In girls swimming, the Ballard Beavers have the talent and depth to be one of the top teams in the state this season.

"We have a lot of talented swimmers. We have a lot of returns on the varsity and a good freshman class," said Head Coach Carlos Palacian.

Ballard is at a disadvantage with the Ballard Pool closed for renovation. The team has been going to the Helene Madison Pool at 134th Street and Meridian Avenue North for their practices.

Shorter practices have also been a problem. The end of the school day is now at 2:50 p.m. By the time the team gets to the pool in North Seattle, they only have an hour left to practice. The situation is further complicated by the lack of transportation, with swimmers car pooling and parents driving students to practices.

The Ballard pool was undeniably convenient, being next to the school. Meets will be held at the Queen Anne pool this year.

It's our biggest challenge. We just have to survive the year," said Palacian.

The Ballard Beavers should do more than survive, they have a 30 member strong varsity squad full of veteran leaders. Another 24 girls make up the junior varsity team.

Seniors Jennifer Jaeger and Heather Stevens are back for their final season. They will be joined by senior team captains Meagan Adolfson and Martha Golder. Sophomore Brianna Meyer is another top swimmer in the program. "She is swimming phenomenal, she is one of the best in KingCo," said Palacian.

Another bright spot is Stevens. Palacian said her swimming times are coming close to matching record setting Robyn Kaperak, who has graduated.

The new swimmers include Katie Jo Burkland, Marja Scott and Marissa Horan. All three are freshman.

"The freshmen are fast," said Linnea Scott, one of the team's top juniors.

Last year the team finished 13th at state. "It was a pretty good improvement from the year before, we hope to do better. We have the personnel to do it," said Palacian.

This year's goal is to be in the top three at districts and the top eight at state.

"It's a reasonable goal. The high goal is 'Podium', the top four at state," said Palacian.

Stevens has started swimming year round with the Salmon Bay Aquatics team and has become faster. "We have a big team and a lot of depth. We will do a lot better, in the top eight. We have good relay teams," she said.

Garfield, Inglemoore and Roosevelt are the top teams. "We are in their league now," said Palacian.

The assistant coaches are Dave Dawson who is in charge of diving and Leo Jaeger who coaches the junior varsity.