BENTONVILLE -- Gavin Vann and Noah Pinales have discovered what it's like to go, in a swimming sense, from being little fish in a big pond to being bigger fish in a smaller pond.
They were members of a Bentonville High boys swim team that won its 12th consecutive state title and 17th overall last year. Now the two have become the main cogs and the leaders of a Bentonville West team that will compete in its first North District swim meet at the Bentonville Community Center today and Wednesday.
At a glance
North District Swim and Dive Championships
WHEN Dive — 3:30 p.m. today; swim — 3:30 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE Bentonville Community Center
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS Bentonville, Bentonville West, Fayetteville, Fort Smith Northside, Fort Smith Southside, Greenwood, Mountain Home, Rogers Heritage, Rogers High, Russellville, Siloam Springs, Springdale Har-Ber, Springdale High and Van Buren.
"It's completely different," Vann said. "At Bentonville, it's mainly club swimmers. When I moved over to West, it was basically three or four club swimmers, and the rest were trying out to swim for the first time. It's two completely different areas of experience."
West coach Ta-Neisha Marshall has been down a similar road before. A former platform diver at Arkansas who competed for Team Canada during the 1997 World Championship Games in Italy, she started the swim program at Springdale Har-Ber when that school opened.
She later stepped down from that position to focus more on the school's debate team, but she has drawn from that previous experience when starting West's swim teams this season.
"What it did was alleviate some of those fears," Marshall said. "When you're starting a program at a new school, you worry about numbers, you worry about facilities -- things that are really out of your control.
"It was nice to be able to have that experience to lean back on and to know if we didn't have the bigger numbers, it's OK. Creating a solid foundation is our biggest concern. Starting Har-Ber was great, but starting at West is a different experience because I didn't have as many fears as I did when I started at Har-Ber."
Marshall hasn't had to do the building by herself. She credits volunteer Marcel da Ponte for all the work he has given, and also to the veteran swimmers for their leadership and skills.
She has leaned heavily on Vann, a junior who set the state record in the 100-yard backstroke and helped Bentonville establish state records in two relay events last year, and Pinales, a sophomore who scored points in two events for the Tigers last year.
"I was concerned when I first came to West with what the team would look like," Pinales said. "But we have 15 people who are capable of swimming. My role is to insure to help those who haven't been swimming as long as I have and help them with techniques, starts and help them get ready.
"Earlier, we weren't much of a family because we didn't know each other that well. Now, we are capable of swimming good times and a good family."
As expected with a first-year program, West's teams are experiencing growing pains. There are eight boys and seven years on the swim teams, and Marshall just picked up a couple that will help out in the diving part of the district competition.
The low numbers have caused some of the swimmers to get out of their comfort zones and take part in events they are not accustomed to doing. Freshman Addison Lawrence, a team captain, went from focusing on the 50 and 100 freestyle to swimming in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly during meets.
"It's hard because every swim matters," Lawrence said. "Everybody on this team contributes equally, so everybody has to be on their A game at every meet, that's for sure. It's different, but I would rather swim my normal events because that's where I know I can score points."
The West swim teams also provided new swimmers with an opportunity. One of those was freshman Emma Myhan, a who came back swimming after a two-year break from the youth club circuit.
Myhan had been home-schooled for several years before enrolling at West in the fall. She's normally specializes in the backstroke, but has swam the 500 freestyle in all but one meet this year, in addition to other events.
"I've also had to swim the 2oo IM, the 50 free and the 100 breaststroke," Myhan said. "I was also put in the 400 free relay and a starter in the 200 medley relay.
"I've swam a variety of events, and it's been both physically and mentally taxing. I was home-schooled before I came to Bentonville West, so I didn't do any team sports. It's a big deal from going to working out on your own to being on a team and having your team relying on you to do well."
Sports on 02/14/2017