Mercer Island boys swim and dive | Winter sports previews

Published 11:12 am Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Coach: Chris Conroy (First year)

Last season: Second at state tournament.

Strengths: “I think we gained a lot more people than we lost in terms of people capable of qualifying for state,” said senior Ben Gore. “Not just freshmen, but people who joined the team who can put in a lot of work this year.”

“We not only have seniors and juniors who can dominate in the pool,” said Ford Witman, “but we have freshmen and sophomores who can be right there with us.”

“For the most part, we’re pretty well-rounded,” Conroy said. “I think we can fill each event at a pretty high level.”

Needs to improve: “Our sprints for relays are something we really need to improve on,” Gore said. “We have a lot of kids who can do a 100 or 200 (free) pretty well, but 50 (free) is a pretty big difference.”

Goals: “The big one with every sports team is to win state. I think with us, that’s a really graspable goal. We have the talent, we have the depth. We have everything we need, we just need to come to work now,” Witman said. “I think individually, every single person wants to see themselves improve in the year.”

“I think we have a better shot at state than we did last year,” Gore added.

Captains: Ben Gore, Conner Vacca, Ford Witman.

Other key athletes: Oliver Hoff, Ben Dixon, Jimmy Markwith.

Meet to watch: @ Bainbridge, Dec. 15; Inglemoor, Dec. 17.