JACKSON TWP — Fast starts are the norm for the Seneca Valley girls swimming team.

But the Raiders' first meet of the season proved to be a bit more special.

In a 95-91 home win over Penn-Trafford late last month, SV saw its swimmers set two new pool records and one school mark.

Freshman Abby Myers set a new pool and school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.97 seconds.

She also teamed with Emily Wolfarth, Rose Snyder and Julie Titley to set a new pool record in the 200 freestyle relay with a finish of 1:39.92.

The dramatics on opening night proved to be a sign of things to come, as Myers broke her own school record in the butterfly Tuesday night in a meet at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool in a tri-meet against Mt. Lebanon and Erie McDowell. Myers' new record stands at 56.69.

The Raiders won both matchups Tuesday and will enter 2008 with a perfect record of 5-0 when it swims Jan. 3 at Pine-Richland.

"We thought we could start out well this season," said SV assistant coach Tom Fletcher. "We were just hoping to swim our best here early on."

The Raiders have done that and it's turned into a familiar result — a lot of wins.

SV head coach Tom Donati, who was unavailable for comment, seems to have strong freshman swimmers every year.

With Myers leading the youth movement, this season is no different.

The underclassman has been swimming competitively for seven years and has been honing her skills in the butterfly for four.

The Cranberry Township resident set the bar high for herself, but it seems to be working. She's already qualified for the WPIAL championship meet in late February.

"She's always been a superstar, coming up through to varsity," said Fletcher. "We think she can end up breaking a lot of the records that are on the board."

Myers also counts the 50, 100, 200 and 500 freestyles as strong events.

Titley, a sophomore from Jackson Township, built a good foundation a season ago by making the WPIAL meet in the 200 and 500 freestyle events and the 400 freestyle relay.

"We're thrilled the way Julie has worked over the last eight months," Fletcher said.

Titley's specialties include the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events.

"I'm not a sprinter, so I'm most comfortable with the 500 free," she said.

With Penn State recruits Snyder and Wolfarth also very strong freestyle swimmers, the Raiders look to be competing for WPIAL and PIAA gold in those events later this winter.

"In dual meets, we might not have as much depth as we did a few years ago," Fletcher said. "But we do have one of the strongest groups of freestyle swimmers in the state."

Though the Raiders have almost two weeks until their next competition, they will be spending a lot of time in the water between Christmas and New Year's.

"They're in for some rough practices," Fletcher said. "We need to rebuild their base over the next few weeks. All teams do it.

"If the kids want to get to where they want to be, we're going to have to break it down for them."

Also contributing to SV's great start to the season are assistant coaches Amanda Smith and Steve Snyder. Maria Misenhelter is the diving coach.