Heatwave swimmers plan to make splash at Green Valley High

Aaron Thompson / Special to the Home News

Green Valley High School senior swimmer Addie Oswald practices at the Whitney Ranch indoor pool.

By Jared Harmon (contact)

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 | midnight

Aaron Thompson / Special to the Home News

Green Valley High School senior swimmers Addie, right and Carlee Oswald pose for a photo.

Aaron Thompson / Special to the Home News

Green Valley High School senior swimmer Addie Oswald practices at the Whitney Ranch indoor pool.

The Southeast Division girls swimming season is in for a major shake-up this season.

After recent dominance by Coronado, the balance of power seems to have shifted to Green Valley High with the transfer of Silverado's Addie and Carlee Oswald to the Gators.

Accounting for two Sunrise Regional titles, a second place, a third place and a championship relay last spring, the Oswald sisters have brought their experience to Green Valley to make the Gators the early front runner for the Sunrise Region championship and a possible state title.

"I don't want to speak too soon, but we have some very good swimmers," Addie Oswald, a senior, said. "I think (Green Valley) was probably already in a good position but now we should have a very good chance."

Carlee Oswald, a sophomore, took second place in the 100-meter backstroke and third place in the 200 individual medley at last year's regionals while her older sister won the 500 and 200 freestyle events. They also teamed up to take the regional title in the 200 free relay before Addie Oswald advanced to win the state championship in both her individual events.

The older Oswald expects to tackle the 200 IM and 500 free for the Gators with personal best times of 2:07.92 and 5:01.40, respectively. After another year of training with the Boulder City-Henderson Heatwave, Carlee Oswald has shaved her times down to 59.80 in the 100 back and 2:13.60 in the 200 IM.

With an older sister off to the Navy and their father working out of state, Addie Oswald said the family decided to downsize to a smaller house and was lucky enough to find one in the Green Valley zone.

The move afforded her the opportunity to swim her senior year for Heatwave coach Bob Swift, who also serves as the Green Valley High coach.

"I think they're going to add a lot of quality depth (to Green Valley) because they can swim any event," Swift said. "So with both of them and the other swimmers we have, we should form a very well-rounded team."

The younger Oswald said she is looking forward to another year of competition with her sister.

"Last year was a lot of fun because normally we race against each other," Carlee Oswald said. "We're still pretty competitive and we've only been on relays together a couple of times. Last year we got to root for each other instead."

Addie Oswald said she will miss aspects of the Silverado program, particularly her former coach John Cress, but she was also excited by the opportunity to swim her final year for Green Valley.

"I'm going to miss coach Cress because he was so much fun and he kind of kept me going sometimes," Addie Oswald said. "But I think it's going to be exciting to try to get that team championship. We were never really in that position with Silverado."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or jared.harmon@hbcpub.com.