St. Michael-Albertville Swim Team Opens Season Sparked by Youth Movement

Perhaps the fall program looking to make the biggest strides this year is the one that's poised to make the biggest splash.

The St. Michael-Albertville girls' swim team sent 10 swimmers to the Class A State Meet last season, and is moving up to Class AA, a transition a lot of Knights' athletic programs have made over the last few years.

For coach Tom Guillou, now seems like an opportune time to make that move. He has strong senior leadership in seniors Morgan Haeska and Courtney Hanson, as well as up-and-coming swimmers and divers like Kasey Roberts and Kirsta Erickson.

"I think our leadership will come from our seniors. They're very focuesed and dedicated members of our squad. They understand the potential this group has as a team," Guillou said. "They've demonstrated the importance of working with our younger swimmers already."

Haeska is a four-year varsity swimmer. She said the coaching staff brings stability to a team that could be in the Mississippi 8's top three, and is really fighting for second place with Buffalo.

"I think we bring in a positive attitude, and it's something we try to share with all the girls," Haeska said. "We're improving. I think the Sea Devils program, and the experience that's giving our younger swimmers, is something you'll see more and more."

The squad will include 10 freshmen swimmers, and could also have a pair of middle schoolers, Guillou said.

"There will be a lot of new swimmers," Hanson added. "A lot of new people who can get points. We improved our workouts, and you can see a lot of that talent is in our younger grades. We don't even have 10 upperclassmen in the program this year, so the future definitely looks bright."

The Knights could make some noise in the deep end of the pool. Last year the team sent three divers to state, a school record. They could send two to the AA State Meet, which is a tough thing to do for any school, much less a newcomer.

"We really want to build on the success we saw last year, and keep moving ahead. We made a jump from sixth to second in our section, and we placed 10th at state. But it will be tougher, moving to AA. Times drop and more swimmers are looking for those top 16 spots," Guillou said. "We just need to keep improving as the season moves along."

The Knights open the season at their home pool today, squaring off against Melrose Area. The meet begins at 6 p.m. at

Saturday, St. Michael-Albertville jumps into conference action when they swim at Big Lake. That meet begins at 10 a.m.

The Knights' next home meet is Sept. 20, vs. Cambridge-Isanti.