Loaded Spartans aim for 1st-ever Centennial League title
By Michael Ashford
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
There is an unspoken understanding between the members of the Emporia High boys swimming and diving team this year.
“We’re going for a League title,” junior Michael Stauffer said. “We don’t talk about it a whole lot. It’s just known.”
With league-powers Washburn Rural and Manhattan expected to take a slight dip because of graduation losses, and with the Spartans returning so much talent off last year’s squad that placed third in the league, the EHS swimmers know there is no better year than this year to win the school’s first Centennial League swimming and diving team title.
“I think there’s an urgency among the seniors and the juniors .... that this is our shot this year,” EHS coach Bob Yevak said. “Our top 12 kids know that if we want to win the league, which we’ve never done, it’s going to have to be this year.”
Emporia High appears to have the talent in place to do just that, and it starts with senior Aaron Clark.
Clark, Emporia’s only individual League champion from a year ago — he won the 50 and 100 freestyle — spent the offseason lifting weights and swimming all in preparation for his senior year.
“There was no reason for me doing it other than swimming,” Clark said. “I’ve put on weight, but I feel a lot faster through the water. I feel real smooth.”
The results of Clark’s offseason have been noticeable, not just in his physical appearance, but also in his times. Yevak said Clark — the team’s fastest freestyler — had been impressive.
“Aaron is on the top of his game already,” Yevak said. “He’s going to be a force. I don’t see anybody challenging him in the league. He’s going to rock this year.”
Then there’s Stauffer, who put in more time in the pool over the offseason than any other EHS swimmer.
This past summer, Stauffer said he went to the Emporia Aquatic Center nearly every morning to train for about an hour and a half. There, he worked most on his butterfly stroke, but practiced all the styles to prepare him for this season, as he is expected to be Emporia’s top individual medley (IM) swimmer as well as one of its strongest breaststroke swimmers.
“I think I’ll be a lot better,” Stauffer said. “I feel a lot stronger. I can see it in me, too.”
Just how much improvement Stauffer has made is yet to be seen. He didn’t place in the league meet a season ago, but Yevak has seen enough in practice so far this season that he includes Stauffer in the list of swimmers he expects to contend for a league title.
“He, by far, put more time in than anybody in the offseason, and I think it will show,” Yevak said. “I think he’s going to swim really well, and that’s important for us.”
While Clark and Stauffer might be the two most visible faces returning for the EHS swimmers, plenty of surrounding talent is there to give the Spartans at least a shot at the league title.
Seniors Adam Coburn, Dustin Loewen, Scott Peterson and Andrew Wayman return to form the core of the swimming team this season, plus, the Spartans get an added bonus with the return of Sergio Segura, who is back on the team after a one-year hiatus.
“He’s the second fastest swimmer on the team,” Yevak said of Segura. “He’ll make a world of distance for us, especially on our relays.”
Coburn, Peterson and Wayman all are expected to be some of the top freestyle swimmers on the team, with Wayman and Coburn specializing in the 200 and 500 races and Peterson in the 200 and the IM along with Coburn and Stauffer.
Also back are juniors Cord Stanley, Dillon Suprian and Cody Yevak, who all performed well at the Centennial League meet a year ago.
As for the diving squad, sophomore Derek Krause returns off a State appearance a year ago along with junior Sam Nolan. The two veterans will be joined by freshmen Alex Neises and Jamie Schmidt.
EHS diving coach Barbara Clark said Krause had been showing signs of picking up where he left off after State last season.
“He’s expected to make it to State and be the leader of this team, to get them going,” Clark said. “He’s already taking on that role, and he’s helping the younger ones out, too. I think he’s going to push Sam to work harder so he can have someone to go to State with him.”
The Emporia High boys swimming and diving team’s season gets underway at 4 p.m. Thursday when it plays host to the Emporia Invitational at the EHS pool.