No central Maine swim teams took home conference or state championships a year ago, but plenty of local talent did shine through across the area.

It’s a similar story with the first meets of the 2023-24 season just days away. Many of the strong swimmers from a year ago are back for what should be another exciting season on pool decks.

At the top of the heap locally this year is a Cony girls team returning much of the unit that took fourth in the Class A state championships last year. Back for the Rams (now in Class B) are Addison Burnham, Lillianna Choate, Emily Kennard and Annabelle Orth, who combined to win the 400-yard freestyle relay at states.

Individually, Burnham was the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A Swimmer of the Meet a season ago, and Kennard is the reigning state champ in the 100-yard backstroke and 200 individual medley. On the boys side, Jameson Russell is back after top-10 state finishes in the 100 back and 100 butterfly.

“I’ve only got two seniors, Addison Burnham and Jameson, but they’re very talented, and we’re expecting the most out of them,” said Cony head coach Bob Johnston. “I’ve got a good junior class in Lillianna, Annabelle and Emily and some good freshmen that have come in. … We’ll do well (with the girls team).”

Competing with the Rams in KVAC Class B will be Gardiner/Hall-Dale, which is also loaded with talent on the girls side. The Tigers finished third to Belfast and Morse in last year’s KVAC B meet and bring back Addison Pollis (conference 100 freestyle champion) to lead a team full of returning swimmers.

That returning crew also includes Abby Burgoin, Caylyn Pekins and Jessie Wiley, who will be joined by freshmen Georgia McCamish and Emma Nichols. The Gardiner boys bring back a pair of talented swimmers in sophomores Ian Dickson and Owen Munzing.

“For girls, I don’t really have any beginners; most of these kids have either swam with me for a couple years or have swam for other club teams,” said Gardiner/Hall-Dale head coach Rob Pekins. “I’ve got four boys, and the other two are beginners, but they’re both athletes, and they have good attitudes and are picking up the strokes really fast.”

Swimming, like many high school sports, is a numbers game, and nobody in central Maine is better off in that department than Waterville/Winslow. After competing with just a handful of swimmers a few years ago, the Purple Panthers are now an impressive 28 strong with 12 girls and 16 boys.

“My first year on the team, we had three guys; now, we have all this,” said senior Sam Bernier, the top returning swimmer for the Waterville/Winslow boys team. “Honestly, I tried to do a lot of recruiting, but we’re looking good. People are improving fast. I think it’s going to be a good (season).”

“It was kind of unexpected (to have a bigger boys team), but some of our seniors really stepped up to recruit,” added Waterville/Winslow head coach Justin Giroux. “We really wanted people to feel comfortable joining the team, even if they’re beginners. A lot of them are beginners, but we have a good history of training new swimmers.”

Bernier will be called upon heavily for the Waterville/Winslow boys team, which finished third in the KVAC B championships last year but must replace one of their top swimmers in Andrew Turlo. The girls will be led by Julia Scott, a strong IM swimmer, and Hattie Bouchard, who excels in the fly and breaststroke.

Erskine Academy is young but does return a pair of key girls swimmers in A.J. Jarosz and Stephanie Kumnick. Although the Eagles will be a young team reliant heavily on new swimmers this season, they remain confident in their young talent and expect big things from their relay teams.

“We’re still low in numbers, but we’re excited,” said Erskine head coach Susan Burke. “We’ve got two seniors (Kumnick and Jarosz) who are promising. The medley relay should be good. Even though we’re small in numbers, I think we have talent. … We’re a good team, but we’re small — small and mighty.”

In Class A, Messalonskee returns the backbone of a strong girls team that took second place in the KVAC a year ago. Back for the Eagles are Chloe Masse (second, 50 freestyle; third, 300 breaststroke), Liana Arnold (third, 100 backstroke), Emma McDowell (fifth, 100 backstroke) and Rylee Spadea (fifth, 100 breaststroke).

The Messalonskee boys also claimed second in KVAC A last season but have work to do after the loss of three key seniors, Logan DeRaps, Connor McCafferty and Nigel Thurston. The Eagles do bring back a key swimmer in Pierce Coughlin, who placed third in the conference in the 500 free.

Central Maine Newspapers staff reporter Dave Dyer contributed to this report.

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