Waukee Girls' Swimming and Volleyball Seasons Under way

The Waukee girls' swim team boasts a roster of 48 swimmers in only its second season, after outgrowing a shared program with the Johnston/Urbandale team.

Shelley Twigg, coach of the 2010 Johnston/Waukee joint swim team and current Waukee head coach, said word-of-mouth has been critical in building numbers for the team. 

"I think that getting the word out there was big," Twigg said. "Also, the Waukee YMCA Rays has just grown and grown and grown, so we’re getting a lot of that talent pool coming into high school.”

The Warriors finished 22^nd last season at the state meet. In their first meet of the season, the Warriors defeated Mason City 54-47.

“Last year we were just trying to fill a roster,” Twigg said. “This year we’re actually coming to compete and win. Mason City we surprised big time, but I think it’s going to be a different picture than it was last year. We have a chance to beat a lot of teams.” 

Senior Carter Bell is one of three captains on the roster and is excited about the youth and unity this year’s team possesses.

“Most of us have been swimming with them (the freshmen) on club teams for awhile, so we already knew them pretty well, “ Bell said. “Also, the team’s a lot more unified than last year, because it’s not our first season anymore. It’s also becoming much more organized, which is helping out with our team unity.”

Since all of the juniors and seniors began their high school swimming days competing for the Johnston/Waukee hybrid team, it should come as no surprise that the Johnston meet is one the girls look forward to.

“We swam there freshman and sophomore year,” said senior captain Tori Haag. “It’s nice to go back to that pool and see everyone.”

The Warriors dropped their second meet of the season 114-72 to Dowling Catholic. They will be in action again tonight at Des Moines East.

Volleyball

Last year's Waukee volleyball team finished with a 22-9 record and went to the state tournament for the first time as a 4A team. Nine letterwinners return, making the 2011 outlook a positive one.

Head coach Ed Frederick has played professionally overseas and is spending his second year at the helm in Waukee. He said a state tournament appearance is once again the goal.

“We would like to get into the championship flight in all tournaments we play in, win the conference, and get a state bid again this year,” Frederick said.

Currently the girls are ranked fifth in the state. Frederick has a couple dates he has highlighted on the team’s schedule.

“We are looking forward to hosting Urbandale on Sept. 6 and also Valley on Oct. 11 for redemption for tough losses last year,” Frederick said.

They will host the seventh-ranked Urbandale J-Hawks tonight at 6:30 p.m.