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The Trojan boys and girls teams both will field a healthy number of newcomers.
In addition, neither team boasts a strong core of swimmers who participated in YMCA practices earlier in the fall.
It all makes for an interesting start to the season for Trojan girls coach Donnie Miller and boys coach Mark Shoap.
"It's more of a teaching game than a coaching game right now," Shoap said. "A lot of it is teaching the way we do things. We have 12 new guys. We're relying on our veteran seniors to help out the process. Logan Haga and Zach Stansbury have been really good at stepping up and helping to show the others the ropes.
"Also a challenge is the difference in skill levels from beginner swimmers to state qualifiers. It's unique to coach such a diverse group."
Shoap has five swimmers who contributed to the team last season. Haga will swim distance freestyle events as well as butterfly and backstroke while Stansbury will specialize in the breaststroke.
Junior Chase Wennick figures to play a key part in the backstroke and butterfly while sophomore Matthew Rines will be a major factor in distance freestyle and butterfly.
With a depleted group of returners, Shoap needs someone like sophomore Jordan Metz to plug in during dual meets. Metz can do it all for the Trojans -- distance freestyle, breaststroke, IM, backstroke.
Last season, Metz qualified for the 200 IM and 500 freestyle
At Mid Penns, Metz placed third in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 IM. Rines grabbed ninth in the 200 free.
"One of our greatest strengths is our willingness to work hard and give 110 percent," Shoap said. "I've already seen huge improvement in times. There's always strength in numbers. We have depth. Numerous guys can swim multiple strokes; that's a plus."
The 12 new members on the team is where Shoap will find his depth. In the group, four upperclassmen will join the fray for the first time, and six freshmen will also help make an impact.
The Trojan girls boast a strong group of senior leaders in Autumn Bowers, Chelsey Michael, Ali Pastor and Teal Nitterhouse.
"We have five seniors and four of the five have been swimming since their freshman year," Miller said. "It's definitely the strength of our team. They're ready to work every day, no matter what the challenge is. They have their sights set on our long-term goals. They know what it takes to make it to that point at the end of the year. They set the tone for the team to get there."
Bowers placed 20th in the 500 freestyle at districts last season. In addition, Bowers and Michael participated in the 200 medley relay at districts, which finished 15th.
Juniors Oliva Beckner, Lauren Kimberly, Hailey Parson, Emma Sheppard and Ali Franchi and senior Olivia Harper also return for the Trojans.
At Mid Penns, Beckner placed 10th in the 500 freestyle just behind Bowers (seventh).
A solid group of newcomers is led by freshman Kelly Hamilton, who has racked up national honors competing for the Chambersburg Chargers YMCA team. She'll provide instant points in the butterfly and backstroke, her trademark events.
The struggle will be getting caught up to speed as quickly as possible.
"This is the first time since I've been a coach at Chambersburg that the majority of our swimmers haven't been in the water before the high school season," Miller said. "We have three swimmers also competing for the YMCA -- 15 of the 18 have been in the water for only three weeks. It's been a challenge."
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Brian Hall may be reached at 262-4788 or bkhall@publicopinionnews.com.
Trojan boys at a glance
Coach: Mark Shoap, 15th year, 110-34-1 (.763).
Last year: 6-4 (4-2 Mid Penn Commonwealth).
Top swimmers lost: Derek Day, Shaun Martin, Andrew Scheitle, Jordan Smith, Michael Toohig.
Top returning swimmers: Logan Haga (sr., distance freestyle, butterfly, backstroke); Zach Stansbury (sr., breaststroke); Chase Wennick (jr., backstroke, butterfly); Jordan Metz (so., distance freestyle, breaststroke, IM, backstroke); Matthew Rines (so., freestyle, butterfly).
Other top swimmers: Chris Murphy (sr., sprint freestyle); Alfredo Perez (sr., freestyle); Andrew Lowe (jr., freestyle, breastroke); Tommy Toohig (jr., freestyle); Hunter Andrews (so., freestyle); Byron Fry (so., IM); Eric Day (fr., freestyle, butterfly); Michael Gyurisin (fr., freestyle, IM); Chandler Johnson (fr., freestyle, butterfly); Mark Leeper (fr., butterfly); Joshua Pankiw (fr., backstroke, breaststroke); Bryton Zook (fr., freestyle, breaststroke).
Season opener: Saturday, at Mercersburg Invitational, 2.
Trojan girls at a glance
Coach: Donnie Miller, eighth year, 51-19-1 (.728).
Last year: 5-4-1 (3-2-1 Mid Penn Commonwealth).
Top swimmers lost: Shea Powanda, Haley Wissinger.
Top returning swimmers: Autumn Bowers (sr., distance freestyle, breaststroke); Chelsey Michael (sr., sprint freestyle, butterfly, IM); Ali Pastor (sr., butterfly, IM, sprint freestyle); Teal Nitterhouse (sr., freestyle); Olivia Beckner (jr., distance freestyle, IM, backstroke); Lauren Kimberly (jr., butterfly, IM, middle distance freestyle); Hailey Parson (jr., breaststroke, IM, distance freestyle); Emma Sheppard (jr., freestyle); Olivia Harper (sr., backstroke, distance freestyle); Ali Franchi (jr., freestyle, butterfly).
Other top swimmers: Jessica Klink (jr., freestyle, breaststroke); Meaghan Merkle (jr., freestyle); Kiana Thompson (so., sprint freestyle); Kelly Hamilton (fr., butterfly, backstroke); Jenna Happel (fr., sprint freestyle, backstroke); Hannah Parson (fr., IM, breaststroke, butterfly); Rachelle Maynard (fr., freestyle); Taylor Parson (fr., breaststroke, freestyle).
Opener: Saturday, at Mercersburg Invitational, 2.
