As one of the most dominant state champions in Kansas boys swimming history, one might expect that the sport has consumed Zach Mendez’s life from the time he first learned to tread water.
 
But that’s far from the case.
 
In fact, even as late as his freshman year in high school, it was merely something the Lansing standout did mainly to stay in shape over the summer.
 
“I used to play baseball and swim and I really just swam during the summer, trying to stay in shape,” Mendez admitted. “But I went into freshman year and had so much fun. I ended up quitting baseball and just focused my entire year on swimming.
 
“Coach (David) Bresser and my teammates made it so much fun that I just wanted to continue swimming.”
 
From such modest beginnings sprang one of the most impressive high school finishes the state has ever witnessed. Mendez’s meteoric rise from novice swimmer to state record-holder was capped by a performance last weekend at Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center that may never be topped in state history.
 
Not only did Mendez successfully defend his state titles from his junior year in the 200 and 500 freestyle, but he turned in record-setting times that will likely stand for quite some time. 
 
“I think I’m still processing it,” Mendez said of his record-setting weekend. “It’s been a really fun ride.”
 
Records in both of Mendez’s distance freestyle events have incrementally been trimmed over the years – a second here, half second there. Mendez took a chainsaw to both, whacking huge chunks off the previous state-meet marks to cement his place in Kansas history as its greatest distance freestyler.
 
During Friday’s preliminaries, Mendez demolished the 500 freestyle mark he set a year ago, slashing a whopping eight-plus seconds off it with a jaw-dropping time of 4 minutes, 23.97 seconds.
 
That came on the heels of starting the prelims with a record in the 200 freestyle as well, his time of 1:37.13 nearly three seconds faster than the old record of 1:39.92 set by Wichita Collegiate’s Adam Sandid in 2022.
 
While he couldn’t quite duplicate his performance in the 500 in Saturday’s finals, going 4:24.43, he took his 200 freestyle record even lower with a 1:36.82.
 
“It’s awesome to go out and get those records,” said Mendez, who was named the Class 5-1A swimmer of the meet. “But it’s even better to go out and throw down personal bests. Now I’m looking really good for college and my coaches are hyped and that’s all I really care about.”
 

 
Bresser was certainly pumped about Mendez’s performances and admitted that the career his standout put together wasn’t something he necessarily saw coming.
 
“I don’t know at that time I really did,” Bresser said of Mendez’s freshman season. “He was really looking forward to baseball at that time, but he swam well in the 500 and made top eight at state and that really sparked a fire. He started swimming the offseason more seriously, came back the next year and was a state champion and from there everything built on that.
 
“It’s one of those things where it was his dedication. He’s so much fun to coach because he does everything you ask and always wants to do more. He’s a great example for everyone else. He shows up every day and each year it was a little bit more.”
 
The spark for Mendez was an eighth-place finish in the 500 freestyle at the 2022 Class 5-1A state championships. Just like that, baseball became a past-time and swimming was his present and future.
 
Not that it was always easy. He called the “downs” of the ups and downs he’s had in his career getting up for 5 a.m. practices and putting in all the extra work. But his mentality when he sets his sights on a goal was going to lead to a successful career in the pool and he began to reap the rewards his sophomore season when he captured the 5-1A 500 title with a five-second win over Andover’s Jonathan Gott, winning in 4:46.90.
 
“If I commit to something, I’m not stopping until … I never stop,” Mendez said. “I can be on top, but I can never stop.”
 
With that in mind, winning a state title became secondary. Going after records became a priority in the sense that Mendez simply wanted to continue to lower his own personal bests and keep striving for faster times.
 
Finishing his sophomore year 13 seconds slower that the Class 5-1A state meet record, Mendez came back as a junior and wiped that mark out. He posted a 4:32.58 during the prelims to knock nearly a full second off the old record of 4:33.52 set by Seaman’s Zeke Metz in 2018.
 
Though he couldn’t better that time in finals, he found plenty of satisfaction on the second day when he added the 200 freestyle title to his collection as well, coming up less than a second from Sandid’s state record with a 1:40.81.
 
This year, it wasn’t a matter of if Mendez would break both records, but by how much. During the regular season, he posted times faster than both marks (1:38.81 I the 200, 4:29.36 in the 500) and even though he didn’t taper for the state meet with a big club meet coming up in two weeks, there was little doubt he would go faster than those times at state.
 
But no one, including Mendez, was expecting the 500 he turned in during this year’s preliminaries.
 
“I was not thinking I would go 4:23 at all,” he said. “Maybe a 4:26, 4:27. Just to see that 4:23, that was really so awesome.”
 

 
It begged the question of how Mendez would top it on Saturday. And though he didn’t in the 500, he did in the 200.
 
“When I went 1:37 in prelims, I knew I had more in the tank,” Mendez said. “Today, it was let it rip.”
 
He did with his 1:36.82, which gave him a nine-plus second win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Henry Studnicka. Mendez won the 500 by nearly 29 seconds over Andover freshman Blake Royse.

Both of his record-setting times would have easily eclipsed the existing 6A marks in those events with the 6A 200 record a 1:38.58 set last year by Shawnee Mission South's Grady O'Connor and the 500 record at 4:31.92 set in 2011 by Olathe East's Ben Bravence.
 

 
While he might have been tempted to bust an even faster 500 time, Mendez also had another goal in mind that softened that impulse. The anchor for Lansing’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays, winning a gold in one or both of those events meant just as much to him as getting his records.
 
When he hit the water for his anchor leg in the 200 freestyle, the Lions were in sixth place. Mendez quickly picked off one place after another, but couldn’t quite get the Lions the state title in the event with Lansing taking second to Blue Valley Southwest by .33 seconds in 1:29.60.
 
Lansing was in much better position for Mendez in the 400 freestyle relay with Schaffer Gibson, CJ Yedlinsky and Jakeb Kobs turning it over to him with the Lions in second place behind Wichita Collegiate. Spartan anchor Karim Sandid had no chance against Mendez in this one and Mendez finished his career by leading the Lions to their first-ever state relay gold, finishing in 3:15.90 to win by just over two seconds over Collegiate (3:18.07).
 
“Winning with my teammates is the best highlight of all today,” Mendez said. “You can anything about the records, but standing on top of the podium with my teammates is the best feeling ever. To help three of my other guys become state champions, that’s just awesome.”
 

LOUISBURG’S BROWN DOUBLES UP ON GOLD AS THE WILDCATS 1ST SWIMMING STATE CHAMPION

Louisburg junior Colin Brown has had his sights set on bringing home the first ever state title for the Wildcats’ swimming and diving programs.

Not only did Brown make that happen, he ended up bringing home the second state title as well.

Brown brought home a pair of gold medals by winning the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke, spearheading a strong performance from Louisburg’s four-pack of swimmers at this year’s meet. The Wildcats earned a seventh-place finish in the team race.

Brown won the 100 fly with a 51.08, dropping another 2.30 seconds of his best time from the regular season.

Winfield senior Brandon Kenfield finished second in the 100 fly with a time of 53.82, while Andover sophomore Brett Ziser finished third with a 54.00. Despite those two having a close battle for runner-up, neither approached Brown’s seed time entering state, a 53.38.

In the 100 back, Brown also entered state with the top time as he posted a 55.21 in the regular season. But Brown had a rough race in the prelims, finishing with a time of 56.60 to move back to fourth heading into the finals.

Brown chalked up his time slippage in the prelims to his team’s 200-yard freestyle relay bumping up against the start of the 100 back.

“I just really didn’t get any time to get in the water and get any cool down,” Brown said. “I just wasn’t in the right mindset for that one.”

But Brown made sure that was not the case heading into that race during the finals.

He’d need it to chase down Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Henry Studnicka shaved 1.43 seconds off his top time this season to take the top mark into finals with his 53.94.

While Studnicka could not replicate his performance in the finals, Brown was able to recover and surpass what his top challenger had done the day before. He posted a 53.26 in the finals, well ahead of Studnicka’s 55.23.

Brown described it as an amazing experience to win double gold, particularly with the way he rebounded in the 100 back. 

“The 100 fly,  I was kind of expecting to win that one,” Brown said. “The 100 back, I really wasn't going in with much hope. But right before the race I told myself, ‘I'm gonna go out there, compete and win that one.’ And that's what happened.”

Brown did make sure to note that he found out Studnicka had not felt well throughout the day of finals, which he’s sure also played a part in their role reversal. Brown almost seemed happy about the idea of both swimmers having another chance next year to face off in the race.

“Henry Studnicka, the kid that got second, he’s an amazing swimmer,” Brown said.

Although Brown had to get his mind right for the 100 back, it was the 100 fly that generated the most anxiety for him heading into the finals. His large advantage in prelims only served to add more pressure on him to perform well in the finals.
 

“The pressure of that lead weighed on my head a lot,” Brown said. “Just making sure I keep focused on my race and my swim, not focusing on what other people are doing and just focusing on myself.”

Brown also led Louisburg’s 200 medley relay, composed of himself, junior Andrew Jamison, senior Colton Prettyman and sophomore Noah Sharp, to a second-place finish. Brown opened up with a 24.61, setting the pace for his team’s time of 1:39.17. Wichita Collegiate won the race with a 1:38.82.

“Everyone went fast, as fast as they could, and everyone went best times,” Brown said.

In the 200 free relay, Louisburg had that same group of swimmers earn a third place finish with a 1:30.36. The Wildcats had entered state with the seventh-ranked seed time, but were able to shave off 4.84 in the finals performance.

Jamison earned a pair of fourth-place finishes in his individual events. He finished the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:02.09 while posting a 1:01.60 in the 100 breaststroke.

Prettyman earned a pair of 12th-place finishes, first in the 100 fly with a 56.87 before duplicating that result with a 5:19.20 in the 500 free.

Sharp finished 14th in the 100 free with a time of 51.96. His 1:02.26 in the 100 backstroke was not enough to get him into the B-final of that event as he finished 18th.

With the performances of those four swimmers, Louisburg had kept itself into the top five of the team race for most of the day. But their lack of numbers bore out late in the day as teams like Blue Valley Southwest, Wichita Collegiate and Lansing moved past them over the last few events.

But when the Wildcats saw that their 149 points earned them a seventh-place finish, Brown and his teammates could not help but be happy with that result.

“It's an amazing feeling because having four people on our team and being able to stay in that top-seven range is just an amazing feeling,” Brown said. “It just shows how hard these kids work and how the work they're putting in is showing.”

 

 
WHAT A FINISH! EISENHOWER’S PATTERSON, WINFIELD’S CUINGTON SHARE IMPROBABLE 50 FREESTYLE TITLE
 
Dylan Patterson reacted just as one might have expected.
 
After touching the wall at the finish of the 50 freestyle, the Eisenhower sophomore looked up at the timing board and saw just what he hoped to see. The number 1 next to his time of 21.84 seconds.
 
“It felt amazing,” Patterson said. “Coming into the wall, first place. I slapped the water and started celebrating because I didn’t think anyone was near me.”
 
Four lanes over, Corden Cuington of Winfield was experiencing pretty similar emotions. Though not nearly as animated with his celebration as Patterson was, he was nonetheless on a high after looking at the board and seeing a number 1 next to his name as well, also with a time of 21.84.
 
“I was shocked,” Cuington said. “I was just so excited and I turned and looked straight at my mom and she was crying.”
 
What neither Patterson or Cuington knew immediately was that each of their celebrations was completely valid. Only after a double-take at the board did the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League rivals’ realize that their identical times made them co-state champions in the event.
 
“I looked over and the Winfield coach was celebrating, too, and I was like, ‘Holy cow,’” Patterson said. “So I looked up and saw Corden had gotten first place too and it was just, ‘Wow, that’s crazy!’ I was excited for both of us.”
 
Cuington agreed.
 
“I didn’t know for awhile that I had shared with (Patterson),” Cuington said. “He’s a great guy and I wouldn’t have wanted to tie with anyone else.”

 

The last time there was a tie for a state championship in swimming came in 2010 when Salina South’s Tyler Opheim and Seaman’s Nathan Allen shared the 100 butterfly crown after each posted times of 53.85 in the finals.
 
The rarity of the occurrence led for some anxious moments for both, wondering if they’d have to have a swim-off for the title. But once the realization hit that that wasn’t the case, the celebration was on.
 
For both, the title was a bit improbable.
 
Start with Cuington, who came from lane 8 for his championship – also a rarity in the championship finals. While the 50 freestyle can be the most unpredictable race at the state meet, it’s not often won by someone in that lane.
 
Being in lane 8 also meant Cuington was the final qualifier for finals, his prelim time of 22.51 just .15 seconds ahead of Paola’s Landen Terflinger for the final spot in the championship finals. That in itself made the title a bit improbable.
 
But there’s more to it. Cuington actually had posted the ninth-fastest prelim time, but Seaman’s Peyton Holmes was disqualified after his prelim swim and that moved Cuington up to the eighth and final spot for finals.
 
“It was a blessing that I even got it,” Cuington said. “It’s kind of surreal. But I knew that gave me a chance and I had to make the most of it. It just means everything to me.”
 
With just .62 seconds separating the field after prelims, the title was very much up for grabs and Cuington was confident he could be in the mix.
 
“I talked to a few of my competitors before the race and we all thought it would be close,” he said. “I just put my head down and trusted in myself and my training and things worked out pretty well.”
 
Patterson had been the fastest qualifier on Friday, turning in a 21.89 to just edge out Lansing’s Jakeb Kobs who went 21.93. The top seed going into state was Blue Valley Southwest’s Topher Thompson with a season-best of 21.80.
 
Even though Cuington wasn’t on the immediate radar based off prelims, Patterson knew better than to count him out as a threat.
 
“The last (club) championship meet in December, we battled it off in the 50 free,” he said. “It was probably the first time I’d seen Corden ever. He was so fast and I knew he’d be a big competitor at state.”
 
Patterson won that showdown and thought he’d won again, knowing he’d fought off the guys flanking him in the finals, Kobs and Basehor-Linwood’s Caelum Theno, who had qualified third.
 
“Hitting that first turn, I could see them next to me and I had to push the underwaters,” Patterson said. “I knew I got them. When I saw Corden had won too, I was excited for both of us.”
 

 
With the title, Patterson became the first Eisenhower swimmer to ever capture a state swimming gold medal. Which is understandable given that a year ago, the school didn’t even have a swimming program.
 
That didn’t stop Patterson from attending last year’s state meet to take it all in.
 
“I was bummed I couldn’t be out there,” he said. “I started hearing rumors that we might get one around the end of last year, but I didn’t believe any of them. Once we got it, I was just so excited.”
 
Given the opportunity to swim at state this year, Patterson made the most of it. Not only did he share the 50 freestyle title with Cuington, he came back and got a gold medal all by his lonesome in the 100 freestyle.
 
He established himself as the favorite in the event in prelims with a 47.08 that was more than a second faster than Frontenac’s Nathan Troth. Patterson then went out a clocked a 46.76 in the finals to win by nearly a second and a half over Andover Central’s Tyler Voros, who was second in 48.05.
 
“I was definitely looking at two state championships as a possibility after my incredible prelim swims,” Patterson said. “My whole mindset in that 100 free was, ‘I’m not tying for first in this.’ I just knew I had to come out and show what I could do.”
 

BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST OVERCOMES LATE SCRATCH TO WIN 200 FREE RELAY, EARNS 1ST TEAM STATE TROPHY IN A DECADE

Blue Valley Southwest took third in the team race at this year 5-1A boys swimming and diving state championship meet by the narrowest of margins.

The Timberwolves finished with 192 points, edging out Winfield’s 191.5 to claim the third and final team state trophy.

With that narrow victory, Blue Valley Southwest earned its best finish since taking state runner-up in 2015, which was a year after the team brought home its first ever team trophy with a third-place finish.

After that 2015 finish, the Timberwolves spent a half-decade far outside of the team race until earning a fourth-place finish in 2021. Blue Valley Southwest took fifth the next couple of years before working their way up to this finish.

Junior Dane Weninger said it was exciting to see the team’s progression to reach this team goal.

“It was great over the past three years to go from fifth to fourth and now to third and finally get that trophy,” Weninger said.

His senior teammate Topher Thompson felt the same way.

“It that doesn’t show progression, then I don’t know what does,” Thompson said.

To show that progression and earn that result, the Timberwolves also needed to overcome a major setback on the day of finals.

Blue Valley Southwest’s 200-yard freestyle relay team left prelims with the top time in that event. But they would end up needing a last minute line-up change to replicate that result in the finals.

In prelims, the Timberwolves took first in the 200 free relay with the team of senior Ben Christmann, senior Jack Kemp, junior Dane Weninger and senior Topher Thompson.

But on the morning of finals, Christmann woke up not feeling well. He even ended up making a trip to an urgent care facility. 

Although Christmann was ultimately able to swim in the B-final of his 50 free race, his time dropped from 23.10 to 24.07 as he finished 16th.
 

Needing a leadoff swimmer who could deliver a time closer to Christmann’s times from prelims, Blue Valley Southwest head coach Carrie Miller turned to junior Hank Rong to keep her team’s best relay on pace for a first-place finish.

Rong did not make it out of prelims for his individual events in the 50 free and 100 back, but he was the anchor on the 200 medley relay which took 10th in prelims.

But Rong had his own setback with a severe calf cramp that made him think his state performance was done.

“I didn't really expect to swim at all,” Rong said. “My coach told me I had to step up, take (Christmann’s) spot and match the speed of everyone else.”

Rong delivered exactly that with his split being a 23.31, slightly faster than Christmann’s 23.34 from prelims.

Rong, senior Jack Kemp, junior Dane Weninger and senior Topher Thompson were all able to improve the time on each split from prelims as they delivered a 1:29.27 to take first. 

“We came into the meet with goals in mind and we were really looking to bring home at least one state championship throughout the meet,” Weninger said. “To do that with this relay is really special.”

Although they won, their victory started to look like it was in jeopardy late in the race.

When Thompson entered the water for the anchor leg, his team had a nearly 1.52 second lead. But even with Thompson's strong 21.77 split, he barely held off Mendez. Despite just finishing blistering 4:24.43 time in the 400 free, Mendez still had enough left to post a 20.58 as he nearly cut up to Thompson.

The Timberwolves narrowly held off a surging Lansing team which took second with a 1:29.60.

“Mendez, the kid’s a beast,” Thompson said.

Mendez would deliver a similarly impressive performance in the finals of the 400 free relay. He dropped a 44.54 anchor leg to push his team to a first-place finish, ahead of a Wichita Collegiate squad that dropped 6.39 seconds to move up two spots from prelims. 

While the Timberwolves ended up getting pushed down a spot from their prelims finish, they were more than happy to take fourth in that relay with their time of 3:21.57. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys, to be honest,” Thompson said. “All these guys have been going through stuff. I mean, (Rong) got thrown in last minute. (Weninger) swam how many yards throughout the day? 700?”

Thompson said he was slightly disappointed with his own performance in individual races. He took fourth in the 50 free with a time of 22.02 and 7th in the 100 free with a time of 49.26. He said he thought those results would have affected him for his performances in the relays, if not for his team helping him get back in the right headspace.

“I was a little bit upset by that, but I just want to thank my teammates, thank my coaches, for getting me back in it,” Thompson said. “Honestly, I would not have swam the races in the relays that I did without them.”

Kemp felt similarly. He took eighth in the 50 free with a 22.65 and 8th in the 100 free with a 50.17.

“I came in thinking I might do a little bit better, but it’s still a medal and I’m still happy with it,” Kemp said.

Weninger had one of the best individual performances for the Timberwolves as he earned a pair of third-place finishes. In the finals, he posted a 1:46.67 in the 200 free and a 4:53.70 in the 500 free.

But with Mendez graduating, Weninger is excited about returning to state next year in both of those events with a chance to win gold. He’ll still need to chase down Wichita Collegiate junior Henry Studnicka and Andover freshman Blake Royse as both finished ahead of him one of those events.

“I know there'll be competition next year, but I'm excited to see what it brings,” Weninger said.
 

 
COOPER OVERCOMES INJURIES, CARVES OWN LEGACY IN ANDALE’S CHAMPIONSHIP LEGACY
 
Few schools have across-the-board state championship pedigree like Andale does.
 
From its recent run of domination in football and track and field to state titles in volleyball, basketball and softball, the Indians have traditionally had championship-caliber teams and athletes for seemingly all seasons. 
 
And, Gage Cooper wanted to be a part of that. Only he knew he had some limitations.
 
“I’m not really tall enough for basketball and not really strong enough for football,” he said.
 
So if Cooper was going to get in on the Andale championship legacy he was going to have to make his own path. Which is what he literally did.
 
Knowing the athletic strengths he did possess, Cooper launched a diving program at Andale, which doesn’t have a swimming program or even a local pool to train at. Yet with a little help from a neighbor, Tyler Fraizer, who happens to be the athletic director at Bishop Carroll, Cooper was able to participate in the sport through a co-op starting last year.
 
“We asked (Fraizer) if I could co-op with their school for diving,” Cooper said. “We worked it out, got all the paperwork done and here we are. I was nervous it wouldn’t happen, but I’m glad it did. I was also scared because I didn’t want to throw away my high school experience and not go far in the sport.”
 
Having found his niche, Cooper has made the most of the opportunity.
 
After finishing as the state runner-up in Class 5-1A diving a year ago as a freshman, Cooper brought home the state title this season as a sophomore. He scored 427.45 points to top a field that included all five last year’s top-five state placers, including two-time defending champion Alex Moeller of St. Thomas Aquinas.
 
“I didn’t think I could beat Alex,” Cooper said of Moeller, who wound up third this year with Bishop Miege sophomore Justin Pullen slipping in between for the runner-up finish. “I’ve always looked up to him and he’s been a role model for me. I watch his dives before practice. I do the same dives that he does. I just look up to him so much and beating him doesn’t seem real.”
 

 
The road in between his runner-up finish a year ago to this year’s state championship wasn’t exactly a smooth one for Cooper, who makes a 40-minute commute to Wichita to train with Bishop Carroll at the Wichita North pool.
 
Like most divers, his venture into the sport is a product of his extensive trampoline background, one that saw him win a national championship when he was 13 years old. He also loved to jump and dive off cliffs and bridges, so the transition was even more natural.
 
But the love for trampoline hasn’t left him and after the conclusion of last year’s diving season Cooper was back bouncing and flipping and doing what he loves. Only it came with a price.
 
Right before the start of track season, where he had planned on giving pole vault a try – another area where Andale has a strong championship tradition – Cooper had an accident on the trampoline and not only tore the MCL in his right knee, but also broke that kneecap.
 
That not only sidelined him from sports, but school.
 
“It was pretty hard,” he said. I hated being out of school and hated physical therapy.”
 
Once he healed, Cooper had no reservations about getting back out on the trampolines. But perhaps he should have, as in September, he had a nasty fall again and this time broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg.
 
With that injury occurring just two months before the start of the diving practice, his season was in jeopardy.
 
“I was scared I wouldn’t be able to compete at the level I’m used to,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I would heal right. Honestly, I was thinking of the worst that could go wrong. But I healed pretty fast from both injuries. So it went pretty right.”
 
Cooper missed only one meet and once he did return, he was back in top form almost immediately. He posted a regular-season best of 460.15 that ranked only behind De Soto’s Jasen Grammer on the Class 5-1A Top 25 list going into the state meet.
 
But with the loaded field also on top of its game, all five of last year’s returning top five posting scores of 420 or higher this season, Cooper knew he’d have to be on top of his game last weekend.
 
Sure enough, things were tight after the completion of preliminaries and semifinals on Thursday. Cooper held the lead with 298.95 points, but it was only a slight one with Moeller right behind with 296.10 points, Pullen at 292.95 and Grammer at 281.45.
 
“I just had to treat it like any other meet,” he said. “Try not to over-think. I was really nervous (going into finals) but once I hit that first dive and heard the crowd clapping, I was good.”
 
He hit a forward one-and-a-half with a twist to start finals and never left an opening for the others to catch him. His 427.45 final total gave him a near-16-point win over Pullen, who scored a 411.95, while Moeller took third at 405.60, holding off Grammer, who finished fourth at 404.35.
 
“It’s really special,” Cooper said. “All the guys who were there last year got way better. We all went to dive camps together over the summer and it’s a fun experience. I love the community and we all work together and have great camaraderie. I was in the moment and hitting my stuff and having fun. And winning just made it even better.”
 
And it might just be enough for him to stay off the trampoline for good. Maybe.
 
“It’s still in my blood and will always be something I love,” he said. “But it’s just not worth it anymore. Risk versus reward, it’s not a huge thing. I want to go to college and go far in diving.”
 

 
DRAMATIC RELAY VICTORY HELPS COLLEGIATE’S LYNCH CLOSE CAREER WITH DOUBLE GOLD
 
Harry Ling didn’t have a deficit to overcome when he dove in for his anchor leg on the 200 medley relay to start Saturday’s Class 5-1A state swimming championships.
 
But that didn’t ease any of the tension he felt.
 
Not with Wichita Collegiate holding a narrow lead over hard-charging Louisburg and Andover. And not with the Spartans trying to continue their stranglehold on the title in the event, having won the medley relay title each of the previous three seasons.
 
“I’m not gonna lie, the pressure was on,” Ling said. “Honestly, I knew what I had to do and I knew the training I had put in with my teammates leading up to it. I was in a good mind and a good space. So I went in and I found I could nail it on the underwaters off the turn and I used that to my benefit and it worked out for the team.”
 
In nearly a dead heat with Louisburg anchor Noah Sharp entering the water, Ling was able to just hold his Wildcat rival off, out-touching him at the wall to give Collegiate its fourth straight win in the medley relay. The Spartans posted a winning time of 1 minute, 38.82 seconds to win by a mere .35 seconds over Louisburg, which was second in 1:39.17.
 
Ling was one of two new additions to the relay after the Spartans graduated standouts Derek Yang and Paul Mines off not only last year’s relay but Yang also on all three previous championship relays and Mines on the last two. Sophomore Karim Sandid also was a relay newcomer, swimming the lead-off backstroke leg, while holdovers Nathan Lynch and Luke Cremin both returned off last year’s relay and Cremin on the 2023 championship team as well.
 
Collegiate was in second to Louisburg after Sandid’s opening leg, but Lynch pulled the Spartans ahead on his breaststroke leg – hardly a shocker given he would come back later in the meet and successfully defend his 100 breaststroke state championship. Given a .32-second lead by Lynch, Cremin kept the lead on the butterfly leg, but saw the margin shrink to just .14 seconds 
 
Put in the anchor freestyle spot to replace Mines and hold off Sharp, Ling relished the opportunity.
 
“I really like when the pressure’s on me,” he said. “Pressure makes diamonds, right? I performed and I’m really happy about that. My head was down all the way in so I had no clue. When I looked up at the board and saw we won I just slapped the water.”
 
Andover charged hard on the final leg behind senior Luke Farley, but only pulled within .70 seconds of Louisburg for third place.
 

 
The 200 medley relay win last year started a double-gold showing in a breakout performance for Lynch a year ago. Saturday, he duplicated that accomplishment.
 
“After last year, I knew there was only one thing left to do,” he said. “And that’s win again. That was the only option and that was the key motivator for me.”
 
He was very familiar with his top challenger to the crown. Andover’s Clark Young finished fifth in the event last year as a freshman, but had improved to the point where he was less than a second behind Lynch going into the state meet.
 
Even though Lynch qualified a second and a half faster in prelims, he was still wary of Young. Particularly after they had already battled earlier in the finals in the 200 individual medley with Young handily winning that showdown by nearly four seconds in 1:56.49 to Lynch’s 2:00.22.
 
“It’s a pretty good rivalry,” Lynch said. “I’m always thinking about beating him and every meet we’re always right there with each other. He’s pretty good at the IM. Obviously I wanted to win that one but he’s also very fast. I really knew I had to beat him at least once.”
 
Lynch took control of the finals and never gave Young an opening to pull the upset. He finished in 58.15 seconds, .29 faster than his prelim time and .72 faster than his winning time a year ago. Young finished second in 59.41.
 
Lynch wasn’t quite able to get a third gold for the first time as Collegiate’s 400 freestyle relay finished runner-up after holding a slim lead going into the final leg. But Sandid was tasked with trying to hold off Lansing anchor and 5-1A swimmer of the meet Zach Mendez, and there simply wasn’t anyone in the state capable of doing that.
 
Ling, Cremin, Lynch and Sandid took second in 3:18.07, well behind Lansing’s winning time of 3:15.90. Ling added a fourth in the 500 freestyle and seventh in the 200 freestyle and Sandid added a third in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 100 freestyle.
 
Collegiate finished fifth as a team after taking a program-best second a year ago. The Spartans narrowly missed out on a team trophy with their total of 190 points, just two behind third-place Blue Valley Southwest and 1.5 behind fourth-place Winfield.
 
 
CLASS 5-1A ALL-STATE TEAMS
 
FIRST TEAM
 
Colin Brown, jr., Louisburg; Gage Cooper, so., Andale; Corden Cuington, jr., Winfield; Andrew Jamison, jr., Louisburg; Nathan Lynch, sr., Wichita Collegiate; Zach Mendez, sr., Lansing; Dylan Patterson, so., Eisenhower; Blake Royse, fr., Andover; Karim Sandid, so., Wichita Collegiate; Henry Studnicka, jr., Kapaun Mt. Carmel; Dane Weninger, jr., Blue Valley Southwest; Clark Young, so., Andover.
 
SECOND TEAM
 
Schaffer Gibson, so., Lansing; Brandon Kendall, sr., Winfield; Jakeb Kobs, sr., Lansing; Baul Lee, jr., Andover; Harry Ling, sr., Wichita Collegiate; Parker Mah, jr,. Winfield; Justin Pullen, so., Bishop Miege; Rob Richardson, jr., Kapaun Mt. Carmel; Caelum Theno, so., Basehor-Linwood; Nathan Troth, sr., Frontenac; Topher Thompson, sr., Blue Valley Southwest; Allen Turner, so., Kapaun Mt. Carmel; Tyler Voros, jr., Andover Central; Brett Ziser, so., Andover.