Heating Up

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Thanks to a strong feeder program and some recruiting by head coach Dave Hook, the Newton swim team will have plenty more athletes to choose from this winter as numbers are up 10 from the previous season.

And leading the way in the pool this year will be senior Gregor Quayle and sophomore Matt Thoma.

“We are trying to get a feel of where we are at right now,” Hook said. “We have a lot of kids who are on competitive swim teams for the first time. They are pretty green, but they have done what I have asked and are doing a good job.”

Quayle headlines a group of seniors who will be expected to bring leadership this year. The senior class also includes returners Caleb Bell and Josh Adams.

Quayle was the team’s best swimmer a year ago and is expected again to make a run at state this year.

Quayle fell short last year but could advance this year as he looks to improve on his times in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 backstroke. He also may again swim in the 500 freestyle.

“Gregor does a lot of things well so we’ll have to see where he fits into the lineup and where everyone else is at,” Hook said. “He’ll be able to help us in a lot of different ways though.”

Thoma is the team’s best sprint freestyler as he looks to improve in the 50 and 100 freestyle.

Hook also expects much stronger relays this year with Bell and Adams providing good depth and also due to a small but strong sophomore class that includes Thoma, Matt Stock, Carter McDermott and Alec Ubben. The top juniors are Conner Marston and Keegan Lockhart.

“I am still trying to figure out what our strengths are going to be, but we should have some pretty good distance kids,” Hook said.

The team includes 29 swimmers this year, which is 10 more than last year. There are nine juniors and 11 freshmen.

“I am impressed with the way the new kids have stuck with it and done what I have asked them to do,” Hook said. “They’ll be some good surprises I think. I think the freshmen class will do some good things, too. They have lots of swimming in their backgrounds.”

A big reason for the rise in swimmers is because of the strong feeder program that Hook has leaned on at the YMCA.

He said it has helped a lot in getting kids into swimming and provides the high school teams with a solid foundation.

“I’ve already seen improvements with this year’s team,” Hook said. “They’ll be some kids that will do some good things this year.”

The Cards will swim in the same district this year as they are again paired with state-ranked Johnston, West Des Moines Dowling Catholic and Des Moines Roosevelt.

Hook hopes to win some dual meets, improve their placings in invitationals and ultimately advance swimmers to state. The team was shut out of state berths last year.

The Cardinal Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 5, will kick off the season for Newton. That begins at 10 a.m. and, like all home meets, will take place at the Newton YMCA.

The first dual of the season is Tuesday, Dec. 8, at home against Ottumwa.

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