In the eyes of many, sports are seen as groups of people and some sort of ball

(football, basketball, volleyball). sports that are individualized often go unnoticed. Many choose to stray away from solo sports, but for Quinn Wolff, a four-year high school swimmer, individual sports are his jam and he has high expectations for the upcoming swim season.

“We wanna get first at state, break all the relay records, and personally I would like to get close to the 200 record,” Wolff said. “Even though I know it’s a long ways away, I want to get within a couple of seconds.” Wolff swims primarily freestyle and butterfly.

Despite facing some disappointments in team performance at the state meet from last season placing 4th, the team is confident heading into this season. 

“We thought we could have done a lot better last year, but we realize the past doesn’t matter, and it is only this season that matters,”  junior Will Jost said.  Jost specializes in freestyle and broke two Parkway Central records this season, including the 50 and 100 freestyle, 

Although there are a lot of juniors and seniors on the team, it doesn’t undermine the high potential of the sophomores and freshmen who look to contribute to winning a title this year. 

“Two kids that have already put a ton of work in the off-season are Cole Smith and Zeidan Reza,” Coach Andrew Schonhoff said. “They are both sophomores and had good seasons last year, but they should have great seasons this year. Brody Blatt, a freshman, can really make an impact if he gets in the water for us.” 

Overall, Schonhoff, an 11-year coach at Parkway Central, has had a big impact on the boys and has taught them valuable lessons.

“The best piece of advice Schonhoff has given me is that nothing is guaranteed and even when you get to the top of where you wanna be, there is still another level and you have to work hard to get to the top of that one too,” Jost said. 

Outside of being a well-recognized swimmer, Jake Hansen has also emerged as a leader of the team alongside Schonhoff. 

“It has been really cool to see Jake take ownership of the team this year,” Schonhoff said. “The easy answer is he is an elite swimmer, no matter what event he is in, he is going to do amazing, and there are very few guys in the state that can give him a race in his elite events. But the intangibles: he’s an extremely hard worker, a great leader, and has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to swimming. Seeing him lead by example and coaching up the team has been cool to see.” The boys will compete for the state championship on Nov.10-11.