Trinity’s Swim Team, led by Coaches Wayne Kraus ’85 and Mike Essig ’85, and Senior Captains Sawyer Tapp and Alec Kammeyer, looks to continue their regional dominance and excellence at the state-level in their upcoming season. Last February, Trinity won their third consecutive Region 5 Championship, defeating second place Eastern High School by a whopping 117 points. Following this dominant performance, the Swim Rocks finished second in the KHSAA State Championship, narrowly topping third place Ryle by two points.
A WINNING CULTURE:
When asked about the recent success of the program, Kraus commented, “I think that we swam up to our potential and we knew that if we did, we were going to be successful. That’s what happened, and that’s what I expect to happen again this year.” When explaining Trinity’s recent success, Kraus praised the high quality of Trinity’s team. “It’s the quality of people that come to the program. There’s an old saying, you can’t play defense in swimming, you can only be as fast as you can be. We’ve had some quality kids in the program, and it’s turned out to be quality results.” Kraus also displayed a lot of optimism for the upcoming season. “We have a really strong senior class, and we have the chance to possibly be a state runner-up again, which to do two years in a row would be quite an achievement.” Finally, Kraus commented about the prideful culture of Trinity’s Swim Program. “One of our big things was no matter how well you swim in the water, you can always be polite and thankful to the officials and congratulate your opponents whether you win or lose. Also, making sure you keep your team area nice and clean, and managing all those little things that give you a good reputation statewide, which we have remained very strong in for well over 20 years.” Trinity takes immense pride in the respectable character they have fostered and upheld in and out of the water over the last two decades under Coach Kraus.
RECORD SETTERS:
This season, several swimmers are looking to set school records in numerous events. Senior Captain Sawyer Tapp already holds Trinity’s 100-yard backstroke record, swimming a 49.14 in the 2024 KHSAA State Championship. While he wishes to improve this time, he also has his sights set on Trinity’s 100-yard butterfly record, a 49.81 set by Jacob Dray ’19. Last year Sawyer swam a 50.16. Sophomore Hampton Stuecker is also looking to overcome Nate Bond’s ’12 4:40.21 500-yard freestyle. As a freshman, Stuecker swam a 4:41.20 in last year’s KHSAA Region 5 Championship. Trinity’s 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays, along with the 200-yard medley relay, are also close to setting school records. Keep an eye out for other potential record breakers such as Meyer Hitch, Mateo Rodriguez-Agusti, and Alec Kammeyer, and good luck to all potential record-setting swimmers this year.
SCHEDULE PREVIEW:
The 2024-2025 Swim Rocks are set to debut this Saturday, November 9, in the Assumption Invitational at U of L’s Ralph Wright Natatorium. Two weeks later, the Rocks hit the road and travel to Evansville to compete in the Thanksgiving Invitational, a formidable test for Trinity in a tough road environment. Trinity Swim is also set to visit Cincinnati, Center Grove, and New Albany later in the season. Kraus shared an exciting outlook of the schedule. “We’ve got a nice schedule. The season’s a little bit shorter this year because they have the three levels of the state, regional, state first round, and state finals, which are all two weeks apart. So, the actual schedule of meets is a little bit shorter, but it’s going to be fun and exciting.” On January 25, the Rocks will look to win their 4th consecutive KHSAA Region 5 Championship and follow that momentum into a strong performance in the KHSAA State Meet on February 22.
If you are interested in joining the Trinity Swim and Dive team, or have any questions, feel free to contact Coach Kraus at [email protected] or Coach Essig at [email protected], and make sure to continue supporting the Swim Rocks!
