The boys swimming season starts today with Bradford and Tremper both participating in Southeast Conference duals on the road.

Bradford is at Racine Park while Tremper is at Racine Horlick. Both duals start at 4:30 p.m.

Here’s a look at both teams:

Coach: Franz Feldmeier, 36th year

Last year: 8-1 in Southeast Conference duals. ... Scored 15 points and tied with Tremper for 28th place at the WIAA Division-1 State Swimming and Diving Championships. ... Lee Anderson finished 10th in diving. ... John DeVroy scored points in finishing 13th in each the 100 backstroke (54.30) and 200 individual medley (2:00.57). ... The 200 medley relay of Joe DeVroy, Andrew Heuser, John DeVroy and Patrick Stephens placed 19th in 1:43.56. ... The 200 freestyle relay of Stephens, Johnas Lohse, John Stuligross and John DeVroy took 22nd in 1:32.62. ... Joe DeVroy took 18th in the 100 backstroke (56.20).

Team strengths: “We do have some talent on the team but we have a small team of only 23 athletes,” Feldmeier said. “We’ll do fine at the State sectionals, a smaller championship meet with less entries.”

Areas of improvement: “Many of the swimmers are just now learning how to swim,” Feldmeier said. “We will need to improve their strokes.”

Returning letterwinners: Sophomore—Keefer Kuhl, flier; Juan Najera, butterfly; Brice Slamann, flier; Juniors—Zach Anderson, breaststroke; John Carpenter, breaststroke; Joe DeVroy, distance, backstroke; Joseph McKillip, junior, backstroke; Seniors—Paul Barta, distance; John Deroy, IM butterfly, backstroke; Jonathan Leiting, diver.

Key newcomers: Glen Brinkman, freshman, diver; Wyatt Kessler, freshman freestyle.

Feldmeier’s comments: “Our team is a lot smaller than last year,” said Feldmeier, who listed Racine Case and Muskego as Southeast Conference contenders. “We lost two teams from our conference so there will only be seven dual meets.We should be competitive in dual meets. Championship meets that are large or filed with many teams will pose a problem due to lack of depth.”

FYI: Bradford graduates swimming collegiately are Andrew Gelden at UW-Green Bay and Patrick Beasley at the University of Tennessee.

Schedule—Today—at Racine Park, 4:30 p.m.; Thursday—Oak Creek, 4:30 p.m; Dec. 15—at Racine Horlick, 4:30 p.m.; Dec. 19—Elkhorn Invitational, 10 a.m.; Jan. 5—Muskego, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 9—South Milwaukee Invitational, noon (diving at 4 p.m. Jan. 8); Jan. 12—at Racine Case, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 14—at South Milwaukee, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 19—Franklin, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 23—Bradford Invitational, 1 p.m.; Jan. 26—at Tremper, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 30—Racine Park Invitational, 1 p.m.; Feb. 6—Southeast Conference Meet at Franklin, 2 p.m.; Feb. 13—WIAA Sectional at Greenfield, TBA

Coach: Mike McKay, 10th year

Last year: 9-0 in Southeast Conference duals. ... Scored 15 points and tied with Bradford for 28th place at the WIAA Division-1 State Swimming and Diving Championships. ... Senior Andrew Griffey scored all of Tremper’s points. He finished seventh in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.68 seconds and 14th in the 50 freestyle in 21.96. ... Griffey, Aubrey Langley, Alex Lopez and Riley Seebeck were 17th in the 200 medley relay in 1:43.12. ... The 400 freestyle relay of Griffey, Drake Koster, Ron Schaefer and Seebeck was disqualified on a false start. ... Ryan Schmidt was 19th in the 500 freestyle in 4:59.92.

Team strengths: “We are very young and very eager to get better,” McKay said. “This is the most enthusiastic team that I have had in quite a while. We have a strong sense of team. We are only going to get better the further we go into the season.”

Areas of improvement: “It’s tough to find an area that we improve in when comparing to last year,” said McKay, who listed Bradford, Muskego and Racine Case as Southeast Conference contenders. “We lost eight seniors to graduation. We have our top butterflier back (in) Alex Lopez. He had a great off-season and should be able to start the season ahead of where he finished last year. Aubrey Langley was our top performer in the IM and breaststroke last year. He is returning from a good off-season and should be able to pick up where he left off last season.”

Returning letterwinners: Sophomore—Alex Lopez, butterfly, freestyle, backstroke; Juniors—Aubrey Langley, IM, breaststroke; Ron Schaefer, freestyle; Cole Summers, distance, freestyle.

Key newcomers: Ruben Riksted, Vinicius Villareal.

McKay’s comments: “I am excited about the potential of the team,” McKay said. “We are very young, no seniors. this is a hard-working group. They are very eager to get better and work hard at practice. It will take a while to get all the pieces in the right places. I think we will see great improvements throughout the season ...”

FYI: Among the Tremper graduates competing in college are Matt Mahoney at UW-Milwaukee; Peter Johnson at UW-Green Bay; Ryan Schmidt at UW-La Crosse; Riley Seebeck at UW-La Crosse; Andrew Griffey at Minnesota; Alex Socha, UW-Oshkosh.

Schedule—Today—at Racine Horlick, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday—Nicolet Invitational, 11 a.m.; Dec. 10—at Muskego, 4:30 p.m.; Dec. 15—at Racine Case, 4:30 p.m.; Dec. 17—Badger, Greendale, 4:30 p.m. (double dual); Dec. 22—South Milwaukee, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 5—Franklin, 4:30 p.m.; 9—Marquette Invitational at Waukesha South High School, noon; Jan. 12—at Oak Creek, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 14—at South Milwaukee, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 16—Shorewood, noon; Jan. 19—Racine Park, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 26—Bradford, 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 30—Wauwatosa Invitational, 12:30 p.m.; Feb. 6—Southeast Conference Meet at Franklin, 2 p.m.; Feb. 13—WIAA Sectional at Greenfield, TBA; Feb. 20—WIAA State at UW Natatorium Madison.

Compiled by David Marran