Lakenheath Barracudas swimmer Kilian Korth does sit-ups as part of a grueling individual workout he pushed himself through under the tutelage of older brother and European standout Konrad, 17. (Ben Murray / S&S)
Lakenheath Barracudas swimmer Kilian Korth does sit-ups as part of a grueling individual workout he pushed himself through under the tutelage of older brother and European standout Konrad, 17. (Ben Murray / S&S)
Lakenheath Barracudas coach Cathy Wenner watches her young swimmers swim laps at RAF Honington last week to prepare for the team's first meet against Kaiserslautern, Germany, later this month. (Ben Murray / S&S)
Lakenheath Barracudas swimmer Hayley Wenner, 10, practices the breaststroke at RAF Honington last week. (Ben Murray / S&S)
RAF HONINGTON — With less than two weeks before its first meet of the season, the Lakenheath Barracudas swim team in some ways has come to resemble its predatory namesake.
Small, quick and prone to rapid bursts of speed through warm water, the barracuda is a bit of a loner, known more for its aggression than its beauty.
And so it goes for the Lakenheath swim team as it prepares to take on the Kaiserslautern Kingfish on Aug. 27 in Germany in the season’s inaugural event, swimmers and coaches said.
The team is small — so far just over 20 members — and has a range of abilities, from first-time team members such as 12-year-old Rebekah McGalmory to perennial European contenders Konrad and Kilian Korth.
But head coach Cathy Wenner, whose two daughters Hayley, 10, and Kaitlynn, 8, swim on the team, said many of those who joined this year showed up in good shape after swimming on local English teams over the summer.
Still, she said, the first order of business since practice began in mid-July has been improving the swimmers’ stamina.
“We’re working on their endurance to pick it back up,” she said.
Currently, the team is heavy on older boys around age 14, and younger girls in the 8-and-under category, leaving gaps Wenner said she hopes to fill when the school year resumes.
Participation in the swim team — which isn’t a school-sponsored program, like soccer or football — has suffered greatly since the closure of the RAF Lakenheath pool several years ago, said Kathy Korth, mother of the Korth brothers.
The team used to field 80 or more swimmers when the on-base pool was open. These days, Wenner hopes to attract perhaps half that number to practices held at the British-run RAF Honington, a 15- to 20-minute drive from Lakenheath.
The team will be looking to improve on its so-so record from last year, when it picked up isolated home wins and a smattering of second- and third-place finishes, before surging to third in its division at the European championship meet.
Key to its point scoring are the Korth brothers and the McWilliams siblings, Cody and Haley, who are regular podium contenders.
This season will be especially important for the elder Korth, 17-year-old Konrad, a multiple European champion and record holder who is hoping to use the year’s meets to propel him into a college swimming program — on the back of scholarship dollars, he said.
To reach that goal, he has his eye on posting times that will put him on the level with British national swimming standards, which would put him high on recruiters’ radar. He’s close to qualifying times in several events, he said, including the 200-meter individual medley, 25-meter freestyle and 100- and 200-meter freestyle events.
Others on the team are also optimistic about the upcoming season.
“It think it’s going really good,” McGalmory said of the team’s progress so far. “Everybody’s improving on their times and getting a lot quicker.”
