Small squad focused on individual gains in pool

Lisa Greenig steps into a new element this fall as head coach of the Fairfield swim squad, but she should be pleased to find most of the program?s pieces already firmly in place.

Two state qualifiers and school record holders from last year?s squad return, as do a wealth of upperclassmen to make an 11-member roster. The swimmers are already training anywhere from 2,500-4,000 yards per day, and some of the girls have even been doing two-a-days to prepare for the season.

?They?re showing a dedication to the team, so it makes you appreciate the fact that they want to keep the team in Fairfield and they?re willing to put in the work to do it,? said Greenig, who takes the reigns of the program following a one-year stint from Jane McMahon. ?They really are creating a wonderful team atmosphere. I?m proud of the girls for that.?

Greenig admits she doesn?t know a lot about swimming ? she?s in charge of the managerial aspect as head coach ? but that?s where her co-coach Hannah Weiland comes in. Weiland is a former swimmer at Bethany College in West Virginia and has been leading the workouts and teaching fundamentals to the girls who need it.

?Together we?re trying to preserve a quality swim program here,? said Greenig, who stepped into lead the team two weeks before practices began.

Not a lot has changed with the turnover in coaches, either, and the girls are still swimming some of the same workouts from last season.

?I think it?s going well and I think the girls have been receptive to new people,? said Greenig. ?The girls also know Coach McMahon is still going to be here [as a volunteer coach], so they?ve just been really welcoming and open to ideas.?

The team will be captained by its senior trio of Jaci Bell, Claire Slechta and Hanna Kerr. Bell was a state qualifier in the 1-meter dive last season and can accurately call herself the best diver in FHS history, while Slechta is a regional medalist and Kerr has experienced regional competition as well.

Other seasoned swimmers include juniors Baylee Bowman and Jade Greiner. Bowman, the 500-freestyle school record holder, is training for her third straight appearance at state, and Greiner is gunning for the school record in the 100-butterfly.

They will be joined by fellow juniors Dorian Larson, Lalita Martin and Paige Palmer, a returning swimmer. Freshmen swimmers Shea Malloy and Macy Unkrich and diver Katherine Mueller will be tasked with helping out wherever they can.

?We?re really pleased to see three freshmen with three seniors because that means we?re bringing in the young to train them to take over the slots of the older girls,? said Greenig. ?All these girls are at different levels, but I have noticed the upperclassmen taking the underclassmen under their wings and coaching them in the water, and that?s very, very nice to see.?

Erin Cracker, a former FHS graduate, will serve as the adult team manager, and senior Cierra Bielinski returns as the squad?s student manager.

The Trojans open the season Tuesday at Ottumwa.