The Park Hill South boys swim and dive team is gearing up for a new season and have the aid of an additional training facility.
Entering his eighth season as head coach, 26th season with the program, Tim Busenhart is excited for the fall boys swim and dive season. The Panthers will benefit from the addition of a dryland facility to the aquatic center, which will enable the team to build strength and increase repetitions.
The dryland facility at the Park Hill Aquatic Center was part of Bundle 3 of a bond project passed by Park Hill voters in April 2022. The facility provides special equipment such as rowing machines and vasa trainers — providing swim-specific strength, technique, and endurance exercise machines — but the facility also houses additional office space for coaches and storage.
With a lot of new faces on the team this year, the dryland facility will get put to use right away. After placing seventh at state last year, South hopes to earn another top-10 finish at state.
Park Hill South returns senior Cooper McQueen, Atreyu McCauley and Henry Dorothy to the diving squad. McQueen and McCauley won all-state medals after placing in the top eight at state while Dorothy also returns with state experience.
In the pool, the Panthers return three swimmers who competed at state in 2024. Junior Casey O’Hara and sophomore Connor Landuyt are back competing in the 100-meter backstroke as well as sophomore Ari Elder in the 100-meter freestyle.
“We have really focused at building a good team culture especially since over half the swimmers are new,” Busenhart said.
Park Hill South has introduced nine freshmen into the program this year. Busenhart sees lots of potential in the new group to become the next generation of the Panthers’ swim team.