Eureka High School swimming coach Sharon Wasson beams when speaking about her team.

"I love the fact that we're so young," said Wasson. Despite having just three senior swimmers, Eureka beat a strong Ladue team on Dec. 14, 107-79, before falling to Parkway North on Dec. 17, 133-53. Senior captains Jessica D'Anna and Allie Truex are leading what Wasson calls "a hard-working bunch of girls, where everybody is great … everybody."

One needs to be hard working to get through swimming practice at Eureka. In 17 years of coaching the Aquacats, Wasson has learned to consistently drill the fundamentals and always push her teams hard.

"We do turns, every day, for at least 30 minutes, and the girls are constantly reminded to stay horizontal, even when simply waiting for their turn. I don't want any laziness in the pool," Wasson said.

That work is followed by lap after lap of swimming with an emphasis on effort and technique.

Freshman Emily Muggleton (individual medley), who recently moved from the United Kingdom, and sophomores Stephanie Mueller and Ellie Figueroa, all have excellent chances to qualify for the state meet this season. Both the free relay and the medley relay squads should qualify as well, with freshmen and sophomores swimming every lap.

Mueller is among area leaders in the 50 freestyle at 00:26.84. Figueroa is among leaders in the 100 breaststroke at 01:17.73.

Other Aquacats swimmers having a strong start to the season include freshman Candace Vorbeck (butterfly), sophomores Sarah Jensen (butterfly) and Kelsey Griffith (freestyle), and junior captain Ashley Bushnell (butterfly). Freshmen Maddie Clausius and Taylor Balleau have the potential to develop into strong freestyle distance swimmers.

Eureka is 11^th in the metro area in the 200 freestyle relay at 01:49.98.

Diving coach Ali Krinski also is working with the freshmen, and like Wasson, she's excited about this group. With senior captain Kelly Glickert recovering from hip surgery, Krinski said freshmen Kelly Hepper and Brooke Ercoli have really stepped up their efforts and made great progress.

A smiling Krinski said, "It's so much fun coaching these girls. No drama, no silliness, just hard work and encouragement for each other. We have a strong year ahead of us." The divers always are excited to hear a loud "Boom!" out of Krinski, because then they know they have really nailed a dive.

With good things ahead for this youthful group of swimmers, it is a fun time for Eureka. Talent and desire are vital components to any team, but they cannot be taught. These girls have a lot of both, said their coaches.

"All the girls take swimming very seriously. Even the ones who are brand new to competitive swimming are already showing improvement," said Wasson.

Eureka will compete on Jan. 4 at 4:15 when it hosts Mehlville.