Freedom High School’s swim team will look a little bit bigger but a lot newer this season.

“We graduated 11, but we have 13 or 14 who are new, and 80% of them never competed,” said Freedom coach Jon Larson, “and we have three seniors who are brand new.”

On the other hand, there will be some talented returners on the roster, including Rileigh Ellis, Riley Ward, and Rachel Giles for the Patriot girls. On the Patriot boys’ roster, Brandon Burnette, Colin Burnette, and Cameron Bell will be ones to watch, as well as Brian Seitz and Alasdair Bell.

“Alasdair Bell, by far, will be a huge impact as a freshman,” Larson said.

When you come right down to it, Larson and his new assistant, Amy Lutte, will have a good core group that could probably place anywhere between sixth and 12th at districts right now, but the season has yet to begin.

This Saturday, however, the Patriots will have their first taste of competition at the Cedar Crest Classic, where they will swim against Parkland, Emmaus, and several other schools at Parkland High School. Divers will compete at Emmaus High School.

Freedom will not face Emmaus or Parkland during the regular season, and the Cedar Crest Classic is not a meet that will count for anything, scoring-wise, but times will count.

Ellis and Ward, both juniors, have been training year-round. Ellis will be strong in any freestyle, and Ward will be strong in freestyle and the 100 breaststroke.

The bottom line, though, is that this will be a definite building year for the Patriots.

“In a way, it’s fun. I’ve been coaching for 30 years. I’ve been lucky to coach at colleges and for Olympic Trials. Sometimes you forget and have to go back to basics, but the newer kids are the ones who will improve the most during the year,” said Larson.