LENEXA -- Everything was in place for Andover to make history at Saturday's Class 5-1A state swimming and diving championships, the Trojans positioned well to bring home the program's first state championship after a strong preliminary performance.

Yet even in that scenario, there was a part of Andover coach Bethany Bastian that allowed that tiny shred of doubt to run rampant in her mind.

"You plan it out saying, 'You need to do this in this event and this in that event,' but rarely ever does it work out," Bastian said. "And then hardly ever does it work out the way you plan it."

Well, on Saturday's Bastian's best laid plans played out exactly and perhaps even better than she had hoped. Not only did the Trojans execute the plan, they put an emphatic stamp on the program's first state swimming crown, winning four events on the way to a 258-202 margin in the final team standings over runner-up St. James Academy.

"It's surreal when it actually works out," Bastian said after her ceremonial jump into the pool with her state championship team. "You tell a kid they have to get first and they go out and they lunge in the backstroke and get first. You pull your breaststrokers together and tell them they have to be a second faster than they were yesterday, and that's hard to do, and they do it and go ninth and 10th. It's just crazy little things like that and when hey happen, you're like, 'Oh my gosh, it's going our way!'"

Andover finished sixth at last year's state championships on the strength of a double-gold effort by Natalie Neugent. But coming into this season, both Bastian and Neugent were excited about the prospects of the additions to the program.

Talented freshmen Mari Griffin and Kiersten Elliott and Sophia Mandanis gave Neugent some serious firepower to join her on the Trojans' 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays, not to mention their impacts in individual events. The program also added a pair of state-qualifying divers to add points in an event that previously had been empty.

Having swam club with many of those newcomers, Neugent had been counting down the years and days when she would get to swim with them in high school.

"I was so excited to have these girls with me to swim my final season, I couldn't have asked for a better group to spend it with," Neugent said. "I've been waiting so long for them."

It was well worth the wait.
 

The foursome of Griffin, Elliott, Mandanis and Neugent started the meet with a convincing win in the 200 medley relay, posting a time of 1 minute, 48.40 seconds that was more than a second and a half faster than runner-up St. James (1:50.17). The same foursome closed the meet with an even more dominant win in the 400 freestyle relay, their time of 3:37.12 more than three seconds faster than runner-up Bishop Carroll's 3:40.26.

In between, the Trojans got individual wins from Neugent in the 50 freestyle and Griffin in the 100 backstroke and more than enough high showings in the other events to handily take the team title.

And while things looked great on paper prior to state and her young swimmers have been in numerous big-time settings in their career, a Saturday's finals at the state meet is another animal altogether.

"You never know," Bastian said. "They did really well in prelims and I was a little nervous because you just don't know how the chips will fall. They had a really good day in prelims, but how would that affect them for finals? We typically do well on Day 2 of a meet.

"They're all competitors and I never really worried about them being on the big stage and freaking out and completely imploding. I was just worried about them being tired because they are competitors and do give it their all. They don't hold back."

Looking to sweep the freestyle sprints for the second straight year, Neugent got that bid off to a strong start in the 50 freestyle. Of all the state races, the 50 is the biggest free-for-all and with four swimmers at 24.91 or better, Neugent was hardly comfortable as the top qualifier from prelims with a 24.24.

"50 is such a short race, you just never know how it's going to go," she said.

Neugent didn't quite go as fast as she did a year ago in the event when she edged McPherson's Danica Brunk by .13 seconds with a 23.87, but her 24.18 was fast enough to beat Wichita Collegiate's Katherine Grace (24.40) by .22 seconds and St. James' Reagan Salsbury (24.42) by .24 seconds with Brunk fourth at 24.62.

"It was a little off my best time and I was hoping to get a best time going into it," Neugent said. "But I had a really great race, so I was happy with it."

Her title defense in the 100 freestyle fell short. After qualifying second to Bishop Carroll's Karis Reynaga in prelims, Neugent knew she had a battle on her hands in the finals and she did. The two were side-by-side with Blue Valley Southwest's Presley Baber right there as well and Reynaga got the tough at the end to win in 52.53, just .09 seconds ahead of Neugent's 52.62.

"We've raced so many times so I knew it would be a tough race regardless," Neugent said. "It was really just racing each other to see who would take that first-place medal home. She got it, but I couldn't be happier for her."

Even in falling short of the sweep for the second straight year, Neugent said the team title more than made up for whatever individual disappointment she might have felt.

"The whole focus was team," she said. "Everybody did their part and I couldn't be any happier."

Neugent's demeanor carried over to the rest of the team, in particular the young talent.

"I've known her since I was super-young and Natalie's always been a great mentor for me," Griffin said. "She really leads the team by example and shows us that even if something doesn't go great, you just keep persevering and power through it."
 

Griffin applied that lesson on Saturday. Disappointed a bit by a fourth-place finish in the 200 individual medley, she didn't let it carry over to the 100 backstroke, where she had qualified first from prelims by a mere .14 seconds over Labette County's Sidni Meister.

The two were locked in a tight battle throughout Saturday's final with Meister holding a slight lead going into the final turn. But Griffin was able to power home over the final 25 yards and with a final surge at the finish, just out-touched Meister to win by .09 seconds in 56.74.

"I really wanted to win that 100 back," Griffin said. "I knew it was going to be tight because we were just a tenth off in prelims and I've raced her in (club) and we've gone back and forth. But I really had the confidence I was going to take this one.

"I really worked hard on my underwaters and so I think my last turn off the wall was a lot better than hers was. I can take the pain better than anybody else and that last 25 is really my strong suit."

Andover also got top-eight finishes from Mandanis, who was fifth in the 100 butterfly and eighth in the 200 freestyle, and Elliott, who was third in the 100 breaststroke. The Trojans also got consolation finals wins from Elliott in the 200 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relay team of Kallisti Mandanis, Emma Henry, Marisa Scholl and Sami McClellan as well as a ninth from diver Emma Todd.

Andover will lose Neugent and four other seniors to graduation. But the group has left their mark and set the standard for future Trojan teams under the direction of Bastian, who was named the 5-1A state coach of the year by her peers.

"I feel honored to have had this position and I hope they keep it going for years," Neugent said. "Just keep that state vibe there."

"The girls on our team have created such a good culture," Griffin said. "We're hoping we can carry this on and keep this going."
 

CLASS 5-1A TEAM STANDINGS

Andover 258, St. James Academy 202, Bishop Carroll 193, Seaman 175.5, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 165, McPherson 143, Labette County 124, Mill Valley 122, Winfield 116, Wichita Trinity Academy 99, Blue Valley Southwest 94, Lansing 67, Maize 66, St. Thomas Aquinas 60, Topeka West 49, Salina Central 48, Valley Center 43, Piper 37, Wichita Collegiate 29, Emporia 28, Bishop Miege 27, Hays 25, Louisburg 23, Leavenworth 16, Humboldt 13, El Dorado 12, Newton 11, Circle 10.5, Holcomb 10, Southeast of Saline 8, De Soto 7, Centre 7, Great Bend 6, Wellington 6, Wichit Independent 6, Hayden 5, Pittsburg 4, Salina South 3, Andover Central 3, Shawnee Heights 2.