TOPEKA, Kan. - For the second year in a row, Kansas has a student-athlete defining the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics. Jack Punswick, a state champion swimmer from Blue Valley West High School, who is battling cancer, has been selected as the 2025 national recipient of the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
 
In January, the KSHSAA Student Advisory Team selected Punswick the KSHSAA Spirit of Sport Award which promoted him to be considered for the national award among seven other student across the country. Merik Dismang from Olathe East walked a similar path the year prior.
 
The NFHS will honor Punswick at their annual meeting in Chicago this summer.
 
Going into this year’s KSHSAA Swim State Championship, Punswick had the fastest qualifying mark in the breaststroke and was looking to defend his state title. Ultimately a silver medal would be claimed by the senior and second-team all state honors.
 
Punswick, KSHSAA Class 6A state title in the 100-yard breaststroke as a junior in 2024, began his senior year at Blue Valley West with a cancer diagnosis that suddenly threatened his promising future as a swimmer.
 
What was initially believed to be pneumonia symptoms in the summer between his junior and senior years was eventually determined in September to be Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma. Punswick immediately began chemotherapy treatments to battle the cancer while he remained focused on getting back into the pool. Punswick gained strength with the realization that he swam the fastest times of his life during the USA Swimming Futures Championships in July as cancer was invading his body.
During his months of treatment, his connection to the school’s swim team provided Punswick with the determination to rally and defend his state title at the 2025 KSHSAA Swimming Championships. He continued to practice even if his body was struggling to maintain his elite level of performance.
 
“Every day you had to fight,” Punswick said. “You had to fight and if it weren’t for the support of others, I don’t think I’d be where I am right now. I had countless help from so many people that contributed to my success. No one ever achieved success alone.”

Punswick said it was hard to do anything physical, whether it was walking around his neighborhood or up a set of stairs, his previous cardiovascular and muscular strength was completely zapped when he started treatment.

But Punswick remained determined to keep going. He remembers his doctors and nurses telling him things like, “The more you move, the better you’re going to feel,” throughout chemo.

Punswick said he may have taken that advice a little too seriously.

“I just really hated just staying in my bed all day,” Punswick said. “I need to get up and move. I have goals that I still want to accomplish. I have things that I still want to do.”

Even with his body at its weakest, Punswick forced himself to keep going to the pool and maintaining a schedule that looked a lot like it would if he was at full strength.

“I really liked the way that swim gave me a sense of normalcy,” Punswick said. “I got to do something I love and I got to see people I like and still get to move my body.”
 

After completing his chemotherapy regimen in December, Punswick was cleared to return to racing. In his first competition, he qualified for the state meet in the 100-yard breaststroke – he would officially be able to defend his title. The amazing feat, however, took everything Punswick had as teammates had to pull him out of the pool afterwards to recover.
 
Punswick’s health and strength gradually returned throughout the season. As the state meet neared, he registered the year’s fastest time in the state in his signature event.
 
At the state championship in February, Punswick swam to a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Although unable to claim a repeat title, he celebrated the fact he was even at the meet and able to compete.
 
While cancer presented Punswick with a formidable challenge, he also viewed his ordeal as an opportunity to appreciate “daily wins” for himself and others. It has inspired him to pursue a career in physical therapy, where he can devote his life to improving other people’s lives by helping them rebound from their setbacks.
 
 kshsaa.org