The swimming and diving postseason will begin this weekend with regional competition around the state.
The KHSAA has revised the postseason setup, expanding from five to nine regions. The top two finishers in each regional event automatically qualify for the State Championships set for Feb. 25-27 at the University of Louisville’s Ralph Wright Natatorium. A total of 40 swimmers and 32 divers (no more than 12 from any region) will qualify for the State Championships in each event.
Louisville-area schools are now spread among three regions. Here’s a quick look at each Louisville-area regional:
REGION FOUR
* When: Friday.
* Where: U of L’s Ralph Wright Natatorium.
* Times: Preliminaries at 9:45 a.m.; finals at 6 p.m.
* Teams: Bullitt Central, Bullitt East, Butler, Central, Doss, Evangel Christian, Fairdale, Holy Cross, Male, Manual, North Bullitt, Pleasure Ridge Park, Presentation, St. Francis, St. Xavier, Shawnee, Valley.
* Story lines: Led by senior Clayton Forde (Georgia signee), junior Keefer Barnum and sophomore Aldan Johnston, St. X is favored to win its 28th straight state championship. … Manual is the favorite to capture the girls team title.
REGION FIVE
* When: Thursday.
* Where: U of L’s Ralph Wright Natatorium.
* Times: Preliminaries at 9:30 a.m.; finals at 6 p.m.
* Teams: Assumption, Atherton, Ballard, Brown, Christian Academy, Collegiate, Eastern, Fern Creek, Kentucky Country Day, Kentucky School for the Blind, Mercy, Sacred Heart, Seneca, Trinity, Waggener, Whitefield Academy.
* Story lines: Sacred Heart has won three straight state titles on the girls side and may have its strongest team ever with several college-bound seniors — Asia Seidt (Kentucky), Kennedy Lohman (Arizona), Brooke Bauer (North Carolina), Hannah Fuchs (Miami of Ohio), Emily LeClair (Louisville) and Taylor Ecleberry (Washington & Lee). … Trinity and Collegiate are expected to battle for the boys crown.
REGION SIX
* When: Friday-Saturday.
* Where: Falling Springs Park and Recreation Center, Versailles.
* Times: Swimming preliminaries at 10 a.m. Friday; diving competition at 5:30 p.m. Friday; swimming finals at 3 p.m. Saturday.
* Teams: Anderson County, Boyle County, Collins, Danville, East Jessamine, Eminence, Frankfort, Franklin County, Garrard County, Henry County, Kentucky School for the Deaf, Mercer County, North Oldham, Oldham County, Owen County, Shelby County, South Oldham, Spencer County, West Jessamine, Western Hills, Woodford County.
* Story lines: North Oldham senior Grace Oglesby (Louisville signee) is back after setting State Meet records last season in the 50-yard freestyle (22.92 seconds) and 100 butterfly (51.75 seconds).