ShawneeDispatch.com

Shawnee Mission Northwest girls' swim coach Shawn Roberts arrived at Northwest this year after spending four years as an assistant coach at perennial Sunflower League power SM East.

He arrived not knowing what to expect.

What he found was a team willing to pull together despite any odds -- a team, he says, that has been a joy to coach.

"My expectations were very moderate," Roberts said. "I was going to just try and get some experience at running a program, but I was shocked by our team chemistry and intensity. This has been such a special group. There's just like this team bonding. It's infectious."

Roberts credits this enthusiasm with helping his team rack up a 7-7 record in dual meets -- quite a feat for a team with a new coach who arrived as a stranger in Cougar country.

Roberts also credits his team's unique chemistry in getting a high number of swimmers already qualified for the state meet scheduled for later this month.

The relay team of Lisa Hansen, Chelsea Murray, Natalie Pape and Melody Schongar, has made the state cut in all its races: 200 medley, 200 freestyle, and 400 freestyle. Hansen has qualified individually in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, and Murray has qualified in the 100 breaststroke.

Several other swimmers could post state qualifying times at this weekend's Sunflower League meet and have times still under consideration by the KSHSAA.

Perhaps one of the more interesting stories comes from the diving side of the squad, where junior Jessica Pickel and freshman Erin Schuberth have qualified on the one-meter board. Schuberth, a former Level 10 gymnast who has traded in her leotard for a swimsuit, is "projected to be in the top three" at this weekend's Sunflower League meet, Roberts said. Roberts and the Cougars believe she could potentially win the league title and be a real force at the state competition.

"As far as what we're looking at for league," Roberts said, " we're looking for a top-two or -three finish. Currently we are ranked fourth and we have faced, and will go up against, some high-caliber teams."

Roberts points to some solid Cougar finishes earlier in the season as reason for optimism. The Cougars took sixth place at the Trinity Invitational in Wichita against top-flight teams from throughout southwest and south central Kansas. It was the Cougars top finish ever in the invitational, topping a ninth-place finish from the year before. The Cougars also finished a respectable ninth out of 17 teams at the Olathe Invitational Swim and Dive Meet. These meets have served as preparation for this weekend's Sunflower League Finals.

"Our goal is to finish in the top four at league and the top 12 at state," Roberts said. "We're definitely looking to make our mark."

"There's been a lot of things that have gone in to making this team successful. We've got a good dry land program, we've done tons of deck work, and we've implemented goal setting. Right now we're focused on being the very best we can be."

When it all comes down to it, Roberts knows that the one key ingredient for this team's league and state success won't be in its out-of-pool preparation or in its previous performances. He said the key to this squad's advancement will be what's driven them all year long -- togetherness.

"This has been a really fun environment," Roberts said. "We have three senior captains and they, as much as anybody, have made this a great ride. It's all kept blossoming."

The Cougars dive into action at the Sunflower League meet this Friday at Prairie Trail Junior High in Olathe. Meet events begin at 4 p.m.