Following the resignation of Jason Mohring in October, the Salisbury swimming program needed a replacement to lead the program, which has been one of the top Class AA swim teams in District 11 over the past decade.

The Falcons found their candidate in Ken Vincent, who coached the Emmaus Aquatic Club and Pennridge High School in the past. He is also the head coach of the boys water polo team at Pennridge. He now adds head coach of Salisbury High School to that list.

It's been a relatively sudden change for Vincent after taking over three weeks ago. And while he's stepping into a program in which he's familiar with a number of the swimmers, he knows it may take some time to get adjusted to everyone's strengths in the pool.

"I have a slight disadvantage coming in and really getting to know who is where and what they are doing," Vincent said. "It will take a little bit of time. Until I actually see them in the first meet, you really don't know what you have. We can try time trials all day long, but kids perform quite differently in the meets."

Walking into a new situation may be challenging, but entering a boys' program with the rich tradition of Salisbury makes things a bit easier for the first-year head coach.

The boys are coming off a District 11 Class AA team championship with district gold medals in four different events. That transitioned into a third-place finish at the state swimming meet in 2014, and the Falcons have finished among the top four finishers at states in the past three seasons.

The community has made the transition even more welcoming for the first-year Salisbury coach.

"In reality, I had coached some of these kids in the past with club swimming," Vincent said. "So it wasn't something where I was totally unfamiliar with them. It's a close-knit community and a family-oriented community."

That success a year ago, however, comes with a hefty price. The Falcons graduated six key seniors from last year's district championship team, including Jon Anderson, the new District 11 Class AA record holder in the 50-yard freestyle. Anderson also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle at districts.

Tim Costantini, a district champion in the 200-yard individual medley, also graduated from last year's squad. Tyler Lesko (third in district 100-yard butterfly), Ryan Andrews, Ian Carey and Patrick Golden are also gone.

There is plenty of talent coming back on the boys' side, however, led by sophomores Mahlon Reihman and Ben Wiener. Reihman finished second in the 500-yard freestyle and third in the 200-yard freestyle at districts last year.

"They are two of the stronger male swimmers," Vincent said. "We are looking to develop a few more as well. We have three very strong diving competitors on the male side.

"It's too early to really say what events individuals are going to swim. At this point, being a freshman or sophomore in high school, they are still learning what events they are going to be strong in."

The Falcons' trio of divers (senior Denny Bonner, junior Danny Bujcs and sophomore Tyler Keller) is also back to provide another dimension in the pool.

While the boys lost six seniors to graduation, as well as sophomore AJ Oliver to transfer, the girls graduated just Alyssa Sipos from last year's squad. Sipos finished 10th in the 200-yard IM and 12th in the 100-yard freestyle at districts.

Junior Rachel Costantini, who placed in the top 16 in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle at districts, is one of the leading girls returning after the Lady Falcons finished in the final position at districts.

Sophomore Taylar Velten (10th in 50-yard freestyle; 18th in 100-yard freestyle), sophomore Brooke Rogers (20th in the 100-yard butterfly) and junior Kaleigh Bobeck (12th in 500-yard freestyle; 13th in 100-yard breaststroke) round out a group of returnees that look to take another step forward in 2015.

"We have a number of girls that are developing swimmers with a whole lot of talent," Vincent said. "All four of them are fairly strong swimmers, and hopefully they will get better and better as we get towards the end of the year."

The Falcons' first meet is scheduled for Friday against Moravian Academy at KidsPeace. Meet time is set for 4 p.m.