Galesburg, IL - You might think a program that graduated 16 seniors that broke school records more than 30 times in their four-year careers at Knox would be in a complete rebuilding phase, but that’s not necessarily the case for the women’s and men’s swimming teams.

Prairie Fire head swimming coach Jonathan Powers still has high expectations for the two squads going into the 2012-2013 season. The swimmers have been busy preparing for their first competition of the year -- a dual meet at home on November 3 against Eureka College.

"I'm really excited for this season," Powers said. “We've added a lot of new people and so far they are working hard and working well together."

The women’s team has 10 returning swimmers and 18 newcomers.  The men’s squad brings back three members from last season and welcomes seven new swimmers to the mix.

 “There’s no way I could replace what we lost, but I do have high expectations,” he said.  “Because swimming is an individual sport, my expectations are more individual -- so my expectations are that each individual improves throughout the season. I don’t think we’ll improve on our standings at the conference championships, but the depth that we have will serve us well in dual meets.”

The Knox women’s team will be led by seniors Anna Claypool (Portland, OR, Lincoln) and Zoey Kudla (Ypsilanti, MI, Greenhills School). “Anna and Zoey are both good backstrokes and versatile swimmers. I’ll look to them for leadership,” Powers said.

In addition to Claypool and Kudla, the Prairie Fire has seven swimmers that scored points at last season’s Midwest Conference Championships. The women’s team placed sixth and the men finished seventh at the 2012 conference meet.

Sophomore Susannah Lodge-Rigal (Bloomington, IN, Bloomington) scored individually in the 200 freestyle, the 500 freestyle, and the 1650 freestyle. Sophomores Madeline Troy (Naperville, IL, Naperville North) and Colleen Shelly (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) each tallied points in two events. Troy scored in the 500 freestyle and the 1650 freestyle while Shelly scored in the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke. Junior Marie Anderson (Pleasant Hill, CA, Athenian School) earned points in the 100 backstroke and junior Allison White (Carbondale, IL, Carbondale) in the 200 breaststroke.

Two returning members of the Knox men’s team that scored at the MWC Championships are sophomores Nick Polizos (Hoffman Estates, IL, Barrington Community) and Matt Klich (Chicago, IL, Guerin Prep).  Both notched points in the 200 breaststroke.

The men’s team is a very young group. All 10 swimmers are either first-years or sophomores.  Along with Polizos and Klich, the third returning sophomore is Jonathan Vardon (Accra, Ghana, Ghana International School). The rest of the squad is comprised of one sophomore and six first-year swimmers.

The women’s team also has several swimmers competing in the pool for the first time at Knox.  Fourteen of the 18 newcomers are first-years in addition to two juniors and two seniors. Joining seniors Claypool and Kudla as returners are four juniors and four sophomores.

Among the swimmers who could have an especially strong first season are Maddie Boehm (Kenosha, WI, Harborside Academy), Sam Chen (Englewood, CO, Cherry Creek), Noah Santer (Plymouth, MI, Salem), and Chris Walsh (Boulder, CO, Shining Mountain Waldorf School).