On Sept 23^rd PHS traveled to the unfamiliar Sturgis pool for the inaugural conference matchup. The Sturgis program has a large team and an impressive history of strong swimming. The team size and tradition would not help them on this day as Plainwell’s depth and talent were too much for hosting Sturgis. Final score

Plainwell 124               Sturgis 61 

Juniors and Seniors

At seasons midpoint we are starting to see our junior and senior swimmers come into their own. The week before we witnessed Veronica Klein break that 6 minute barrier with a very strong first place showing in the 500 free. Karlee Gauthier would repeat the feat this week with her own best time of 5:53 in the 500 free against Sturgis for first place. It looks like coach may have just found a couple very strong 500 competitors to take to conference. Also stepping up for the Trojans, Allison Singh and Jessica Nyberg. After missing most of last season with injury Allison has come back with vengeance and is a much stronger swimmer. The end of season will show her true progress while Nyberg continues to perform well in her back and free events. If things continue to progress for her she will be a top candidate for the state relays in November. Kari Havenaar and Kaitlin Oaks have found their niche respectively in the fly and free events and are putting up good times and scoring valuable points. Our senior diver and newcomer Molly Wright continues to improve and should be a factor at conference while Kim Jones continues to be the class of the conference and is sure to be a top contender come state finals at Oakland. Kim also had a very strong showing at the Holland invite taking first place overall. Junior Emma Seiler is splitting time between diving and swimming but has the most impact in her free style events. Emma has caught some visiting coaches by surprise by topping the podium with strong swims in the 50 free. Also representing the junior class well is Abby Ernst who has already qualified for state in the IM and 100 back.  Abby is one of the best backstroke specialists in the conference and will be a top contender at state. Abby continues to rack up valuable first place finishes in all her events along with senior Aaryn Jewell. Aaryn feels at home swimming distance or sprint events and is capable of top finishes where ever coach needs her. The question is will coach have her defend her first place conference title in the 200 free or will she pursue that top spot in the 50 free? Stay tuned for more news. With the bulk of our conference schedule in front of us we are sure to be witness to some top notch performances.

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