High School Swimming

Injuries have not kept Sorrell from helping Poplar Bluff swimmers (02/07/08)
By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor Laying in a hospital bed with a broken wrist and having just come out of surgery to repair her small intestine, Nancy Sorrell wanted to know when she could get back to the pool. Not in the water, necessarily, just around it and her teammates...

Mules swimmers fall to St. Vincent (02/05/08)
By DAR STAFF Poplar Bluff's Kayla Huett and Jackie LeGrand finished first and second in the 50-meter freestyle Monday but the Lady Mules finished second to host St. Vincent 142-97. "They just had more 'desire' at the end of races than we did," Poplar Bluff coach Beth Lewis said. "We also had about half the team sick either before, during or after the meet so illness was a huge downfall for us."...

Puxico shakes slow start at Stoddard County tourney (01/22/08)
By DAR STAFF Puxico overcame a slow start Monday night to beat Richland 55-45 in the Stoddard County Tournament. "They got off to a 6-0 start and we started pressing and we established ourselves," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "I felt like it turned the game around."...

Local swimmers find out how they stack up against state's best (01/20/08)
Jackson sophomore Cailin McGinnis is in a pickle most high school swimmers only dream of being in. The sophomore has already qualified for the state meet in five individual events, but she can swim in only two individual events at state. So she has to take time to decide which two are her best races...

Central swimmers to host 15-team City of Roses Invitational today (01/19/08)
The water at the Central Municipal Pool is heating up and so is the competition. The pool received a new water heater Wednesday, increasing temperatures to 78 and 79 degrees just in time for today's 15-team City of Roses Invitational. Hosted by Central, diving begins at 9 a.m. and swimming begins at 1 p.m...

Tigers gain experience at prestigious event (01/13/08)
MANCHESTER, Mo. -- Central diver Brittney Thomas realized that the Parkway South Invitational swimming meet was going to be a real challenge for herself and the Tigers team. The meet featured defending state champion Lafayette and nine of the top 13 finishers at last year's state meet. And this year has been a trying one for Central, with numerous pool problems...

Lady Mules regroup after loss of senior (01/06/08)
Nancy Sorrell sustained season-ending injuries in a car accident.

Poplar Bluff swimmers improve times but fall to Jackson (12/14/07)
By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor Poplar Bluff got off to a good start Thursday night as the Lady Mules won their first relay race of the season. But that lead quickly disappeared as Jackson outscored the host in each of the next three races, winning nine in all to take the meet 96-72...

Saxony features nine swimmers in third year (12/15/07)
When Dan Rau volunteered to launch and coach the Saxony Lutheran swim team after the school went without a program for two years, he learned students had little interest. "I got the interest list from the athletic director" this past summer, Rau said. "There was only one name listed. So when I started the program I thought, 'Gee, I'm only going to have a handful of kids.'"...

Notre Dame swimmers sweep three-team meet (12/14/07)
Notre Dame took first place in all 11 events as it rolled at the St. Vincent three team girls swimming meet Thursday. Brittany Menz and Lauren Castleman led the Bulldogs by aiding in the victories by the 200 medley relay, the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. Castleman also won the 50 freestyle and Menz won the 100 freestyle...

Lady Mules win three races but lose meet (12/12/07)
By DAR STAFF Nancy Sorrell, Hannah Crites and Lauren Decker each won races Tuesday for Poplar Bluff but Cape Central swept the relays and won 98-71 at the Black River Aquatic Center. "The girls had a very good first meet," Lady Mules coach Beth Lewis said. "(They're) right on track for a great season."...

Mules resurface: Poplar Bluff swimming team has roster of 14 (12/11/07)
By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor With a roster of 14, Poplar Bluff swim coach Beth Lewis will try her hand at juggling this winter. "Last year we always worked on times," the second-year coach said. "But this year, we're going to work on (scoring) points."...

Problems with the Central pool pump kept swimmers on land (12/06/07)
Many members of the Central team did karaoke and other similar activities instead of actual swimming during the first two weeks of winter practice. "We did karaoke, but not the singing kind," Tigers senior Amity Downing said, laughing. "So it is like this ..."...

Central's Gramling earn all-state honor with seventh-place finish (11/11/07)
Sam Gramling became the first Central swimmer in eight years to earn all-state honors as he placed seventh overall in the 500-yard freestyle at the finals of the Missouri Swimming Championships on Saturday in St. Peters, Mo. Gramling covered the distance in 4 minutes, 51.36 seconds...

Central's pool problems stunted competitors' training (11/08/07)
Central captain Peyton Waggener has witnessed first hand how pump failures at the Central Municipal Pool adversely affected the Tigers and other local swimming programs. The pool problems caused the teams to schedule practice sessions at other facilites where they have not been able to put in as many hours as usual...

Sophomore's work ethic derives from religious convictions (11/08/07)
When Central sophomore Sam Gramling describes how much time he spends practicing each week, he smiles and says that he's "hardly out of the water." "Swimming is a sport in which you have to be in the water constantly," he said. "If you're not in the water, then you're not going to do very [well]."...

Pool problem has area teams seeking new water (09/26/07)
Central swimming coach Dayna Powell said Tuesday that she has heard the motor and pump failure at Central Municipal Pool will not be fixed until mid-November, so she has decided to cancel the Cape Rock Invitational on Oct. 6. "At the moment I'm preparing an e-mail to get out to coaches," she said Tuesday evening. ...

Bollinger leads ND swimmers to second place at SLUH meet (09/22/07)
The Notre Dame boys swimming team took second place Friday with a score of 112 in a meet hosted by St. Louis University High. The Junior Bills took first with a score of 161, and Kennedy took third with 24. Bulldogs swimmer Logan Bollinger recorded both of Notre Dame's first-place finishes, touching the wall first in the 100 backstroke (1 minute, 0.61 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (59.40). ...

Central floats past ND, Jackson (08/28/07)
Central's Caleb Coots, Jackson's Ryan Gibson and Notre Dame's Logan Bollinger swam the 100 butterfly neck and neck Monday at the Central Municipal Pool to earn state-qualifying times. "It was probably the best race of the day as far as excitement," Central coach Dayna Powell said...

An upstream battle (08/25/07)
When Dustin Kaminskey first learned a couple months ago that Jackson High School would start a fall swim team for his senior year, he felt some mixed emotions. Kaminskey, who had swam competitively for close to eight years, was restricted indefinitely from competing and told he might never swim again in April 2006 after separating his voice box from his trachea and severing his carotid artery and a vein in his neck in an automobile accident...

Indians launch program with diverse group (08/25/07)
Jackson's first-year boys swimming team is comprised of a diverse group of athletes, including four seniors who have never swam competitively, a student who scored a 36 on the ACT and a junior whose sweet tooth for cake one afternoon is the cause of his joining the team...

Tigers absorb late hit at skill positions (08/17/07)
Central football coach Lawrence Brookins may have some skilled positions to fill after last year's playoff run. Brookins said at Thursday's picture day at the high school that leading receiver George Hamilton III relocated to Tampa, Fla., with his mother and sister, while the only player in school with significant experience at quarterback did not come out for the team...

Poplar Bluff scraps boys swimming (07/25/07)
The school board cited lack of interest for pulling the plug on the sport.

Kinder takes two titles (02/18/07)
ST. PETERS -- Central girls swimming coach Dayna Powell had an extra responsibility this year at the MSHSAA state meet. And it is something she has been looking forward to for 11 years. Powell awarded the medals to the top eight swimmers in both the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle...