LENEXA – Blue Valley West senior Annika Finzen stood in an emptying Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center on Saturday evening and asked the fairest question for her situation.
 
Had any other Kansas high school swimmer won all of their individual races at the state championships?
 
It was no secret that Finzen was in that company after she repeated as the Class 6A 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke champion. The victories raised her career individual total to eight, the maximum she could achieve under state meet rules.
 
According to Kansas Sports Hall of Fame records, Finzen is in a party of four. The Auburn signee joined Manhattan’s Amy Oberhelman and Wichita Trinity sisters Caroline and Jamie Bruce as eight-time individual state champions in her final high school meet.
 
“I just tried to really embrace the last time that I’m swimming here at state,” said Finzen, who won the individual medley by more than 6 seconds, then led wire-to-wire in a nearly 3-second victory in the breaststroke. “A big goal was 8 for 8, so I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ But I tried to embrace having fun.”
 
While Blue Valley North enjoyed a record-setting day on its way to a convincing victory in the 6A team race, Finzen was one of three Kansas City-area seniors from other schools who closed out their prep careers in style. Blue Valley Northwest’s Sophia Paduano and Mill Valley’s Ella Hansen graduated from their respective high schools Saturday morning, then joined Finzen as double-gold winners in individual races.

Paduano, an Illinois signee, was selected as the 6A athlete of the meet after winning the 100 freestyle and her second straight 100 backstroke title. The Missouri-bound locked down an elusive 200 freestyle championship before defending her title in the 100 butterfly.
 
With Blue Valley West fans chanting her name during her race walk-ups, Finzen, a meet record-holder in three events, completed her run at history. After setting the individual medley and breaststroke marks last year at Topeka’s Capitol Federal Natatorium, Finzen settled for comfortable victories in her high school swansong after an ominous start to the day.

 
Finzen’s 200 IM came after the Jaguars’ 200 medley relay team that she was part of was disqualified for a false start. She shook it off to win the IM in 2:02.40 – well off her record of 2:00.93 last season but well ahead of runner-up Mia Jacobs of Olathe South, who finished in 2:08.95.
 
“She did a great job after that medley relay got DQ’d,” Blue Valley West coach Jordan Jacobs said. “I know she was disheartened for the team and what that does to the team.
 
“You can take that and it can give you momentum for the meet or it can push you back and you go, ‘Whoa.’ It was hard even though it wasn’t anything she did wrong. It’s still hard to come back, but she has such mental toughness.”
 
Finzen, who eclipsed a 14-year-old breaststroke meet record last May in 1:01.37, secured her fourth double gold Saturday by winning the event in 1:02.12, a 1-second improvement on her preliminary time and 2.74 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Margo Hauser of Blue Valley North.
 
While Finzen acknowledged disappointment in not lowering her records, she savored the victories thanks to a mindset she embraced as a freshman. That year, Finzen helped the Jaguars win a state title on a team that included team leader Addi Barnes, a four-time state champion.
 
“The biggest thing I learned my freshman year was to really get rid of the expectations and just embrace your race,” said Finzen, who won 6A titles in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke her first two seasons before switching events. “That’s something that team did really well. It was bittersweet to see those seniors move on.
 
“But this year, what I really wanted the younger swimmers to do was enjoy the race and not feel that pressure that ‘I need to go post this time.’ Because when you’re thinking about your times, it’s going to diminish your race.”
 
Those leadership skills were on display in Finzen’s final race, the 400 freestyle relay. Finzen swam the opening leg, then cheered on teammates Annabelle Gildemeister, Faith Krizek and Emma Huebner as the Jaguars finished sixth.
 
“She’s a true leader,” Jacobs said. “She’s always been a leader in and out of the water. She shows them what good work ethic looks like. She’s focused. Mental toughness is huge for her. She just shows up with a positive attitude.”
 
Finzen joined the company of Oberhelman, the state’s first eight-time individual champion from 1991-94, and the Bruces. Caroline (Bruce) McAndrew, who attended Saturday’s Class 5-1A state meet as an assistant for Wichita Trinity, swept her individual state races from 2001-04 before competing in the 2004 Olympics. Jamie Bruce followed from 2005-08.
 
“Looking back to my freshman year, I don’t think I would have thought I would be here,” Finzen said. “It’s kind of cool being undefeated in these. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of training to get where I’m at and pushing internally.
 
“My intentions have always been to just go hard and fast and get my hand on the wall first.”
 

PADUANO GETS REDEMPTION IN THE FREESTYLE, REWARD IN THE BACKSTROKE
 
The grin widened as Sophia Paduano saw her backstroke time flash on the scoreboard.
 
Paduano not only locked down her second individual title of the day, but her 54.97 broke through a desired time barrier.
 
“I’ve been trying for awhile to get under 55,” Paduano said. “That was a nice feeling.”
 
Paduano’s positive vibes meant a little extra in her final state appearance. A year ago in Topeka, Paduano was on her way to a double in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. But the top seed was disqualified from the freestyle for a flinch false start.
 
No such trouble loomed over the weekend. After swimming a personal-best 51.04 in Friday’s prelims, Paduano won the 100 free in 51.09 on Saturday, 1.19 seconds ahead of runner-up Lydia Fink of Olathe West.

 
“I do think about that a lot,” Paduano said of her 2023 disqualification. “It was an experience to learn from. Obviously, I knew I didn’t want to do that again.
 
“It’s not really something you can prepare for. I just wanted to have two clean races.  I wouldn’t say it’s been easy to get past, but it’s been a year and it’s not something to dwell on.”
 
Paduano, who moved to Kansas from California four years ago, finished her career as a four-time individual state champion. She won the 50 freestyle as a sophomore, then bounced back from last year’s freestyle disappointment to win the 100 backstroke.
 
Paduano was a two-time runner-up to Finzen, her KC Blazers club teammate, in the backstroke as a freshman and sophomore.
 
Those days seemed sentimental Saturday as Paduano enjoyed the opportunity to compete against Finzen and Hansen for a final time in high school. All three swam in the last event, the 400 freestyle relay.
 
Paduano anchored the Huskies to a fourth-place finish that helped them secure the runner-up spot in the team race.
 
“Annika and I have been club teammates the last four years,” Paduano said. “Ella and I weren’t on the same club teams, but it’s been nice seeing her at meets and building a friendship with her. I love them both. They’re awesome competitors and great girls.”
 
In addition to earning All-Class 6A first-team honors for the third straight year, Paduano was honored with the athlete of the meet award. “It was a goal of mine, but there were so many good candidates this year, too,” she said.
 
Next up for Paduano is a college career at Illinois, where assistant Kyle Patnode recruited her. Patnode trained under Paduano’s club coach, George Adock, helping build a connection.
 
“Their two personalities just really interlock,” Paduano said. “We bonded instantly and I really like this class of girls that I’m going in with. I think the program is awesome and I’m really excited.”
 

FREESTYLE VICTORY A LONG TIME COMING FOR HANSEN
 
After winning her first individual state title last year in record-setting fashion, Mill Valley’s Ella Hansen doubled her fun Saturday.
 
But one of her two victories meant a little extra.
 
Hansen completed a career-long quest for a state 200-yard freestyle championship, posting a time of 1:53.94 to outduel Olathe South junior Kira Jacobs, who finished second in 1:54.86.
 
Hansen finished third as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore in the event in Class 5-1A before taking second to Free State’s Bradie Ward a year ago.
 
“Winning the (200) free, it took four years to do that,” Hansen said. “It wasn’t my best time, but just knowing it took four years, it was hard work that paid off.”
 
Hansen received her diploma Saturday morning. After getting some rest, she headed to the swimming facility with a dual purpose – to collect two individual gold medals and enjoy her final state meet experience.
 
“I kind of wanted to go out with a bang and get the double, and obviously I’m sure that’s what Sophia and Annika wanted too,” Hansen said. “Just trying to make a mark in KSHSAA, that was kind of my goal today.”
 
Hansen already made a mark last season in a junior campaign in which Mill Valley moved from 5-1A to 6A. Anticipating a battle with two-time champion Finzen in the 100 butterfly, Hansen instead emphatically claimed the title the Blue Valley West standout vacated when she switched to the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.
 
Finzen set the 6A meet record in the butterfly two years ago at 54.36. Hansen matched it last May, winning by 2.27 seconds over Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Sofia Ellison. On Saturday, Hansen defended her title by touching the wall in 55.15 – 2.22 seconds ahead of Shawnee Mission Northwest freshman Fia Boshart.
 
Hansen, who also helped the Jaguars’ 200 medley relay team finish fourth and the 400 freestyle relay take seventh, sensed the end of a special chapter at a meet in which team champion Blue Valley North set meet records in two relays, and in joining Finzen and Paduano as double-gold winners.
 
The point hit home as she walked to the starting block with her teammates for the 400 free relay.
 
“That was the last time I was going to swim with them and I just wanted to make them proud,” Hansen said. “I wanted to take in every minute with this being my last state ever.”
 

OLATHE EAST'S GETTYA TAKES SHOT AT NEW DIVE TO SEAL STATE TITLE AS FRESHMAN

Olathe East freshman Irene Gettya had never completed a full 11-dive event at the high school level until this year’s Sunflower League tournament.

Gettya finished with a 496.35 score, putting her well ahead of the rest of the field in 6A diving, which included a reigning two-time state champion.

She proved that her performance was not fluke a few weeks later when she delivered a nearly identical score at the 6A state meet to bring home the gold.

Gettya scored a 494.15 at state to secure a first-place finish. After entering the finals with 32.75 point lead over Blue Valley Northwest senior Claire Garrelts, Gettya maintained nearly all of that advantage over the final three dives. Garrelts finished 466.00 to finish second, her fourth top-6 state finish after winning the state title each of the previous two seasons.

Gettya held the top six-dive score for most of the season until Garrelts vaulted over her 275.35 with a 298.20 late in the year. But Gettya’s 496.35 mark at league launched her over both Garrelts and Derby’s Ana Self, who returned to pool after not diving for the Panthers last season and ended up with the second best score in the regular season at 458.80.

Even with those performances, Gettya still never felt like the state title was just hers for the taking.

“I never did think that,” Gettya said. “Claire's a good friend of mine. I've known her for a really long time. My goal is just to have a fun competition with her.”

Gettya said she’s remained less focused on the outcome than simply improving on her dives, which she’s done by focusing on the basics. She credits her diving coach, Ryan Meeker, with helping her get to this point.

“Ryan helped me a lot and the (other) people around me also helped me,” Gettya said. “They're really nice to me and very helpful.”

Even with Gettya’s strong performance in the semifinals, the dive that sealed it for her second-to-last one. On dive No. 10, Gettya put it all on the line with a dive she added to the mix just two weeks ago.  

Gettya had been performing an inward double throughout the season, but she started to lose her execution of it late in the year. 

Gettya and Meeker decided that she was getting much closer on her attempts at an inward double and a half, a dive which Meeker said has not previously been performed by a Kansas diver at the state meet.

Gettya said she was nervous about the dive, but her coach helped keep her confident that she could get it done.

“I got up, got ready and said ‘1, 2, 3,’ and then just threw it,” Gettya said. “The key is to not think about it. … I thought about three corrections, that’s it.”

Gettya said she felt good about the dive by the time she hit the water. When she emerged, the crowd let out a loud cheer that continued into the announcement of her score.

“We tried it and it went about as well as she scored as her inward double,” Meeker said. “So we figured, ‘Why not, got nothing to lose.’”

Meeker said it was a career-defining moment for himself to have a competitor complete a dive that’s never been attempted before. That fact that it was completed by freshman winning the state diving title just added to the moment.

Gettya immediately searched out Meeker and Olathe East head coach Dave Youker to celebrate. They high-fived and celebrated for a little while, before quickly turning the page to figure out those corrections, and for Gettya to get start preparing for her final dive as she clinched the state title.

With her state title performance in the books, now Gettya can try to keep building on this. She’ll even have a few more tries to see if she can reach the state record, a 538.45 set in 1998 by Blue Valley Northwest’s Tammy Crystal.

Gettya’s response to that possibility was the same as her coach’s answer to how they were able to reach this state title win.

“It’s just a lot of basics,” Gettya said. “We really gotta work on those starts, those entries and you gotta learn how to walk before you can run.”