Although Catalina Foothills long has been a powerhouse swimming team in Southern Arizona — a state champion seven years running in boys and girls — the Tucson area is chock-full of non-Falcons who have dominated state and regional competitions.
Sahuaro senior Ben Aaberg is one who has quietly been making his own waves.
Last year, Aaberg won the state title in the 200 individual medley and the 100 freestyle, and helped lead his team to a ninth-place finish at the 4A-I state meet.
This year, he said he hopes to improve in his events and lead his team to a better finish in the state meet.
Noelle Miesfeld, a senior captain at Rincon/University, helped lead her team to a fifth-place finish at state in 2005. She won the 500 freestyle and the 100 butterfly at the 4A Sonoran Region meet.
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They talked to the Star about their summers and the year ahead.
● Club team: Ford Aquatics
● Favorite event: 200 butterfly. It's my best event, and I just like the butterfly. That's my favorite stroke. My best time is 2:06.26.
● Favorite place to swim: The place I swim the most would be Hillenbrand, but I don't really have a favorite.
● Best thing about swimming in high school: The team camaraderie. For the club team, there's not that many people who go to my school and swim on the team. It's different to go to class with people you swim with. And there's the school pride — it's fun to carry it over into sports, instead of just academics.
● Improving over the summer: I think for swimming, it's really important to keep up with the training all year-round so you never lose it all. It's really an advantage.
● Building on last year's success: I think we have a hard-working group of swimmers. Everyone's working hard, individually, to get better and we're really coming together as a team.
● Big rivals: Everyone is competitive. You can't count anyone out. There's no one team we're looking to take down. We're just looking for good competition.
● Club team: Ford Aquatics
● Favorite event: 200 IM. I like doing all the strokes in one event; it's really different. (Best time: 1:52)
● Favorite place to swim: The U of A pool. It's the biggest in town, just about. It's also pretty clean. I like clean pools. I also like the ocean, but it's not much for swimming laps.
● Best thing about swimming for a high school team: High school is definitely more fun because of the people you get to swim with. And it's just more relaxed.
● Improving over the summer: I trained in meters over the summer. (AIA uses yards.) I'm hoping that training in meters will give me a little more endurance to finish the races. Last summer, I didn't train at all. So I'm hoping that training this summer will really make a difference.
● Building on last year's success: "I think we have a good chance of overtaking Catalina Foothills. I think they lost some seniors, and we are returning a lot of swimmers this year. And I have a really good feeling about relays. Last year, I think we lacked numbers. We have some new swimmers, and I think they have a good chance of making state."
● Big rivals: Either Catalina Foothills or Sabino. Sabino trains at the same pool as us, so we get to see them every day.
Canyon del Oro: Justin Wray, Sr. Catalina Foothills: Michael Weinand, Sr. Salpointe Catholic: Matt Doyle, Sr.; Frank Fletcher, Sr.; Aaron Jackson, Sr. Cienega: Sean Blick, Sr.; C.J. Washburn, So. Desert Christian: Ryan Biggie, Sr. Ironwood Ridge: Elliot Tierney, Sr.; Austin Alexander, Jr.; Garrett Alexander, So. Mountain View: Lee Gundy, So.; Ian Wishnies, So.; Ben Wieser, Sr.; Sterling Glauser, Sr. Palo Verde: Geordon Price, So.; Zach Hoffman, So.; Albert Riesgo, Jr. Pueblo: William Seyler, Sr. Rincon/University: Bobby Koubratoff, Jr.; Garrett Richards, Sr.; Jeff Amlee, So. Sabino: Kurt Denninghoff, Sr.; Michael Southworth, Sr. Sahuaro: Anthony Chiaro, So.; John Kent, Fr. Santa Rita: Karl Beeston, Sr.; Nico Montaño, So.
Catalina: Keri Billings, Jr.; Samantha Kunk, Jr. Catalina Foothills: Ellie Doran, Sr.; Abby Corcoran, Jr.; Tabina Chuk, Sr. Cholla: Anna-Alyse Tellez, Sr.; Briana Wilford, So.; Cheyene Weeks-Galindo, Jr. Cienega: Abbie Currier, Sr. Desert Christian: Cassie Jorg, Sr. Ironwood Ridge: Rachel Svetlik, So.; Kate Stanley, Jr.; Chloe Buser, So. Mountain View: Kayla Ward, Sr.; Sandi Schumacher, Sr.; Lindee Empens, Jr., Theresa Drenten, Jr. Rincon/University: Noelle Miesfeld, Sr.; Stephanie White, Jr. Sabino: Sarah Denninghoff, Fr.; Caroline Walls, Sr. Sahuaro: Caitlin Leverenz, So.; Stephanie Wells, So. Salpointe Catholic: Emma Darlington, Sr.; Irene Rodriguez, Sr.; Brittany Kolanne, Jr.; Stephanie Sinn, Fr. Santa Rita: Erin Smith, So. Tucson: Brittany Brown, Sr.; Lauren Preble, Sr.
● Class 4A-I and 4A-II state meet: Oct. 27 (preliminary round) and Oct. 28 (final round) at ASU's Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex.
● Class 5A-I and 5A-II state meet: Nov. 3 (preliminary round) and Nov. 4 (final round) at ASU's Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex.
Coming up
● Thursday: Cross country
