The 2025 swim season is already underway, and local teams are hopeful for strong performances. Here’s a look at what the coaches said about their teams.
Apollo: Apollo enters the season with the majority of the roster being sophomores or younger, as there are only two seniors. The Eagles have only had one meet so far, against Owensboro Catholic, and head coach Kevin Peveler was pleased with the progress his athletes showcased.
On the boys’ side, Keaton Boling, who qualified for state a year ago, and senior Emmit Brock will be leaned on for their veteran leadership. Sophomore Eli Malott and freshmen Grayson Turner and Beau Brock are expected to provide solid contributions. On the girls’ side, sophomores Anne Ladnier and Anna Stovall are expected to lead the way.
Peveler wants his team to improve from week to week and qualify as many people as possible to state.
Daviess County: Daviess County swim enters a new era with a brand-new head coach in Megan Bevil. The reigning City-County champs, Bevil said despite the team entering a rebuild they still have their eyes on defending the title.
Having lost multiple seniors to graduation, Bevil went to the local middle school to recruit, leading to the team having around 40 members on this year’s roster. Many of this year’s athletes are new to competitive swimming, but they held their own at the first few meets. Traveling to Bowling Green on November 19, they fell short of South Warren but beat Greenwood.
On the girls’ side, junior Alaina Mason, sophomore Ellie Girten, and freshman Ryleigh Bevil have already all recorded first-place finishes in their respective races. For the boys, Victor Neves, Maxwell Sterett, and Caleb Sosh have been leading the way.
On top of defending their City-County title, the Panthers are vying to take down their rival Owensboro Catholic and make some noise at the region tournament.
As a first-year head coach, Bevil is trying to grow the sport of swimming not only at Daviess County but in the entire Owensboro area.
“I want to get more kids involved in the sport of swimming as a whole and I want to bring the fun back to high school swimming,” Bevil said.
Owensboro: The Owensboro coach did not respond to questions for this preview.
Owensboro Catholic: Owensboro Catholic entered the 2025 swim season with a new head coach in Sam Howard, who has been pleased with his team’s early start.
“We have a group of about 20 swimmers, and most are returners,” Howard said. “They are an experienced group that had some positive surprises at City-County last year. We also have new additions this year that I am excited about.”
After taking some time off, the trio of Emily Hayden, Parker Hayden, and Calvin Padgett returned to swim for their senior year. Joining them is newcomer Miller Bowman who sat out last year due to transferring.
Howard believes his team can win City-County this year and they are looking to hold their own at the region tournament and advance to state.
