The Homer swim and dive team is preparing this week for stiff competition at home during the 2009 Borough Invitational after a surprisingly strong showing Oct. 16 and 17 at the Valley Invitational in Palmer.

On Saturday, the Mariners swim and dive team will have a chance to test its mettle in the Borough Invitational at home. According to Coach Anna Borland-Ivy the Valley Invitational was a good indication of the performance she expects from her swimmers in the upcoming weeks.

"Overall it was a good meet. The kids that didn't final had several best times, and we're talking about kids that don't swim year-round. Next week we have boroughs here in Homer and then we have regions the next week and we're looking good going into it," said Borland-Ivy.

Sara Bitterman took sixth place in the 200-meter freestyle relay and Marie Schmidt took third place in the 200-meter individual medley. In the 100-meter backstroke Schmidt finished second. "These drops are pretty phenomenal this time of year. There were four swimmers that got 1.06 and in the last second she touched them out so that was an exciting race to see," said Borland-Ivy.

For the boys team Kyle Wentz also took third place in the 200-meter individual medley. Dana Olesch, Alder Fletcher and Richard Ginter each improved on their best times this season.

The Mariners' divers also put in a solid performance at the Valley Invitational. Lindsey Seneff took third place. For the boys, Garret Hall took third and Davey Baird got fifth.

"It was pretty grueling diving and for them to score that high is a pretty good indication for how they will perform at the regional tournament," said Borland-Ivy.

Combined, the Mariners came in fourth place at the Valley Invitational. The women took third place and the men tied for fourth place. Both teams will look to improve their standings at home on Oct. 23.

"For the kids that are aiming for state we won't start our taper yet. We'll be doing a lot of technique work and a lot of starts and turns," said Borland-Ivy.

Borland-Ivy noted that, in spite of the pressure and hard work the swimmers were put through during the week leading up to the Oct. 16 competition, many swimmers were able to shave seconds off of their personal best times in Palmer.

"There were a few really great swims and it was a great meet altogether. Normally the kids aren't swimming that well at this time of year. We have regionals coming up so up to this point they have been working very hard throughout the week so we can be in best possible shape before we taper into regionals," said Borland-Ivy.

The Valley Invitational gave swimmers a taste of what to expect at borough, regional and state levels, both in the strength of their opponents and the format of competition.

"Regions, states and this meet all have preliminary runs on the first day and then finals on the second day. The only way you got to score points was to be in the final heat, but kids could better their times in the consolations," said Borland-Ivy.

For many swimmers, the Oct. 30 regional tournament will showcase the pinnacle of their performance this season.

Though the temptation to work right up until it is time to climb onto the block is strong, Borland-Ivy said this week would be a transition period for all but those swimmers with their sights set on the state competition Nov. 5-6.