Boys swimming kicked off the season flooded with new members, looking to place high in the Woodland Conference. There are 21 boys on the team, 14 of whom swim on varsity. This means instead of the normal three lanes, varsity will be swimming in four.

“Our depth is stronger, so we'll be more competitive," said head coach Rob McCabe.

Out of the seven seasons McCabe has been coaching at Shorewood, he believes this will be one of the best. "This may be the most competitive team since the 2001-2002 season. We don't have the holes we've had in the lineup in season's past," McCabe said. "I think we'll be a surprise team in [the Woodland] Conference...there's no clear favorite. That's why I think we can sneak in there and finish in the upper half."

Of the 21 swimmers, 10 are returning lettermen. There are returning swimmers to both junior varsity and varsity, but also several new swimmers, including juniors Aiden Sperry and Jimmy Macken and sophomore David Stern. "We've got some guys who are here for the first time, which is fun because you get to see a big improvement," said JV coach Stephanie LaGue.

"This year we have a lot of new people who have a lot of swimming experience, and others who have come in and improved the team already," said sophomore Mike Ross.

In addition to new sophomore and junior members, the team got three freshman swimmers: Kasmir Bohannon and Isaac Flegel-Mishlove for varsity, and Andrew Eder for junior varsity. "We have a talented young group of freshmen and sophomores," McCabe said.

At the Nicolet Sprint Invite, the first meet of the season, the varsity team placed 7th. "I thought it was good to get the feel of what an invite was like," LaGue said. Most events were sprints, which was "a good starter," according to LaGue. The varsity placed above Brown Deer High School, a traditional rival to Shorewood swimming. The next event was a dual meet against another rival, Whitnall High School, the defending Woodland Conference champions. The Varsity team won 96 to 74.

"I think it should be a good year... I always have fun," LaGue said.