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Nevada swimmers shooting for individual success
As a team sport swimming, much like track, is a numbers game. The teams with higher numbers generally score more points than the teams without.
That's why Nevada's swim team will be focusing more on individual goals within the team concept this season.
"It will be very hard for us to compete head to head with anybody but Lamar this year," Nevada head coach Dave Ketterman said.
Nevada has all of 11 swimmers on the team. That's half the size of Carthage. It also appears to be 10 less than Webb City. As the only other two Southwest Conference teams with swim teams, they've got a leg up on Nevada before the schools even step in the pool.
The problem is that in swimming, the most individual events an athlete can enter is two. Including relays, the most they can compete in is four.
"Scoring is really similar to track," Ketterman said. "You just need quality numbers to score."
It's not that Nevada doesn't have quality, it's just the numbers part that has the Tigers drowning.
Focusing on what Nevada does have, there is some talent.
Leading the charge will be sophomore Kristen Badgley. Badgley went to state last season in the butterfly and the backstroke. Only one meet into the season this year (March 28 in Carthage), Badgley has already qualified in both events again.
Setting the pool on fire, Badgley broke school records in the 100-meter butterfly and the 100 backstroke in Carthage, easily winning both events.
"It was good to see Kristen get better and break the ice," Ketterman said of her effort. "Now she can just focus on improving her times."
Badgley is also the team's best freestyle swimmer, even though she probably won't swim that at state, even if she qualifies.
Qualifying in the 100 freestyle isn't a stretch either. Badgley swam the final leg of the 4X100 freestyle relay in Carthage and had a split that was tenths of a second from a state time. If Badgley swims the opening leg of the relay in the future, she can use her time to qualify for state. Ketterman figures she will likely do that before the year is out.
"She's the type of swimmer that makes me look like a good coach," Ketterman joked.
Other returning letter winners are senior Hannah Ketterman, juniors Claire Hissink and Bethany Brower, and sophomores Emily Ricketts, Abby Ruddick, Lindsay Webb and Erin Quest.
They will likely do the majority of the scoring for the Tigers this season.
Newcomers Mayling Butterfield, Elizabeth Burlingame and Jessica Davis will spend the season trying to get acclimated to varsity swimming.
"They're really just learning the ropes right now," he said. "We're trying to get all these kids up to speed."
Ketterman said the team can't concern itself with beating other schools at invitationals and meets.
"All we can do is keep working at what we're doing and get better," he said.
As for events, Nevada will mainly focus on the freestyle races, the relays and the breaststroke.
Besides Badgley, Ricketts is likely going to do some work with the backstroke, if she can shake a lingering back injury that she came into the season with.
Nevada opened losing to Carthage, Lamar and Joplin in a quadrangular in Carthage March 28. Their next meet is Tuesday at Webb City where they will take part in a triangular beginning at 4:30 p.m.