Though the girls swimming and diving state championships are still weeks away, the annual Parkway South Invitational is a terrific opportunity to get a snapshot of things to come.
Weather permiting, 12 teams will compete in the two-day event that begins Friday.
"After the South Invite you can really put together a little bit of a picture of what the state meet is going to look like," Parkway Central coach Kevin Mabie said.
The event will begin with preliminaries at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The finals will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Schools scheduled to take part include: Parkway South, Parkway Central, Parkway West, Parkway North (divers only), Hickman, Rock Bridge, Kirkwood, Villa Duchesne, Marquette, Lafayette, Glendale, Ozark and Notre Dame De Sion
"It's going to be a full house," Parkway South coach Sara Gerth said. "A lot of the coaches like the meet because it's two days and it simulates state. It gives girls the feeling of what it's like to compete two days in a row."
Races of note include the 50 freestyle with Parkway South Samm Crocker (24.80), Villa Duchesne's Morgan Mullenix (24.86), and Parkway West's Kate Gately (24.87). Parkway Central's Ally Neumann (2:15.54) and Rock Bridge's Kortney Betz (2:15.88) look to be neck and neck in the 200 IM.
Villa's Bentley Bold has the top time coming in the 100 butterfly and can expect a challenge from Hickman's Jenahlyn Felten.
Glendale boast superior relays, posting the fastest times in all three events.
The host Patriots are a week away from a narrow, four-point win at the Parkway Quad.
"We've been building off things every week this season," Gerth said. "I really try to take things meet by meet. They're all different."
This weekend, teams will be allowed to enter four swimmers per event, which bodes well for Parkway South, which has a squad with considerable depth.
"This year, I have a really strong senior class that wants to be fast," Gerth said. "They're really dedicated and are great leaders and I have really fast freshman and other underclassmen."
