With the end of another great season for the Salem Girls Swim and Dive team comes the beginning of a promising season for the Sa­lem Boys Swim and Dive Team.

The boys have a lot to live up to, considering the girls’ team won the title of Park champs after winning their dual meets against both Plym­outh and Canton for the first time in many years.

Senior captain Lauren Seroka said one of the high­lights of the season for her was “when my 400 free relay along with sophomore Julia Suriana, Abby Aumiller and Maddie Gorman placed 13^th at the State Meet and broke the Salem varsity record by over five seconds.”

This year the boys’ team also looks to send a few athletes to the State Meet and place well while they are there. Five state qualifiers have returned to compete in the 2011-2012 swim season, including senior captains Nick Griwicki and Jeremy Wellman and juniors Jason Zhang, Turner Solteran and Jerry Bai.

“So far the season is go­ing better than I thought it would. We came in second at the EMU Relays Meet only be­cause a lot of people stepped it up and got a lot of best times. I think if we keep working hard at practice, we will do very well this year,” said senior Cal­vin Kahler.

The only returning swim­mer from the All-State 400 freestyle relay team is Jason Zhang, who also individu­ally qualified for the 100 back­stroke. Matt Collingwood, Max Mills and Adam Seroka all graduated, leaving the 400 freestyle relay open to new prospective athletes.

The team this year consists of 45 members, 17 of them freshmen.

“We do have some new tal­ent this year in Patrick Casey and freshman PK Ryan. Re­turning athletes that will be ready this year are Turner Solterman, Jerry Bai, Jason Zhang, sophomore Matt Pair­itz and seniors Will Long, Jeremy Wellman and Calvin Kahler,” said senior and four year member of the team Pat­rick Huls.

According to Huls, a chal­lenge the team will face is “leadership difficulties, with one of our team captains in­jured and gone from the team. However, many of our juniors and seniors have stepped up to be good role models for the rest of the team.”