AnnArbor.com's fifth in a series of six winter high school sport previews focuses on Washtenaw County's boys swimming teams.

Max Boyea (sr.), Pioneer: Boyea placed sixth in the 200 individual medley and fifth in the 500 freestyle at last year’s Division 1 state meet.

Nick Clyde (sr.), Huron: Was fourth in the 200 IM, fifth in the 100 breaststroke, anchored a second-place 200 medley relay team and swam a leg on a fourth-place 400 freestyle relay at last year’s Division 1 state meet.

Grant Cole (sr.), Pioneer: Was second in the 50 freestyle, eighth in the 100 freestyle, anchored a third-place 200 medley relay and swam a leg on a state champion 200 freestyle relay team.

Kevin Naud (sr.), Pioneer: Naud placed sixth in the 200 freestyle and 10th in the 100 butterfly at the Division 1 state meet. He also swam the second leg of the state champion 200 freestyle relay and runner-up 400 freestyle relay teams.

Nick Nemetz (jr.), Pioneer: Nemetz was the 2009 Division 1 diving state champion as a sophomore.

CHELSEA BULLDOGS Chelsea has its lowest turnout since 1992 with just 17 kids out for the team. No one on the team has experience at the state level. Coach Dave Jolly likes what he sees in his freshmen, but thinks they are a few years away from being competitive. Coach: Dave Jolly (22nd season)

Last season: Had a 6-8 dual meet record and finished third in the SEC White.

Key returners: Michael Heydlauff (sr.), Jonathan Skidmore (sr.).

Key newcomers: Nick Burris (fr.), Logan Preston (fr.), Nick Deppner (fr.).

Strength: Team cohesiveness.

Weakness: Inexperience and low numbers.

Outlook: Season could be a rough one for the young Bulldogs.

Coach Dave Jolly says: “We’re going to need to improve dramatically if we’re going to be competitive.”

DEXTER DREADNAUGHTS If Dexter hopes to extend its 11-year SEC championship streak, it will have to do so with help from the underclassman ranks. The Dreadnaughts have just six juniors and seniors to 19 freshmen and sophomores, but the good news is that they have four returning state qualifiers, three of whom scored in last year’s Division 2 state meet.

Coach: Michael McHugh (4th year)

Last season: SEC White champions. Placed 11th at the Division 2 state meet.

Key returners: Stephen Sobczak (jr.), Josh Boren (jr.), Mark Brown (so.), Ian Wilson (so.), Jesse Claflin (sr.), Austin Daugherty (jr.).

Key newcomer: Jonathan Zofchak (fr.).

Strength: Experienced group.

Weakness: Dexter has zero divers.

Outlook: Dexter’s young, but it proved last year a young team can still be successful at the state level. Plus, last year’s swimmers have another year of experience under their belt.

Coach Michael McHugh says: “I think we can be top eight (in the state). It’s going to be a challenge, but I think we can get there.”

GREENHILLS GRYPHONS Greenhills is a coed team and hasn’t enjoyed much individual or team success over the years. First-year coach Megan Maassen replaces Maggie Sturgis as the Gryphons’ leader, and inherits a group with seven seniors.

Coach: Megan Maassen (1st year)

Last season: No individuals or relays had state cuts.

Key returners: Louis Johnson (sr.), Polina Gouskova (sr.), Madeline Kelley (sr.).

Key newcomers: ArkinKnight Winfree (fr.), Allison Hogikyan (fr.).

Strength: Solid numbers, 27 swimmers have come out so far.

Weakness: Coed.

Outlook: Coed teams have trouble competing with all-boy squads, and this should be no different.

Coach Megan Maassen says: “We try to do individual goals in terms of dropping times and the end of the year league meet is something to get excited about as well.”

HURON RIVER RATS The River Rats return six scorers from last year’s Division 1 state runner up squad. Though most of the top swimmers from last year’s squad graduated, Huron has plenty of swimmers from top to bottom to make some noise at the state level.

Coach: Kelton Graham (4th year)

Last season: Placed third in the SEC Red, second in Division 1 state meet.

Key returners: Mike Toner (sr.), Keeley Maher (sr.), Nick Clyde (sr.), Pierce Thiesen (jr.), Jeff Camalo (D, jr.), Jonathan Geldermans (jr.).

Key newcomers: Ian Richardson (jr.), Mike Everett (jr.).

Strength: Depth.

Weakness: Technique of middle and bottom swimmers.

Outlook: The 2008 state champions and 2009 runners up should be strong once again.

Coach Kelton Graham says: “I think we’ll be spread like butter evenly across the board. Not super good in one area, not weak in any.”

LINCOLN RAILSPLITTERS Swimming in the tough Southeastern Conference, Lincoln will be hard pressed to improve on its single dual meet win from last year. The Railsplitters are young and have a lot of swimmers who will be competing for the first time ever.

Coach: Dustin Palik (6th year)

Last season: Won a single dual meet and finished last in the SEC White.

Key returners: Phillip Donato (jr.), Dustin Curtis (jr.), Blake Bayle (sr.).

Key newcomers: Too early to tell.

Strength: Team enthusiasm.

Weakness: With few experienced swimmers, Lincoln will have to dedicate much practice time to working on technique.

Outlook: The SEC is a tough league to be a budding program in, and the Railsplitters will likely struggle.

Coach Dustin Palik says: “The guys here this year definitely want to be here. They’re excited to come to practice every day and working hard to get better.”

MILAN BIG REDS Four of Milan’s seven swimmers that scored at last year’s Division 3 state meet are returning, and after losing a few close meets because they had no divers, the Big Reds now have one. Plus, after a few football players experienced some success in their first year in the pool last year, they’ve recruited some athletes from the gridiron to come out for the swim team.

Coach: Dan Heikka (6th season)

Last season: Placed 17th at Division 3 state meet.

Key returners: Tyler DiGesare (jr.), Dylan Shearer (jr.), Tyler Fisher (jr.), Dylan Miller (so.), Cam Morgan (sr.).

Key newcomers: Ian Darline (fr.), Colby Williams (fr.), Keith Briggs (D, fr.)

Strength: Largest group (30) Heikka has ever had, including four state qualifiers.

Weakness: Low number of divers.

Outlook: Milan has enough returning talent to do some damage at the state level.

Coach Dan Heikka says: “We’ve got a lot of new guys that have natural gifts. You can’t coach size, and we’ve got some large bodies in the pool.”

PIONEER PIONEERS As usual, the Pioneers are stacked. The returning MHSAA Division 1 state champions return 11 state qualifiers from last year’s squad, nine of whom scored, and diving state champion Nick Nemetz. The Pioneers graduated a lot of talent from their championship squad, but legendary coach Denny Hill will have the latest crop ready to fill the spots left vacant by those departing.

Coach: Denny Hill (42nd year)

Last season: SEC Red and Division 1 state champions.

Key returners: Grant Cole (sr.), Max Boyea (sr.), Nick Nemetz (D, jr.), Kevin Naud (sr.), Kyle Anderson (sr.), Kyle Gunderson (sr.).

Key newcomers: Too soon to tell.

Strength: Depth. The Pioneers have a lineup full of returning state qualifiers and scorers.

Weakness: Of the 48 swimmers out for the team, only four are freshman, which is a direct result of Skyline opening. It won’t hurt the Pioneers this year, but could in the future.

Outlook: Pioneer will be the team to beat in the state.

Coach Denny Hill says: “We’ll be strong this year, but you just never know (about the future) usually you have enough ninth graders where you can grow and mature, but now we’re not too sure.” SALINE HORNETS Saline beat out Huron for second place at the SEC Red championships, but it was the River Rats who had the last laugh, finishing four spots ahead of the Hornets at the Division 1 state meet. The young team that made a lot of noise last year is back with one more year of invaluable experience under its belt and four swimmers that scored at the Division 1 state meet and an All-State diver.

Coach: Todd Brunty (3rd year)

Last season: Place second in SEC Red, sixth in Division 1 state meet.

Key returners: Sam Wittig (sr.), Mike Fisher (jr.), Andy Jensen (so.), Adam Pummell (jr.), Hank Remenapp (D, sr.).

Key newcomers: Too early to tell.

Strength: Relays.

Weakness: Saline’s pool has been out of commission of late, making practice schedules difficult.

Outlook: Saline didn’t lose much from a team that was very good last year and should be strong again.

Coach Todd Brunty says: “It won’t be individuals that do it. How much we buy into the team concept will determine our success this year.”

SKYLINE EAGLES Skyline’s team is comprised entirely of freshmen and sophomores. The Eagles will compete in the SEC Red this season with the likes of Huron, Pioneer, Saline, Monroe and Bedford, but will be in Division 3 at the state level for another year.

Coach: Sean Hickman (2nd year)

Last season: All freshman team had zero state qualifiers.

Key returner: Ian Grosh (so.).

Key newcomer: Ben Merte (fr.).

Strength: Numbers. The team had 28 come out, almost twice as many as last year.

Weakness: No upperclassmen.

Outlook: While the girls team thrived in year two, finishing third in the state, the boys will likely need another year until they can compete with the upperclassmen.

Coach Sean Hickman says: “We should get a fair amount of state cuts this year. With young guys we want to get guys to that state meet as soon as possible so they can start having that experience.”

WILLOW RUN FLYERS Only six kids came out for the team at Willow Run, and only one has varsity swimming experience. Most of coach Von Acker I’s time will be dedicated to teaching the newcomers basic techniques, so anyone with experience will need to push themselves to improve. Though the Mega Conference dissolved this year, most of the Flyers’ meets will still be against former Mega opponents. They will also compete against schools in the Southern Michigan Independent Swim League.

Coach: Von Acker I (4th year)

Last season: Had one individual qualify for the Division 3 state meet.

Key returner: Gaige Olsen (jr.).

Key newcomer: Six swimmers with zero experience.

Strength: Olsen.

Weakness: Only one swimmer has any competitive experience.

Outlook: The Flyers’ have too low of numbers to be competitive as a team.

Coach Von Acker I says: “Hopefully the word gets out. We hope to have 10 guys by the end of the season, the beginning swimmers might drag some others out.”

YPSILANTI PHOENIX Ypsilanti coach Daniel Kish chose not to participate in the season preview.