The Bobcats are back at it, diving off the board and blocks fast and strong, all for the hopes of dominating the start of their season.

To start the season the Bobcats competed in the Maroon and Gray meet December 10.

The maroon and gray meet is essentially an intramural practice meet in which Beaver Area swimmers and divers compete against each other for updated times and to see how the relay teams work together.

This meet also let brand new members and returning swimmers try new events or events they would almost never swim without the consequences of doing poorly or losing the team crucial points.

The meet also allows new members to get a feel of the atmosphere of a high school meet.

Along with the swimmers, the divers also competed at the kickoff meet.

Like any other meet, the divers’ competition started the meet which lasted roughly 15 minutes before competing again during the swimmers’ halftime break.

The divers were led by newly elected team captain and senior Nate Grunberg.

On the swimming side, the boys’ team captains are juniors Jameson Bonnar and Brandon Osbourne, while the girls team will be led by seniors and team captains Hannah Hartle and Emma Schaeller.

As well as the team captains the team is led by head coach Marc Williams and assistant coach Jason Bonnar.

Mrs. Christi Ringer still helps with assistant coaching, and senior Maya Ramer serves as team manager.

Overall, the Bobcat swim team has a promising season ahead with 24-member roster which includes an exact split of 12 boys and 12 girls.

The dive team includes four members with one new freshman member Haley O’Brien.

But the real competition began December 16 when the Bobcats traveled to Blackhawk to compete in their first meet of the season.

Senior and team captain Emma Schaller stated, “It was a tough competition going in because they [the Cougars] have a lot of members as a whole, but individually I think everyone was happy with their results.”

The Bobcats were defeated by the Cougars at their away meet with a score of 92-65 for the girls and the score of 102-71 for the boys.

“It was really fun screaming and yelling all night, and the girls did great!” stated freshman swimmer Mandy Moldovan on her first high school meet.

Diver junior Alex Biela made her WPIAL cut in the 1 meter diving event at her first meet which is an impressive achievement and a chance for her to try new things throughout the season without the worry of not making the cut in time for WIPALs.

Osbourne, a boys 200 yard freestyle relay member and 100 yard freestyle swimmer helped give the Bobcats their two first-place finishes earning the team some much needed points.

The Bobcats travel to Seton LaSalle this evening for a match against the Rebels. Be sure to follow the team’s progress in the next issue of the ECHO.