The obvious question for Park swimming and diving this season is who replaces Matt Glenna, one of Park’s all-time greats.

Glenna swam his way into the all-time Park record books in numerous events. Last season he qualified for state in two individual events and anchored the state-qualifying 200-yard freestyle relay team.

Currently swimming for St. Cloud State University, Glenna qualified for the state meet last season, finishing 10th in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.39 and 12th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.86).

Park senior Mitchell LeMay also qualified for the 2022 state meet, finishing 16th in the 100-yard butterfly (52.36) and 21st in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.93. LeMay is also the only returner from Park’s 200-yard freestyle relay team.

Besides Glenna, Park must replace several top swimmers off last year’s team. Including graduated seniors Ethan Anderson, Evan Darling, Carter Sommerness and Nathan Johnson.

“I still have a couple returning,” said Park head coach Amanda Johnson who enters her 18th season coaching the boys swim and dive team. “Mitchell LeMay is back and he had a great, strong state meet that we weren’t really(expecting). He was one of those ones that got to state and wow you got to state, like it wasn’t a shoo-in or for sure. It was like — you got to state. It will fun and interesting to see what he does this year and how he progresses.”

LeMay will primarily swim the butterfly, with perhaps the 50 or 100 backstroke as his second event.

“Then we’re going to be looking to our juniors,” said Johnson. “We have a couple of seniors still coming back. Jackson Harre is a good strong distance swimmer so it will be good to have him as a leader coming back to help some of those boys.”

Park’s junior and sophomore group features several promising swimmers including backstroker/500 swimmer Parker Jeseritz, breaststroker.200 IMer Nathan Darling, versatile twins Jack and Logan Schweigert.

“It will be fun to see some of those boys that maybe last year we’re our third or fourth, have to step up and make sure they get that first or second place,” Johnson said.

A challenge for the Wolfpack will be depth. “It’s kind of like girls, I have a good, strong base and then I have some great kids coming up, they’re just young and especially with boys you tell the difference between that 12th grader and a seventh grader. My seventh graders, we have some key ones that will be strong, but they’re going to get strong a little bit later. It will be interesting to see how they do this year.”

The medley relay team, backstroke, breaststroke and the butterfly should all be strong events for the Wolfpack this season. Johnson believes the distance events will be stronger.

Park also returns all three strong divers from last season. The Wolfpack will host Forest Lake in the first meet of the 2022-23 season, starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.