Blair Kuethe hasn't always loved swimming.

In fact, when she started in the sport at age 7, there were a lot of tears.

"I cried every day before practice," Kuethe said. "I did not want to swim."

Those tears soon dried up as Kuethe discovered rather quickly that swimming was a sport she could excel at. By the time she was 9, Kuethe made her first Junior Olympic cut, and that was all she needed to keep her motivated.

"Then swimming was like an addiction for me," she said. "I knew I wanted to be really good."

When the high school swimming season kicks off this week, Kuethe, a junior, will be one of the leaders on a strong Wharton High team. The Wildcats won the Class 3A-District 4 championship last season and finished sixth at regionals. They are poised to improve upon that finish this year.

Wharton opens the season Thursday against Newsome. They are two of the top high school programs in Hillsborough County. Starting the season against each other should set the tone for both schools.

Individually last year, Kuethe won the district 50 and 100 freestyle titles. She was also a key contributor on Wharton's strong relay teams. At regionals, Kuethe finished first in the 50 free and third in the 100.

She medaled at the Florida High School Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships with a sixth place in the 50 free. Kuethe also finished ninth in the 100 free.

Wharton coach Julia Lamb expects greater things from Kuethe this season.

"I think Wharton's going to have some really good relay teams, and she is the anchor of those teams," Lamb said. "I know I can count on her to go fast. And she's the type of teammate that everybody likes. She's always positive and extremely likeable."

To improve on her times, Kuethe spent a lot of time in the water this summer. Following a long period where her times hit a plateau, Kuethe discovered another gear, and it showed in her results.

Swimming with her club team TBAY (Tampa Bay Aquatics), Kuethe won gold medals in the 50 and 100 free and a bronze in the 200 free at the Florida State Senior Swimming Championships in July.

In addition to garnering more medals, she dropped a lot of time, including 2.5 seconds in the 200 free.

"It's been such a long time that I've had a big drop," Kuethe said. "I was really getting frustrated, but then my times improved and I got really back into swimming again."

Her summer results have motivated Kuethe and have her excited about the upcoming high school season.

"Something clicked for me this summer and I really learned to love swimming again," Kuethe said. "I want to swim in college and I know I need really good times to do that, so I'm going to work hard to reach that goal."