The Midwest Swim Conference has changed a lot since the 1980s and 1990s, when St. Clair Country Club was dominant.
These days, six-time defending champion Kings Point rules a deeper, stronger conference, with St, Clair coming off a fourth-place finish. But Kaiser, now in his 38th season, enjoys the challenge as much as ever.
"Kings Point has a new coach this year and Scott Gardner is doing a nice job for them," Kaiser said. "They have so much talent, including a lot of year-round swimmers. They’re probably still the team to beat even though they’ve lost some families.
"The championship should come down to them, O’Fallon, Hilltoppers and maybe Highland. We ended up edging Highland by a few points at the conference meet last year. but we’ve lost some really good swimmers. They’re a public pool with a lot of good swimmers, so I don’t know if we can beat them this year."
St. Clair’s roster is comprised mostly of summer swimmers.
"They’re very dedicated, so I’m really happy with all of them," Kaiser said.
Jana St. Eve, who is now 18, has been swimming for St. Clair since she was 5. A year-round swimmer, she didn’t compete during the winter this year but did swim for Notre Dame High School in St. Louis.
James Leopold is another standout in his final year on the team. Other top swimmers include Sally O’Malley (13-14 girls), Willa Nagy (9-10 girls), Greta Nagy (13-14 girls), Sophia Burwitz (9-10 girls), Isabel Burwitz (11-12 girls), Alex Harris (11-12 girls) and Sara Caponi (11-12 girls).
St. Clair opened the season June 16 at home with a 350-191 win over Westhaven. The team was losing to Hilltoppers on June 21 when the meet was stopped due to rain and lightning just before the girls 11-12 IM. It wasn’t an official meet since conference rules require the IMs to be completed for the results to count as a win or loss, but both coaches agreed not to reschedule the meet.
On Thursday, St. Clair’s official record dropped to 1-1 with a 17-point loss to Highland, with the meet not being decided until the final relay. The team was slated to swim Tuesday at Freeburg and will swim Thursday at O’Fallon.
"The teams now all have good coaches and that makes a huge difference," Kaiser said. "The coaches have talked the kids into swimming year-round and that’s a big advantage.
"They’ve also picked up a lot more kids, which is something we can’t do. We’re a middle-of-the-road team, but for summer swimmers we’re really good."
Kaiser’s longtime assistant, Margaret Dahlmann, is pregnant and has cut back on her coaching duties this summer. Kaiser has a new assistant in former Kings Point standout Etienne Thro.
"Margaret will do all the computer work and she’ll coach with me a couple days a week," Kaiser said. "Etienne will probably do four days a week, so he’s a real good addition to our staff."
St. Clair’s swimmers are listed below by age group:
- Lane 1 girls: Katie Connolly, Olivia Massie, Claire Glover, Taylor Barnett, Maya Walsh-Wagner, Finnley Walsh-Wagner, Olivia Salvati and Vivien Van’t Hof.
- Lane 1 boys: Connor Riley, Jake Riley, Andrew Hill, Ryan Connolly, Ian Taylor, Jackson Glover, Jack Durante, Louis Van’t Hof and Thomas Riley.
- 8 and under girls: Hope Schmitt, Kendall Barnett, Kelly Cohn, Natalie Cohn, Chloe Sierra, Myla Curtis, Leah Renner, Bridget Hill, Tess Schmieder, Nikki Mastroianni, Taylor Maxim, Grace Mussman and Claire Glover.
- 8 and under boys: Ben Renner, Eli Butters, Alex Maxim, Grant Mussman, Hayden Glover, Jack Nester, Phil Bone, Reid Miller, Cole Curtis, Zach Brenner and Taylor Schmieder.
- 9-10 girls: Willa Nagy, Mary Nester, Sophia Sierra, Olivia Butters, Lucy Caponi, Bianca Sforza, Reagan Miller, Paige Barnett, Lois Landreth, Liesl Whitener, Caroline Cunningham, Sophia Burwitz, Sydney Kirchoff and Anna Mastroianni.
- 9-10 boys: Trey Schmieder, Luke Mandeville, Carson Massie and Brendan Hill.
- 11-12 girls: Sara Caponi, Anna Schmitt, Olivia Warner, Elle Badgley, Callison Ames, Isabel Burwitz and Alex Harris.
- 11-12 boys: Sam Bott, Ben Bott, David Rauchman, Harrison Maine, Drew Kirchoff and Bob Sforza.
- 13-14 girls: Sydnee Sachtleben, Elizabeth Barnes, Melissa Striegel, Kaky Bott, Sally O’Malley, Greta Nagy, Lexi Dent, Halle Ames, Haley Mandeville and Allyson Veile.
- 13-14 boys: Ian Burger, Pat Fiore, Addison Maine, Robert Whitener and Peyton Yoch.
- 15-18 girls: Jane St. Eve, Kylee Sachtleben, Wylie Bott, Lindsey Mandeville, Courtney Mandeville, Blair Rawlings, Shannon Cunningham, Lindsey Miller, Katie Caponi and Savannah Ames.
- 15-18 boys: James Leopold, Nick Fiore, Ryan Cunningham, Frank Warner, Mike Barnes, Allen Rauchman and Ken Warner.
