As Sedona Red Rock High School swimming coach Daniel Morse looks forward to the upcoming season, he expects to see a number of his swimmers reach the state meet.
In fact, in some cases, Morse believes that his swimmers will not only qualify for state, but will do well once there.
“The boys team is looking really strong right now,” Morse said. “We’re looking to score those guys to get those relays in the top-five in state right now. That’s our goal.”
The top returners on the boys team include senior Andrew Tate as well as juniors Zach Dana and Eric Schrader. Incoming freshman Carlos Lattanzi is also expected to be one of the top point-getters for the Scorpions.
Additionally, the SRRHS team features a lot of multi-sport athletes, including a handful from the basketball team. For Morse, those swimmers help to buoy the team’s chances in the shorter individual swims and relays.
“We get a lot of multi-sport athletes,” Morse said. “We have these big, athletic kids. Some of them only train 12 weeks out of the year. So there’s no reason to have them try to do distance. They’re big and athletic. They can jump, have good starts and good turns. We just try to fill in the blanks and get them to do sprint events.”
The girls team is not as deep as its male counterparts. Given that the swim and volleyball seasons take place at the same time, the number of multi-sport girls is more limited.
At the top of the roster, though, the girls are strong. Senior Honoka Yabuuchi and junior Dezra Dana both return. Sophomore Louise “Breezy” Taylor will also join the team after moving from Minnesota.
Morse is still hoping to round his roster out. Even though the team’s official practices have already gotten underway, he wants to encourage any students who might be interested to come out and swim.
“Any high school kids who want a sport to do who maybe have some kind of love for the water, please contact me or the athletic director, Don Burton,” the coach said.
“We’re more than happy to accommodate anybody, any skill level. I think it’s a good thing for the kids, especially in a small town, to have some kind of extracurricular activities.”
Michael Dixon can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 131, or email to mdixon@larsonnewspapers.com
