The Surry Central girls swim team is looking to complete an undefeated regular season Monday night when it travels to Kernersville for a matchup with traditional Northwest power Bishop McGuinness. Pictured, front row, from left, are Hannah Odum and Karie McLamb; (middle row) Allee Taylor, Karmen Gardner, Megan Callaway, Reba Stanley, Destiny Bruner and Jessica Dance; (back row) Haley Comer, Kirstin Gardner, Lyncee Kowalcik, Chelsea Craddock, Breanna Coleman, Raven Stanley and Rachel Blevins.
The Golden Eagles (8-0) won three Mountain Valley 2A Conference championships in the past four years, although it would have been four had last season’s meet been for the championship and not an invitational. This season, Central has been relocated to the Northwest 1A/2A, where the Villains have been on a roll of their own.
“They’re like a dynasty from what we hear,” Surry Central coach Dara Kowalcik said. “They’ve won this conference the past four years.”
While a team’s standing at the end of the regular season means little compared to the conference championship meet, that doesn’t mean the girls aren’t pumped to take on a talented team like Bishop.
“I want to continue the tradition here and be undefeated,” Kirstin Gardner said. “I’d really, really like to do it by beating Bishop. I think it would be the icing on the cake senior year.”
During the buildup to the match, excitement has bred a hint of nervousness.
“I’m kind of nervous, but excited at the same time,” said Lyncee Kowalcik, Dara’s daughter and one of the top swimmers in the conference. “It’s going to be a really good matchup.”
Bishop is 3-1 in conference meets. The Villains’ lone conference loss came in a close meet against East Surry, a team Central holds a victory over.
Some of the smaller classification schools in the area don’t have the numbers or talent of Central or Bishop. But with both factors on their sides, the meet looks to be pretty even on paper.
“I feel like it will be a good meet,” Dara Kowalcik said. “I feel like it can go either way. I don’t want the kids to be nervous; I want them to be excited.”
One of the reasons for Central’s being anxious is that the Villains, unlike most of the Golden Eagles’ opponents, are an unknown commodity.
“We really don’t know anything about them,” Kowalcik said. “We don’t know their swimmers. It’s not like Mount Airy swimmers that my kids swim with.”
The Golden Eagles may become familiar with the Villains’ Rose O’Shea and Tory Bowers fairly quickly. O’Shea specializes in the 50-yard freestyle, while Bowers, a sophomore, does the 200 and 500 freestyle. Don’t be surprised to see them lining up for other events, either.
“They can both swim anything,” Bishop coach Jennifer Cleveland said, “but those are their best events.”
The Villains have five less swimmers than a year ago, but are a tightly-bound group.
“There’s such a strong team atmosphere that they motivate each other,” Cleveland said.
Kowalcik said she won’t have a lineup ready until Sunday night and did not know which swimmers were going to compete in each event. Some of the Golden Eagles’ top swimmers include Lyncee Kowalcik, Allee Taylor and Kirstin and Karmen Gardner.
“Just about every swimmer on that swim team has moved around and out of the event they are most comfortable with,” Dara Kowalcik said. “They are placed where we need them.”
Both schools have coaches that are relatively new at their current posts. Central’s Kowalcik is in her first season, while Bishop’s Cleveland is finishing up her second season.
In the boys’ competition, it is Bishop McGuinness that brings an undefeated conference record at 5-0. The Golden Eagles boys are 4-4.
The meet will be held at the Kernersville YMCA and begin at 5 p.m. Monday.
Contact Ed Phillipps at ephillipps@mtairynews.com or 719-1921.
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