the 50-yard freestyle (23.75) and 100 freestyle (51.47). Both performances helped Eureka win the Rockwood Summit Quad, which included Cape Girardeau Central and Webster Groves in addition to the host Falcons.
“(Schoessel) brings motivation for the other girls,” Jovanovic said. “She’s a hard worker. Things aren’t handed to her. She definitely puts in the work.”
Chloe Robinson, a sophomore who transferred to Eureka this year, has tallied top-15 times in the 100 backstroke (ninth, 1:01.42), 100 freestyle (11th, 55.48), 50 freestyle (13th, 25.43) and 200 freestyle (16th, 2:02.29).
“(Robinson) has been able to come in and make an immediate impact on the team,” Jovanovic said. “We’re excited to see what she can do at state.”
She added that Eureka hopes to send six or seven swimmers to state, as it did two years ago when the Wildcats placed third at the state meet.
Other hopefuls for St. Peters include sophomore Addie Stephens, who is among the top 20 in the 100 backstroke (18th, 1:03.97) and 200 freestyle (19th, 2:02.63) and Paige Samuelson, one of four freshmen in the top 30 in both the 100 butterfly (21st, 1:02.74) and 200 freestyle (29th, 2:04).
Jovanovic said those four girls will likely qualify for state, but which events they will compete in are still to be determined.
“How they do state qualifications now is the top 32 in each event go,” she said. “(Swimmers) can only do two individual (races) and two relays or three relays and one individual (race), so I’ll declare entries for all my swimmers and then they’ll figure out where they fall on the placement.”
Junior Emma Kaemmerer (26th in the 500 freestyle at 5:36.32), sophomore Emerson Hicks (11th in the 100 breaststroke, 1:10.37) and sophomore Daphne Bishop (22nd in the 100 breaststroke, 1:12.72) are in good position to make it to state as well, as are each of the Wildcat relay teams. The 200 freestyle relay foursome of Samuelson, Kaemmerer and seniors Elise Humes and Peyton Wells slots in at 21st (1:51.37), while the 400 freestyle quartet of Robinson, Stephens, Samuelson and Schoessel own the fourth-best time (3:44.42) and the 200 medley relay team of Robinson, Hicks, Kaemmerer and Wells stands sixth at 1:53.65.
“My expectations are that we go into these meets with our heads held high, swimming with confidence,” Jovanovic said.
“I just want to watch all of our hard work pay out and the girls get up and go.”