South swimmers cruise to 12th straight title, look to state

After adding their 12^th consecutive conference championship to Park Hill South’s trophy case, the girls swim team will travel to St. Peters this weekend to compete in the Missouri state swim meet. They’ll be taking one of their largest group of individual qualifiers in school history with eight individuals along with three more swimmers who will participate in relays. While winning that many conference titles could bring a sense of complacency, Coach Tim Busenhart says this year’s title was no shoe-in.

“This year, I think it was one of our closest ones in a while. We moved up in conference and were competing closely with Park Hill,” Busenhart said. “Each year I tell the kids there are new swimmers coming in; you never know what you’re going to have. You just focus on swimming well that last week.”

So just what is the secret to Park Hill South’s swimming dominance since the beginning of the new millennium? Busenhart says it starts with their neighborhood programs and snowballs with each successful season.

“Some of the advantage we have is neighborhood teams and exposure. I get to know the kids before they are freshmen and introduce myself,” Busenhart said. “Like any program that wins, there is the mentality that ‘this is what we do’ and I think it also pushes kids to swim year round because they feel they have to be at a certain level. We have 16 varsity swimmers and only three are not year round swimmers.”

The Panthers will be led by their three senior captains in Samantha Scott, Abbie Moyes, and Olivia Rea, but the bulk of the team will be made up of underclassmen which have left a majority of the team’s preparation for state on staying focused.

“Hopefully they’ll be very focused. That’s one thing we’re concentrating on. With such a young team, you kind of wonder how they’ll react on such a large stage and competition,” Busenhart said. “The experience to go as freshmen and sophomores will be really valuable when they become juniors and seniors.”

While Park Hill South has traditionally been strong in freestyle events, this year they are more spread out across all events, giving them more balance. Other swimmers who will be competing this weekend at state include Tori Beeler, Anna Riekhof, Olivia McLain, Helen Yeater, Mariah Ramirez, Maggie Hickey, Kelsey Danielsen, and Maryn Burns.

Asked if there was anyone individual who led the spirit and energy of the team, Busenhart summed up this year’s team by saying it stands out from many of his previous teams.

“No particular individual. Everyone has had energy and everyone is cheering each other on,” Busenhart said. “This is probably one of the best group of kids I’ve had in terms of supporting each other and making it a team atmosphere in a sport that is very much an individual thing. Getting that whole team together is sometimes a struggle, but this year it has been a great experience.”