Kyle Clements announced the addition of 20 newcomers to the Milwaukee swimming & diving rosters for this coming season Friday.
Joining the men's team are Bailey Bodart from Grafton, Wis.; Brian Boehm from Sarasota, Fla.; Jacob Fase from Rockford, Mich.; Luke Gavronski from Milwaukee, Wis.; Solomon Geinosky from Burbank, Ill.; Timmy Greci from South Bend, Ind.; Frankie Hearn from Madison, Wis.; Andrew Kasper from Batavia, Ill.; Patrick Kelley from Littleton, Colo.; Justin Ogle from Noblesville, Ind.; Sam Salganik from Glenview, Ill.; Ryan Scripp from Green Bay, Wis.; and Dakota Skenadore from West Bend, Wis.
This year's women's class is made up by Alicia Beam from Waukesha, Wis.; Keely Frankwicz from Madison, Wis.; Carolina Matamoros from Naperville, Ill.; and Cecilia Ostergren from Tonka Bay, Minn.
Men
Bodart comes from in-state force Grafton where he won three state titles and finished in the top three an additional three times during his time with the Black Hawks. He qualified for state all four years, including three trips in the 50 free where he won his first state title as a junior.
"I have wanted Bailey on this roster ever since I first meet him," Clements said. "He is a young man that I see all the qualities of a future leader for our team. He is a great student-athlete that will shape our program just by his mere presence. He was recruited as a sprinter and has developed over the past year to be a very good backstroker. I am very excited to see what some specific training both in the pool and in the weight room can do for this young man."
Boehm comes to Milwaukee from Sarasota, Fla., where he was homeschooled and competed for renowned swim club the Sarasota Sharks. Primarily a distance freestyle swimmer, Boehm took sixth in the 500 free and 13th in the 200 free this past fall in his state championships.
"I am very excited to have Brian join us in Milwaukee," Clements said. "He is coming to us at an important time and will fill an important role inside our distance group. He will have a lot of opportunity to race and make a difference right way. I have a lot of optimism in Brian's ability. If he comes in ready to work and ready to compete, he will have no problem making the Horizon League roster."
Fase is a very versatile swimmer from Rockford, Mich. All told, Fase qualified for his state championships 11 times in his four years in six different events. This past year, he finished 10th in the 500 free and 16th in the 100 breast while also helping the 400 free relay to a seventh-place finish and the 200 medley relay a 10th-place showing.
"Jacob was the perfect spring signing for us," Clements said. "He will be very important to our program during both the dual meet season and the championship meet. His mid-distance talents give us top-end depth and provides us a better option on our 800 free relay. I look forward to helping him achieve all his athletic and academic goals while here in Milwaukee."
Gavronski joins the Panthers after a successful high school career at Franklin. While with the Sabers, Gavronski qualified for state seven times, scoring all seven times and finishing as high as fifth in the 200 free relay as a senior.
"The possibilities for development that Luke brings makes the coaching staff very excited and hopeful," Clements said. "Luke has all the ability and talent to be a scoring sprinter in this league. His club and his work ethic have prepared him to take that next step in this sport. Continued training and time brings nothing but possibilities, and that is very exciting."
Geinosky comes to Milwaukee fresh off a strong showing at the Illinois state championships. As a senior, the Burbank, Ill. native qualified for the 100 back and 100 fly individually, as well as the 200 medley relay, and he boasts some of the best incoming times in his events for his class.
"There will always be a place on any roster that I coach for a swimmer like Solomon. He is a driven individual that wants to get better at his craft," Clements said. "He is the type of swimmer that I really look forward to working with every day to help him achieve his goals. He is a two stroke swimmer that I can throw in multiple events, and having that ability makes our roster better."
Greci is one of two swimmers joining the Panthers from Indiana, hailing from South Bend's St. Joseph High School. Greci qualified for the state meet each of his final three years a combined seven times, taking eighth in the 100 breast as a senior. He also had a strong showing at the USA Swimming Futures Championships last summer, taking seventh in the 100m breast.
"Timmy is one half of the freshman breaststroke duo that will be leading that group next season," Clements said. "He is coming off a great senior season where he set all new lifetime bests, and we cannot wait to see him continue that streak. He will be counted on from day one and I have no reservations in thinking that he will do nothing but excel in that role."
Hearn comes from a long line of divers in his family, including older sister and former Panther Morgan Hearn. Frank has proven to be one of the top divers in Wisconsin. Over the last four years, the Madison Edgewood grad improved every year at the state championships, finishing fourth in the state as a senior.
"Frank comes to UWM as a top-six finisher at the WIAA D2 state meet each of the last three years," diving coach Todd Hill said. "He is a very talented, hard-working individual who I believe with excel in the UWM diving system. I am excited to have him on the team and he is a great addition to our men's diving program."
Kasper is a transfer, joining the Black & Gold after spending his freshman season at D-III school Calvin College. In just his first season with the Knights, Kasper broke the school record in the 500 free in 4:30.59 and is third in school history in the 200 free at 1:40.81 and fourth in the 100 free at 46.03.
"Andrew joins our program at the perfect time," Clements said. "After losing some really good 500 and 200 swimmers to graduation last season, Andrew is ready to step into that role. After having a college season under his belt, he already knows what it takes to be competitive. We look forward to helping him continue his growth and help him reach even higher goals."
Kelley has consistently gotten faster seemingly each time out and has had an impressive senior year in the pool. At the Colorado state championships, Kelley finished sixth in the 200 IM and 10th in the 100 fly. Then, swimming long course for his club team, he finished in the top five in five different events at the Colorado LCM State Championships, including taking first place in the 400 IM.
"I am looking forward to have Patrick in Milwaukee and contributing to our university and our team," Clements said. "He is one of the fastest IM swimmers that we have signed coming out of high school and we think he is the 200 IM swimmer that we have been missing on our championship roster. I cannot wait to have him here."
Ogle is Milwaukee's other incoming breaststroker, also hailing from the Hoosier State. He also qualified for the state championships his sophomore, junior and senior years and closed things out competing in both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 medley relay this past season.
"Justin is the other half of our incoming freshman duo," Clements said. "He was an excellent multi-sport athlete that has chosen swimming as his college sport. I cannot wait to see what he does in a year-round program. Being a part of the breaststroke group, he will have to learn on the fly, because we will be turning to him early and often."
Salganik is a very decorated swimmer coming to Milwaukee from Glenbrook South in Glenview, Ill. Salganik qualified for state all four years a combined 12 times, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 400 free relay as a junior.
"Sam is another young man that we are super excited about," Clements said. "He can swim three different stokes effectively and for points. I am looking forward to seeing him in workouts and talking with him about his goals. He has the potential to make major impacts in both individual and relay events. He will come in and join our sprint group, which will give him the best chance to help our program right away."
Scripp comes to Milwaukee from just up the road in Green Bay, Wis. Scripp competed exclusively at the club level and was ranked as one of the top swimmers in the state of Wisconsin in the 50 free, 100 breaststroke and 100 and 200 butterfly.
"Ryan has been one of the best male swimmers in his class for as long as I can remember and I am proud to call him a Panther," Clements said. "He will be a great utility guy for our team. This young man can truly do it all, and we have been waiting for another swimmer like him for a while now. He has the potential to be a corner stone of our program."
Skenadore is another outstanding diver from the state of Wisconsin. Hailing from West Bend, he qualified for state each of the last three seasons. After a 12th-place showing as a sophomore, he made a huge jump all the way to third as a junior and finished state runner-up in diving as a senior.
"Dakota will join UWM diving after a seller senior year of high school diving where he finished second at the WIAA D1 state meet," diving coach Todd Hill said. "He comes from a great high school diving program at West Bend and we expect him have an immediate impact in the Horizon League. We are very excited to have Dakota diving for the Panthers."
Women
Beam was a two-year captain for powerhouse Waukesha South/Mukwonago, qualifying for state an incredible nine times and helping her team to two WIAA DI state titles. She finished on the podium three times in the 100 backstroke, including a fourth-place finish as a junior.
"Alicia has the potential to be a huge pick up for our team," Clements said. "She has the skills and the times to immediately contribute Horizon league points. As she recovers and gets stronger, she will be able to contribute on a day-to-day basis. I am looking forward to getting her to campus and working with her to get stronger and faster so that she can reach her full potential."
Frankwicz has a wide skill set in sprint events after a strong high school and club career. She was named most valuable swimmer at Madison La Follette High School both her sophomore and junior seasons. Also during her junior year, she finished eighth in the 100 back and 11th in the 100 fly at the state championships. She then focused on her club team and was named to the McFarland Sharks National Team in 2015 and was a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American in 2015.
"Keely represents progress in the Milwaukee program to me," Clements said. "She comes in with a 200 backstroke time faster than the school record was when I arrived here. Getting swimmers like Keely to Milwaukee guarantees the future high standards of this program. She is a great student athlete, and the first McFarland Spartan Shark that we have signed in my time here. Her club has prepared her for this next step in her career and we can't wait to see where her work ethic and skill will take her."
Matamoros provides a strong skill set as she comes to UWM. The Naperville, Ill. native swam primarily individual medley and backstroke events last year, but has the talent in free, fly and breaststroke events too, if needed.
"I am looking forward to having Carolina as part of our roster," Clements said. "A swimmer like Carolina is crucial to have on any roster if you want to be a competitive program. Not every swimmer is willing to do the 'dirty work', but Carolina and her 400 IM talent will be doing just that. She has shown so much talent in that event that we are looking forward to seeing her train for it on a weekly basis. We cannot wait."
Ostergren comes from Minnesota powerhouse Minnetonka High School where she helped the Skippers finish in the top six in the state all four years, including two runner-up showings. She scored all four years in the 100 fly, including her sophomore season when she posted a PR time of 56.89 – the sixth-fastest at the state championships that year.
"What a great pick up for Milwaukee. This young lady was a big target for us during the recruiting season," Clements said. "Her events line up perfectly on what we were looking for to make us a stronger team. She will be inserted immediately to our dual meet team, both individually and as a relay member. We are looking forward to her points in the 100 fly, but we are really looking forward to see what she can do in the 200 fly."
