Aspen Monkhouse knows exactly where she wants to be.

Not just in any pool — but in the water at the Class 4A state swim and dive championships.

Monkhouse, a junior at South Kitsap, just missed qualifying for the 2013 meet in the 50-yard freestyle, and is determined to prevail this season.

“This year for sure,” she said, adding that she has already qualified for districts in the 50, as well as the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

Monkhouse is just one reason why fifth-year coach Cliff Rousell expects to see good things from what he calls a “very cohesive” group.

“Where we may not have as much front-end speed as we used to, I think we have a lot of strength coming up,” he said. “It’s as strong as a girls team as I’ve enjoyed working with.”

That progress was evident in the Wolves’ 125-50 loss to perennial Narrows League powerhouse Gig Harbor last week. In spite of the lopsided score, the team tallied four districts cuts — including two relays — three league cuts and 18 personal bests.

“You can see we have some new people who will go to leagues this year,” Rousell said. “I think there’s a lot of pluses as far as that goes.”

Co-captain Zoe DeSmet, a senior, was the only South Kitsap winner to compete at the state meet last year, in the 100 free- style.

Rousell said that DeSmet has been fighting illness and working to get back into shape.

“Her stroke and technique are still really solid.”

The Wolves also return six districts swimmers, including Monkhouse.

“Aspen has been rock solid in the water,” Rousell said, adding that aside from DeSmet, she has the best shot at a state berth.

Monkhouse said that despite losing some swimmers to graduation, “we also have a lot coming back.”

“I think it’s going to be a great season.”

Other returners include senior co-captain Aubrey Lash, juniors Chloe Meyers and Nicole Nelson, and sophomores Megan Friemann and Kylie Dodge. Among the top newcomers are junior diver Allana Romo and freshmen Ana Marks and Erin Rau.

Rousell said that Marks, in particular, is already making an impact. She swam the backstroke on the districts-qualifying 200 medley relay against Gig Harbor.

“She’s definitely got a lot of strengths,” he said, “and a lot of future ahead of her.”

Rousell said that the main challenge has been that not many of the girls worked out over the summer, so they have had to focus on conditioning.

“Right now, it’s hard to say that any stroke is going to get a state shot,” he said. “It’s a little too early in the season with the lack of conditioning and the need to polish up the technique.”

Regardless, Rousell said he is expecting to see steady improvement as the season progresses.

“It looks to be a very fun year,” he said. “We have a strong returning core group and a solid mix of classes with several new potential league qualifiers.”