Blue Valley Northwest senior Micah Churchill maintained his front-runner status in the 100 fly, cutting nearly a second from his seed time by posting a 49.53. But Churchill also proved he is the swimmer to beat in the 200-yard individual medley, despite entering prelims with just the eighth-ranked seed time.

Of course, Churchill’s nine-second cut down to 1:52.22 was not much of a surprise. Churchill finished second in this event last year behind the now-graduated Brock Wallace of Wichita Northwest.

Maize junior Zachary Rife held onto his top spots in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. Rife took off more than a second from his 200, posting a 1:40.02 in the first individual event of the day. He would follow up in the 100 with a 46.93, a cut of 0.34 seconds.

Behind Rife in the 200, Blue Valley North senior Connor Golding shaved off nearly two seconds from his seed time to pass Blue Valley Northwest senior John Christianson for the second best prelims time. Golding posted a 1:43.04 while Christianson notched a 1:44.24.

Rife’s senior teammate Kooper Johnson gave Maize another top time heading into the finals. Johnson cut nearly four seconds off his seed time by posting a 4:45.06. Olathe West junior Hayden Renoux had a seed time just under 4:47, but it slipped to a 4:50.86 in prelims, which still easily put him in second. Shawnee Mission East’s Emmet Lynch had the third best time with a 4:53.35.

Manhattan senior Ethan Balman dropped 0.67 seconds off his 100 fly seed time to finish third for that race, pushing ahead of Shawnee Mission Northwest senior Max Cavin. Cavin’s time slipped in that race a bit with a 52.52 after entering with a seed time of 51.60. 

But Cavin maintained his top time in the 50 free. His time of 21.03 was just enough of an improvement to stay ahead of the 21.09 posted by his twin brother Gabe Cavin. Gabe also enters prelims with third-best time in his other individual event. However, this twin was able to push his way up a spot as he posted a 47.01 to finish behind Rife in the 100 free. Shawnee MIssion East senior Jack McClelland finished third in that race with a 47.88.

The Cavins also powered the Cougars’ 200 free relay team to the top time in prelims. Their 1:26.77 was just 0.01 seconds behind the seed time. Shawnee Mission East finished with a time of 1:27.85, pushing past Blue Valley North for second. The Mustangs had a time of 1:28.58.

Blue Valley West sophomore Nathan Weiner displaced Blue Valley Northwest’s John Christianson for the top time in the 100 backstroke. Weiner shaved 1.15 seconds off his time to post a 51.45, ahead of Christianson’s 52.49. Shawnee Mission North senior Jonathan Guild had the third-best seed time with a 53.52.

The Jaguars hoped to finish the individual events with two straight top times. Senior Punswick nearly pulled it off by finally posting his first sub-minute time in the 100 breaststroke since before his cancer diagnosis back in September. But his 59.43 ended up earning him second behind Blue Valley senior Lincoln Mainelli, who posted a 59.22.

Behind Punswick is his senior teammate Mayank Shrestha, who posted a 1:00.73. Shrestha’s cut of 1.62 seconds moved him up from his 10th-ranked seed time, while Blue Valley North’s Connor Golding slid down one spot with his 1:00.86.

Blue Valley West finished strong as Weiner anchored the Jaguars’ 400 free relay team which finished with top time in that event. Their time of 3:16.07 narrowly held off Blue Valley North at 3:16.70. Blue Valley Northwest was not too far behind in third with a time of 3:16.95.

Blue Valley West junior Colton Poe also gave the Jaguars a pair of No. 2 times as he finished second behind Churchill in the prelims for both the 100 fly and 200 IM races. Poe finished with a 51.66 in the 100 fly, just slightly slower than his seed time. But in the 200 IM, Poe shaved nearly three seconds off his seed time to finish ahead of Maize’s Kooper Johnson for the second best time in that event. Poe posted a 1:54.77 while Johnson finished with a 1:55.68.

Olathe East entered prelims with the sixth best seed time in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:40.26. Each of the other seven advancing teams in this relay finished within a second of their seed time, but the Hawks cut more than two seconds as they posted the best time of 1:37.84.

While Blue Valley Northwest posted a 1:38.59 that nearly matched their No. 2 ranked seed time, Blue Valley West shaved off 0.82 seconds from their time to take over the runner-up spot in prelims with a 1:38.03.

In the diving prelims held on Thursday, Wichita Northwest’s Giani Benoit posted the top score with a 333.15 score. Shawnee Mission North’s Jack Eaton sits in second with 297.25 while Campus’ Kenton Holmes holds third with a 295.60.
 

LANSING'S ZACH MENDEZ BREAKS STATE RECORD 200 FREE, SMASHES STATE RECORD IN 500

Lansing senior Zach Mendez never seems to wait for the boys swimming state finals to put on a show.

Just as the Lansing senior did last year when he set the 5-1A state record in the 500-yard freestyle race during the prelims, Mendez did the same thing this year when he smashed his old record, and the top 6A mark, during this year’s prelims on Feb. 21 at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center in Lenexa.

Mendez made his swim in the 500 look effortless as he finished with a time of 4:23.97. In addition to resetting his school record, which he set earlier this year with a time of 4:29.36, it smashed his state record mark at last year’s state meet of 4:32.58. His new time also bested the current record in 6A of 4:31.92, set in 2011 by Olathe East’s Ben Bravence.

Earlier in the day, Mendez also broke the state record in the 200 free, set by Wichita Collegiate’s Adam Sandid in 2022. Mendez posted a time of 1:37.13, surpassing Sandid’s mark of 1:39.92. Mendez also bested the top 6A time at state of 1:38.58, set by Shawnee Mission South’s Grady O’Connor last year.

Mendez tried to go a perfect 3-for-3 as the anchor of Lansing’s 200 free relay. Lansing finished with a time of 1:30.26, ending up one spot back of the top time. Blue Valley Southwest won that race with a time of 1:26.10.

Lansing senior Jakeb Kobs also got close to giving Lansing another top time, but his 21.93 in the 50 free ended up 0.04 seconds behind Eisenhower sophomore Dylan Patterson. Patterson also finished with the best time in the 100 free. His time of 47.08 gives him some distance on the runner-up, Frontenac senior Nathan Troth with 48.37.

Wichita Collegiate senior Nathan Lynch and Andover sophomore Clark Young nearly joined Mendez in earning the top prelims time in both of their individual events, except these two swimmers ended up in each other’s way.

Clark posted the top time in the 200 individual medley with a 1:58.34, which put him nearly two seconds ahead of the next best swimmer, which was Lynch at 2:00.28. But Lynch would flip those results in the 100 breaststroke, posting the best time in that event with a 58.44. Young landed in second with a 59.96.

Both swimmers also competed in their school’s 200 medley relay and 400 free relay teams. Those squads split which group finished higher, although Lynch may have earned the advantage in the blossoming rivalry. Lynch was a part of another first with his 200 MR squad taking first in that race with a time of 1:39.32, while Andover took third. But Clark and his teammates on the 400 FR earned the second best time of 3:21.35, with Collegiate finishing fourth in that race.

Kapaun’s Henry Studnicka matched the Lynch and Young’s individual results of earning a top time and a second-best time. Studnicka posted the best mark in the 100 backstroke, finishing with a time of 53.94. Shawnee Heights senior Truman Brede had the next best time with 55.98.

Louisburg junior Colin Brown earned the top time in the 100 fly with a 52.02, followed by Winfield junior Parker Mah in second with a 53.66. Brown also swam the first leg of Louisburg’s 200 medley relay, which finished second with a time of 1:40.23. Brown also finished with fourth-best time in the 100 backstroke.

In the diving prelims on Thursday, Bishop Miege sophomore Justin Pullen finished with the top score of 199.15. Right behind him is St. Thomas Aquinas senior Alex Moeller at 197.30. Moeller is the reigning two-time champion in the event. Andale sophomore Gage Cooper sits in third with a score of 195.05.