The 2026 swim and dive season is already underway, and local teams are hopeful for strong performances. Here’s a look at what the coaches said about their teams.
Apollo: The season has been a learning experience for Apollo, as they enter the season with plenty of new faces. The girls’ team only has four swimmers for now, while the boys return Eli Mallott, Keaton Boiling, Grayson Turner, Beau Brock, William Melton, and Dylan Rhodes.
The girls’ team is fairly new to swimming, with all four members in the process of learning multiple strokes. On the diving side, Olivia Esposito is back and has been showing improvements.
Head Coach Kevin Peveler wants to see at least one of his relay teams qualify for state, as well multile indiviudals.
“We want to see the kids show improvement from meet to meet and set personal records,” Peveler said. “I want the kids to learn more than one stroke and have at least two strokes they can swim in a meet. We want to see just overall growth for the team.”
Daviess County: Daviess County is off to a solid start to the season, winning a dual meet against Ohio County and Butler County, and their girls’ team winning the Henderson Thankswimming Invitational.
The Lady Panthers return the majority of last year’s roster, including their top relay team that reached the state qualifiers consisting of Alaina Mason, Ellie Girten, Ryleigh Bevil, and Grace Bullock. A young team, they are joined by 15 new members.
On the boys’ side, they return Caleb Sosh, Mack Burton, Caden Embry, and they are joined by Colton Cook and Austin Spurrier.
Head Coach Megan Bevil and company have their eyes on defending their City County title and going on a run as a team at region.
“The last three years we have had a relay on the girls team advance to state, but they haven’t qualified for the state finals, and we want to change that this year,” Bevil said. “My overall goal is to see my boys get faster. It is kind of a building year for them as none of them are going to graduate this year.”
Owensboro: Owensboro started the season off with a for fun relay against the local schools and followed that up with an impressive showing at Henderson’s Thankswimming Inivtational. The boys placed fifth, and the girls were 10th.
While Owensboro has eight seniors on the roster, Owensboro Head Coach Sean Jackson views this as a developmental season, as 12 of 22 total members are freshmen or younger. Ethan Lippert, Max Baur, and Dawson Strobel all return for the boys and are joined by up-and-comers Wade Harper, Camden Johnson, Sammy Johnson, and X’Zander Wilson.
Only seven swimmers on the girls’ side, they have two seniors in Carolina Smith and Kiara Krahwinkel. They are joined by Chloe Marie Aud, Annabelle Baur, Evie Kravetz, and Chaney Poole. Owensboro also has four divers in Zannirah Mills, Charli Rickard, Annabelle Baur, and Chaney Poole.
“I would like to see a good solid team go to state, Jackson said. “That is my main goal, and they have been working hard. I want to see them go farther than they did last year.”
Owensboro Catholic: Owensboro Catholic returns the majority of last year’s team and has around 22 total members and six seniors.
Leading the way for the boys are Miller Bowman and Jeremy Danetz, and they are joined by up-and-comer Wesley Padgett. Mary Ava Evans, Julia Helwig, Sterling Monroe, and Laney Ann Osborne are all back for the Lady Aces.
After a close finish at City County a year ago, head coach Sam Howard wants to see his team get over the hump this year
“I think our big competition will be Daviess County, but I think we have the potential to win it this year,” Howard said.
