By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

MCPHERSON – The little train called the McPherson boys swim program has made some major noise in the state despite not having their own pool to practice in, but in the upcoming 2021-22 season the outlook begins with the word rebuild.

Now beginning his third season as the head coach, Matt Cotton, faces a loss of five graduates who all earned state cut times in the 2020-21 season. Two of them, Matt Powers and Rhys Vanderhoof, will be future Bullpup Wall-of-Famers for winning medals at the state meet while another graduate, Cody Achilles, earned a podium spot at the state meet as well.

“Last season was a strong season for us despite the changes to our schedule due to Covid,” noted coach Cotton. “At the state meet, we managed to take home two bronze medals in the relays and we had a Smoky Valley co-op swimmer score the first ever state points for the Vikings.”

While the cupboard may seem kind of slim right now, the Bullpups will count on returnee Wesley Wurm to be the backbone of senior leadership after be reckoned with last season in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Other top returnees being counted on will be Tito Mendez and Cristian Garcia as well as Ethan Burger, a strong breast-stroker, who is returning to the competitive pool after taking last season off.

Of the four co-op swimmers from Smoky Valley, only Tytus Reed returns.

Talking about newcomers, Coach Cotton added, “It sounds like some of our newcomers have some swim experience from club level, but many are new to competitive swimming. We will have to see as the season goes along as to who can come up through the roster to grab some relay slots.”

Reflecting on the upcoming season, Coach Cotton finished by saying, “It will be what they call a rebuilding season, but don’t count us out as we have some really talented swimmers in leadership positions. They will be counted on to lift the new kids up and get them integrated in our program as we aim to still compete with the best in the state.”

The Bullpup boys swim team will open the 2021-22 season on Saturday, December 4 at the Winfield Invitational.

Here is a complete summary of the upcoming 2021-22 season for the McPherson Bullpup boys swim team:

MCPHERSON BULLPUP OPENING MONTH OF THE 2021-22 SEASON =

Saturday, December 4 = At Winfield Invitational

Tuesday, December 7 = At Topeka

Friday, December 10 = at Andover Invitational

Thursday, December 16 = At Wichita Heights Invitational

WHAT YOU GET WITH BULLPUP HEAD COACH MATT COTTON =

  • Coach Matthew Cotton begins his third season as head coach and fourth season with the Bullpup program.
  • In 2020-21 the team finished as State Runner-Ups.

BULLPUP SWIMMERS WHO GRADUATED/TRANSFERRED =

McPherson Bullpup Swimmers =

As Coach Cotton says = “All five of these guys had state cuts for us last season. Powers, and Vanderhoof are future wall-of-famers). Those two plus Achilles were all podium finishers at the state meet.”

ROSTER OF BULLPUP SWIMMERS FOR 2021-22 =

McPherson Bullpup Swimmers =

  • Ethan Burger
  • Pierce Hamma
  • Tyle Vincent
  • Wesley Wurm
  • Tito Mendez
  • Kayden McVicker
  • Reid Schuckman
  • Cristian Garcia
  • Adrian Noriega
  • Joseph Nutt
  • Quade Brewer
  • Ethan Elder
  • Palmer Heskett

Smoky Valley Swimmers =

  • Tytus Reed
  • Gabriel House
  • Jerrick Brady
  • Eli Spoone
  • Nathan Klapp

INCOMING SWIMMERS TO PAY ATTENTION TO =

  • Coach Cotton says = “It sounds like some of our newcomers have swim experience from club level, but a lot are new to the competitive swim program. We will have to see as the season goes on who can come up through the roster to grab some of those relay slots.”

WHAT COACH MATT COTTON HAS TO SAY =

LOOKING BACK AT THE 2020-21 SEASON = “Last year was a strong season for us despite the changes to our schedule due to Covid. At smaller meets with fewer large teams, we were able to really stand out. Lead by a strong five swimmer senior class, we made a run at league, won some relays but were bested in the end by eventual state champion Andover Central. At the state meet we managed to take home two bronze medals in relays, and we had a Smoky Valley co-op swimmer score the school’s first ever state meet points.”

ON THE CO-OP TEAM FROM SMOKY VALLEY = “Of the four Smoky Valley swimmers we had last year, only Tytus Reed will return as both Jamison Sattler and Stephen Peterson graduated and Trevor Jones has academic pursuits that conflict with this seasons schedule.”

ON RETURNING SWIMMERS FOR 2021-22 = “Wesley Wurm will remain a force to be reckoned with in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Wurm will be the backbone of our senior leadership, joined by Ethan Burger, a strong breast-stroker who is returning to the pool after a year away. Tito Mendez and Cristian Garcia both had great rookie seasons last year and they are largely responsible for the massive influx of new recruits to the program for 2021-22. Tytus Reed will return to lead our Smoky Valley co-op contingent with the goal of getting a relay qualified for the state meet.”

OUTLOOK FOR THE 2021-22 SEASON = “It will be a ‘rebuilding year’ as they say, but don’t count us out as we have some really talented swimmers in leadership positions. I will be counting on them to lift these new guys up and get them integrated in our program as we aim to still compete with some of the best in the state.”

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