No longer an underdog, Cape Central boys swimming is shooting for the top

When you do stuff that hasn't been done before, people tend to notice. It's something the no-longer anonymous Cape Girardeau Central boys swimming team has discovered and will have to get used to.

"We'd go to meets in Kansas City and people would ask where Cape Girardeau is," junior Brogan Davis said. "Coming back this year, it's a lot different. People are looking out for us and saying, 'Oh, Cape Central is kind of like the big dogs now.' It's a whole different aspect from what we had last year. We could sneak into meets and just kind of surprise people. Now, people are going to be watching for us."

The pressure is on, but Central is OK with that -- it's of its own doing. In 26 years as a program, the school had never produced a boys relay champion. In 2015, Davis -- the two-time reigning Semoball Awards Swimmer of the Year -- Reagan Ragsdale, Sam Hahs and John Young changed that, and they did so while setting a state record of 1:35.13 in the 200-yard medley relay.

Young, now graduated, is the only member of the quartet not returning this fall.

"It's a confidence boost," Ragsdale said of the title of state champ. "Going in, you know you're the best. There's a lot of teams looking up to you, and they know that you're the best. So it's confidence, but you've got to back it up.

"We set our goal last year after state. We got out of the pool and said, 'We want to re-break [the record] next year.' So we've been training all year for this, and we're just ready to get done."

But what's exciting the Tigers so much is that the possibility for more is there.

Cape Central's Brogan Davis, left, Reagan Ragsdale, center, and Sam Hahs pose for a photo.

The team entered the state meet a year ago thinking it had a shot at the top six. Instead, they posted the best team finish in program history with a third-place result, and other than the explosive MR, they're convinced they could have performed better. Throw in a group of newcomers in 2016 that has coach Dayna Powell extremely excited, and it's safe to say that Central boys swimming doesn't plan on being a one-hit wonder.

"Yeah, we have some lofty goals," Powell said. "People say, 'Oh, you shouldn't say that,' but it's still what we're going for. If we put it out there and we end up fifth, hey, that's great. But we're not going to say we're going for fifth. We're shooting for the top, and if we end up fifth, like Brogan said, we're going to have fun and work hard to get there. We'll be fine with it either way, but why not shoot for it?"

Davis, Ragsdale and Hahs are, as the state champs, undoubtedly the flag bearers for Central swimming. Davis set two meet records at last year's Show-Me Conference meet, earning the title of Most Valuable Swimmer while his team took a second straight conference title. The junior became the first swimmer in school history to qualify for state in all eight individual swimming events and has seven all-state finishes under his belt in two years of high school swimming, finishing in the top four at last year's state meet in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

But it's the fly he really has his eyes set on. Since his freshman year, Davis has tailored his entire training regiment around the event, and after back-to-back runner-up finishes, he should be one of the favorites to win an individual state title in the event. He is most certainly tired of being the bridesmaid.

"This year better be my year," Davis said. "Third time's the charm. I can't take second place again. It's first or nothing.

"My year-round coach put a bug in my ear about the state record, and that's kind of a long-term goal. But we'll see about that one."

Cape Central's Brogan Davis, left, and Reagan Ragsdale take off in the Central Municipal Pool on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

Ragsdale, a senior, finished seventh at state in the 50 free and ninth in the 100 free, and the latter left him disappointed -- winning the consolation heat did little to quell that.

Hahs finished fifth at state in the 100 breastroke and 21st in the 200 individual medley but was forced to battle through a back injury during the season, which put him behind the eight ball. Now a junior, he's already sidelined with a hand injury; but this one should be a short-term setback, giving him plenty of time to work toward better finishes and more swims at state.

"I had a conversation with those three the first week, and I said, 'This is your team now. What you do is going to set an example for the rest of the team,'" Powell said. "For the most part, when the fastest guys are the oldest guys and they're setting the tone, most people aren't going to deviate."

While the top swimmers have the state meet in mind, it's the rest of the team that can help Central shoot for another conference championship. Powell calls senior Levi Strickland "one of my hardest workers ... who quietly gets the job done." He, along with a big junior class that also includes Miles Frazier, Dalton Drum, Kelly McGhee, Layton Hamby, Matt Chandler and Justin Tuschoff will bolster the Tigers during regular-season meets.

Sophomore Hyrum Dickson also returns after swimming as part of the 200 freestyle relay team that competed at state.

"Everybody's got a job," Powell said. "Their job might be to finish 16th place to win the conference by one point. They think Reagan's gonna do it, Brogan's gonna do it, Sam's gonna do it, but they've got to understand that they're part of that puzzle."

Even with that big returning unit, it doesn't take much to get Powell to talk about a group of newcomers she considers the best she's ever had.

That includes freshmen Jacob Bening -- "an extremely fast competitor" who can excel in both the butterfly or the IM -- Truman Vines in the freestyle and butterfly, Ty Miller as a versatile piece of the puzzle and Daniel Seabaugh, a "huge asset" who fits a hole in the lineup as a distance specialist.

Powell also expects that sophomore Seth Dimmer can compete in the butterfly and IM; junior John Kiefner comes to the pool after injuries drove him out of football and has earned excellent reviews from his coach.

"They've definitely been training hard," Ragsdale said. "They saw us last year, so they know what we've done. And they want to be a part of that also."

Cape Central's Reagan Ragsdale dives into the Central Municipal Pool on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

The younger swimmers could have a key part to play, even at the highest level. With the loss of Young, someone needs to step in to a 200 MR group that is shooting to break its own state record and bring home another title. Powell says if she had to do it right now, Bening would probably swim the backstroke leg and Ragsdale would move to the now-open freestyle anchor leg, but she believes she has options with the speed that both Bening and Vines offer.

The coach also hopes that having flexibility will help improve the 400 free relay, which finished fourth at state with the same quartet that won the 200 medley. And strengthening a third relay team for state could be key to improving upon a third-place team finish.

Regardless, everyone will remember what the Tigers did last year and have them firmly in their sights.

"That's the thing with being No. 1 in that medley relay," Powell said. "Hey, that's great, but now everyone is coming after us. If we take it for granted and we don't plan, then we're definitely not going to be the champions this year. It's a fine line.

"As a coach, you try to equip your athletes to handle those situations. This group is mature. They understand goals, and they understand how to get there."

The perception from outside the program and the expectations within it are at levels never reached before. That's the new reality, and Central is ready to embrace it.

"My friend, a retired Lafayette coach, told me, 'The buzz in St. Louis is your Tigers are the team to beat this year,'" Powell said. "I don't know about that, but we're going for it."

Central begins its season at 4 p.m. today with the Mega Meet at the Bubble. Jackson, Notre Dame and Saxony Lutheran will also compete.