2025 GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING PREVIEW
 

 
CLASS 6A
 
2024 State champion: Blue Valley North
 
2024 State runner-up: Blue Valley Northwest
 
2024 Review: Having seen its boys program captured back-to-back Class 6A state championships, the Blue Valley North girls got in on the fun last spring. And much like the boys, the Mustang girls did it in dominating fashion. After taking runner-up to Free State at the 2023 championships by more than 100 points, North was the team putting its depth on display in racking up 365 points at the 2024 state meet to win by 132 over district rival Blue Valley Northwest and capture its first state title since 2006. The Mustangs swept all three relay championships with none of those relays featuring the same foursome combination. But mixing and matching six standouts – Sarah Blake, Siena Masilionis, Margo Hauser, Charlotte Barton, Lillie Mock and Maddy Timson – the Mustangs were able to dominate all three relays to rack up serious points in the team race, setting 6A meet records in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. While relay gold was nothing altogether new, with the Mustangs taking both freestyle relay titles in 2022, North was able to add an individual state champion as well for the first time since 2019. That year, Caroline Blake captured the 50 freestyle championship. Last year, younger sister Sarah Blake got a 50 freestyle championship of her won, holding off Olathe West’s Eliza Killough by .16 seconds for the title in the event in which North had four of the top six finishers. Hauser gave the Mustangs a second individual champion, cruising to a nine-second win in the 500 freestyle. Hauser also added a runner-up finish in the 100 breaststroke while Timson took second in the 100 backstroke and third in the 200 individual medley and Blake finished third in the 100 freestyle. Blue Valley West’s Annika Finzen capped a career that saw her finish in elite company as one of just four girls in state history to win eight individual state championships, joining Manhattan’s Amy Oberhelman and Wichita Trinity Academy’s Caroline and Jamie Bruce. Finzen swept both the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke titles for the second straight, though she couldn’t lower her 6A state-meet records in either after setting both in 2023, after sweeping the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke crowns in her first two seasons. She was one of three swimmers to earn double gold at the meet. Mill Valley’s Ella Hansen repeated as state champion in the 100 butterfly and then added a long-awaited title in the 200 freestyle after having three top-five showings in the event previously in her career including a runner-up finish in 2023. Blue Valley Northwest’s Sophia Paduano, meanwhile, turned the bittersweet nature of her 2023 state meet into a super sweet finish. In 2023, Paduano had been disqualified in the 100 freestyle after being the top qualifier though she shook that disappointment off to win the 100 backstroke. She came back on a mission last year and won the 100 freestyle title that was snatched away a year earlier and also defender her state title in the 100 back. Paduano’s teammate Claire Garrelts was instead the Husky dealing with heartbreak after seeing her bid for a third straight state diving title come up short. Olathe East freshman Irene Gettya dethroned Garrelts for the title, winning by 27.85 points. Shawnee Mission East and 2023 state champion Free State wound up in a tie for third, each scoring 209 points to finish 24 points behind runner-up Blue Valley Northwest. Shawnee Mission Northwest finished fifth with 164 points
 
2025 Contenders: When Blue Valley North won the Class 6A state title in 2006 it came on the heels of the Mustangs capturing the 2005 title the week before, giving them back-to-back titles. That seems to be a theme for North, which also claimed back-to-back state titles in 1998 and 1999. Can this year’s team keep that trend going? Well, it’s hard to picture North not winning – and running away with – this year’s title as well. North graduated only three seniors off last year’s title team with only one of those a state medalist, Lillie Mock, who took sixth in the 50 freestyle and seventh in the 100 freestyle and also was on the Mustangs’ state champion 200 and 400 freestyle relays, anchoring the 200 freestyle relay to a state meet record. While she’ll be missed, North returns virtually everyone else, including the defending state champion in two events. Sarah Blake took her place along side older sister, Caroline, as a state champion in the 50 freestyle, winning the title after finishing third in 2023. Teammate Margo Hauser went from a runner-up finish in the 500 freestyle in 2023 to runaway state champion in the event last year. Both Blake and Hauser added top-three showings in their other individual events with Hauser the favorite to win the 100 breaststroke this season after the graduation of two-time event champion and eight-time overall champion Annika Finzen of Blue Valley West. Blake also could be a double-gold favorite with the two finishers ahead of her in last year’s 100 freestyle, Blue Valley Northwest’sSophia Paduano and Olathe West’s Lydia Fink also having graduated. Blake and Hauser are the only returning individual swim state champions from a year ago with Finzen, Paduano and Mill Valley’s Ella Hansen combining for six golds in their senior seasons. That leaves plenty of events up for grabs this year. Olathe South twins Kira and Mia Jacobs very well could claim some of those vacated crowns. Kira was state runner-up in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and though she’d have to close a big gap on Hauser to win the 500, she was four seconds ahead of the next-highest returner in the 200 free. Mia, meanwhile, finished second in the 200 individual medley behind Finzen and was a second and a half ahead of Blue Valley North’s Maddy Timson in the runner-up spot. She was also fourth in a tight group finishing behind Hansen in the 100 butterfly with .44 seconds separating Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Fia Boshart (second), Free State’s Gayla Gao (third), Jacobs (fourth) and Olathe West’s Eliza Killough (fifth). Killough also was runner-up in the 50 freestyle to BV North’s Blake with SM Northwest’s Sofia Ellison and Blue Valley North’s Siena Masilionis and Olathe East’s Kallie Kennedy also finishing within .83 seconds of Blake. Timson will be the favorite to replace two-time champion Paduano as the 100 backstroke champion with Shawnee Mission East’s Emmy Barrett and Wichita East’s Jordan Kleeman also under a minute in the event in top-four showings last year. Blue Valley Northwest’s Katie LaHood will challenge Hauser for the 100 breaststroke title. The only other returning champion aside from Blake and Hauser is Olathe East’s Irene Gettya, who was a bit of a surprise as the diving champion last year, knocking off two-time reigning champion Claire Garrelts of Blue Valley Northwest. But Gettya nearly matched her best total of the regular season with 494.15 points to win by nearly 28 points as a freshman. She’ll be the overwhelming favorite this year with her four closests challengers a year ago having graduated. Blue Valley Northwest was runner-up a year ago, but must replace Paduano, Garrelts and a total of seven seniors. Shawnee Mission East and Free State tied for third a year ago. The Lancers graduated seven qualifiers but return 13 who were on the state squad to perhaps make them Blue Valley North’s top challenger. Free State lost multi-time state placers Molly Nuckolls and Liza Engelbrecht but return Gao and multi-time placer Jocelyn Wilson. Led by Boshart and Ellison, Shawnee Mission Northwest could move up from its fifth-place finish from a year ago and into the top three. Led by the Jacobs twins, Olathe South returns its entire state contingent from last year’s ninth-place team and could make a big move in the standings this season. 
 

CLASS 5-1A
 
2024 State champion: Blue Valley Southwest
 
2024 State runner-up: Andover
 
2024 Review: Coming off its first state championship since winning four straight from 2013-16, Blue Valley Southwest brought a 12-swimmer/diver contingent back to the 2024 state meet, tied with Kapaun Mt. Carmelfor the largest in Class 5-1A. The Timberwolves had some big holes to fill off their 2023 championship team with the graduation of 100 freestyle state champion Presley Baber, who also was runner-up in 100 breaststroke, and loss of third-place 100 breaststroke finisher Mari Chambers, who opted not to swim for the team last year. But Southwest did return a state champion in Willow Weninger, who not only defended her state title in the 200 freestyle with ease, but doubled-up with a four-second win the 500 freestyle. She also anchored the 200 freestyle relay to a gold and led off the state champion 400 freestyle relay, joined on both by Miriam Hill, Ashlyn Bolyard and Sophia Sponseller. Both Hill and Weninger were on Southwest’s record-setting 2023 200 freestyle relay. Bolyard, Sponseller and Hill each had a pair of top-nine finishes and Ella Meraz added a third in the 100 breaststroke as the Timberwolves racked up 253 points to beat runner-up Andover by 55 points for the repeat title. Andover was led by Mari Griffin who led the Trojans’ 200 medley relay to its third straight title in the event. Griffin has been on all three of those relays and last year teamed with Kiersten Elliott, Sophia Mandanis and Brynn Eilert for the three-peat. Griffin also returned to the top of the podium in the 100 backstroke. She won the title in the event as a freshman, knocking off Labette County’s Sidni Meister, but then saw Meister return the favor last year and get the win over Griffin. With Meister gone, Griffin left the field in her dust, winning by three seconds. She also took second in the 200 freestyle and the Trojans got runner-up finishes from both Mandanis and Elliott in one of their individual events and top-four finishes in their other. Southwest’s Weninger was one of three double-individual champions, joined by Wichita Trinity Academy’sAleca Howard and Hillsboro’s Lauryn Vogt. Howard was a double-champion for the second straight year, defending her 2023 titles in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. She won by more than four seconds in the IM and then posted a near two-second win in the 100 breast. Vogt had made history in 2023 becoming the first swimmer from Hillsboro to win the state championship when she captured the 50 freestyle crown as a freshman. She avoided the sophomore slump and not only won the 50 free again by a solid .64 seconds and also turned right around and captured the title in the next swimming event by winning the 100 butterfly by more than two seconds. McPherson’s Danica Brunk only had one missing piece to her glossy resume and added it in her final opportunity. Close to a state title throughout her career, Brunk brought home the gold in the 100 freestyle, edging Seaman’s Avery Walz by .40 seconds. Emporia’s Allisyn Weiss added her name to the Spartans’ strong diving legacy, joining her older sister, Haley, as a state champion. Weiss dominated the competition, scoring 451.20 points to beat runner-up Abby Paprocki of St. Thomas Aquinas by nearly 70 points. Led by the Walz sisters, Seaman finished third as a team. Avery posted runner-up finishes in the 100 freestyle and 200 IM and Tauren added a fourth in the 100 breaststroke and eighth in the 100 butterfly. Aquinas took fourth, just 2.5 points ahead of fifth-place Lansing.
 
2025 Contenders: The last time Blue Valley Southwest won back-to-back titles, they followed it up with two more back-to-back crowns with their fourth straight championships from 2013-16. The Timberwolves have the core of last year’s repeat championship team back with graduation only claiming two state entries, double-top nine finisher Miriam Hill, who also was on both of Southwest’s winning relays, and diver Alyssa Bonder. The rest of last year’s title team returns, led by junior Willow Weninger, who already has three individual golds in her first two seasons. She swept the 200 and 500 freestyle titles last year after winning the 200 title for the second straight season. Sophomore Ashlyn Bolyard posted a pair of fourth-place finishes in her individual events while Sophia Sponseller had two top-nine finishes and junior Ella Meraz had a third-place showing. Meraz could fill Hill’s spot on Southwest’s winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays, teaming with Weninger, Sponseller and Bolyard. Southwest might need some young swimmers to step up as last year’s runner-up, Andover, returns nearly as much firepower at the top of its squad. Mari Griffin is a two-time state champion, winning the 100 backstroke as a freshman and junior. She’s also been a part of three straight state champion 200 medley relay teams with last year’s title team returning in tact this year with Kiersten Elliott, Sophia Mandanis and Brynn Eilert joining Griffin. Griffin, Elliott and Mandanis have been on all three of those winning relays and both also were strong in their individual events with Mandanis runner-up in the 100 butterfly and third in the 200 individual medley and Elliott second in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 100 freestyle. Moving up in those races will be a challenge as Wichita Trinity Academy’s Aleca Howard returns as the two-time champion in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and Hillsboro’s Lauryn Vogt returns as the champion in the 100 butterfly. The top-two finishers are gone from the 100 freestyle with the graduation of McPherson’s Danica Brunk and Seaman’s Avery Walz, but Hays’ Izabel Schmidt is back after taking third and Southwest’s Bolyard was fourth. Griffin is a heavy favorite to win her third 100 backstroke title, but she will have to deal with Weninger for the title in the 200 freestyle if she chooses that event again with Weninger the two-time reigning champion. Depth might be Andover’s biggest hindrance as the Trojans only had eight on its state team a year ago. Seaman will be in rebuilding mode after its fourth straight top-five team finish. The Vikings lost the Walz sisters, who combined for eight top-eight individual finishes in their careers, but do return Joslynn Grace, who finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke and eighth in the 200 IM. Fourth-place a year ago, St. Thomas Aquinas returns seven of its 10-member state contingent from a year ago with Ridley Newell the top performer back, taking fifth in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 200 IM. She and Delaney Albright return from the Saints’ runner-up 200 freestyle relay and third-place 200 medley relay, but the Saints graduated the other two members (Abby Boos and Maggie Dahir) as well state runner-up diver Abby Paprocki. Hillsboro’s Vogt not only won the 100 butterfly a year ago, she also claimed her second straight title in the 50 freestyle and won last year’s title by a comfortable over Hays’ Schmidt, who will be one of the favorites in the 100 freestyle. Kapaun Mt. Carmel matched Southwest’s 12 state qualifiers last year and finished sixth as a team, 6.5 points behind Lansing. The Crusaders’ Kate Kochenderfer was runner-up in the 500 freestyle and third in the 200 freestyle and will look to challenge Weninger for the title in both again this year after finishing well back last year. Lansing is led by Makaila Hayes, who was third in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 200 freestyle and helped the Lions’ 200 and 400 freestyle relays to top-four finishes. Both of those relays return in tact and with two other returning state placers, the Lions could make a move just as their boys' program has in recent seasons. After taking fourth in diving as a freshman, Allisyn Weiss soared to the top of the podium last year. She added nearly 100 points to her state point total, scoring 451.20 to easily win the title by nearly 70 points over Aquinas’ Paprocki. Her top challengers will be Centre’s Olivia Carlson, Maize South’s Sydney Schumaker and Hayden’s Kaylee Gragg, who finished 3-4-5 last year.