TOPEKA – With her work completed and an exclusive stranglehold on the Class 5-1A 50-yard freestyle meet record, Hillsboro junior Lauryn Vogt shed some light on what drove her to new heights at the state girls swimming and diving championships on Friday and Saturday.
 
“I wanted so badly just to get it for myself,” Vogt said after winning her third 50 free championship and lowering the meet record she claimed a share of last year not once, but twice at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. “The motivation for that just really had me ready to go.”
 
Vogt, who competes with Marion during the regular season as part of a co-operative program, is typically understated when it comes to showing emotion and offering self-assessment. But for a moment Saturday, the surprise was evident as she looked at the scoreboard and noticed her winning time of 23.39, a performance that sliced nearly four-tenths of a second off her 2024 state effort.
 
Vogt capped her high school season with plenty more over the two-day event, adding her first state 100-yard freestyle title in a featured showdown with Wichita Trinity senior standout Aleca Howard. She also teamed with sophomore Austyn Driggers, and juniors Talia Jost and Gracelyn Just to reach the A finals and earn medals in the 200-yard medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.
 
Competing alongside 5-1A standouts such as Howard, Andover’s Mari Griffin and Blue Valley Southwest’s Willow Weninger, Vogt was selected as the athlete of the meet.
 
“It’s definitely an honor,” Vogt said. “All these girls and these seniors are super-fast and great swimmers, so to get that as a junior is such an honor and amazing.”
 
Vogt arrived at state as the meet co-record holder in the 50 free, tying the mark of 23.77 last May at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center in Lenexa. For nearly a quarter of a century, that record was held by Winfield’s Kathy Echiverri, who swam 23.77 to win the 1998 all-class title at the former Kansas State University Natatorium in Manhattan.
 
Many had come close in the years since. But Vogt created her own standard for others to chase.
 

She broke away from Echiverri by setting the lone record in Friday’s 5-1A preliminaries, qualifying first in 23.57. That was .60 ahead of eventual runner-up Izabel Schmidt of Hays.
 
On Saturday, after fans were treated to a thrilling 200-yard individual medley duel between Howard and Griffin, Vogt blazed to the 50 free victory in 23.39, while Schmidt finished second in 23.91.
 
“I felt like Friday I had a great day,” Vogt said. “I got the nerves out, got going and felt good. Coming into (Saturday), I felt really good about where I was at.
 
“There was a lot of nerves and anxiousness, but it helps you and gets you ready to go. You just have to go all out and really want it.”
 
Vogt, who won double gold at last year’s state meet with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly, vacated that title to compete in the 100 free. She entered the meet as the top seed, with Howard – who also altered her individual itinerary after winning the 100 breastroke each of the last two years – seeded second, .12 behind.
 
While Howard, a Missouri State signee, set Trinity’s school record with her swim of 51.92, it wasn’t enough to stay in contact with Vogt, who won in 50.28.
 
“It was hard for me not to do the 100 fly because I love that event,” Vogt said. “But I feel like giving myself that break between events really helped. I was able to come out in the 100 free and felt like I did pretty good.”
 
When asked what goals she might take into her senior season, Vogt wasn’t certain which events would land her focus. But whatever they are, she knows how she wants to approach them.
 
“I think I definitely like to go for some more records,” Vogt said. “Just see if I can get my name up there in some other places.”
 

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY THREE-PEAT EXTRA SPECIAL FOR WICHITA TRINITY’S HOWARD
 
Aleca Howard had been down this road many times, competing against and even training with Andover senior Mari Griffin throughout their high school careers.
 
But the Wichita Swim Club teammates didn’t compete against each other in the 2024 5-1A state meet, as Griffin opted to change from the 200-yard individual medley to the 200 freestyle for her third state appearance.
 
Griffin, who helped Andover capture its second team title in four years on Saturday, was back in the IM last weekend along with Howard, the Wichita Trinity senior and 5-1A champion in the event as a sophomore and junior.
 
While the friends are equals by almost any measure in the pool, Howard acknowledged Griffin as an inspiration to her after outdueling the Trojan standout for her third career 200 IM title. Howard touched the wall in 2:03.50, just ahead of Griffin’s 2:03.64 in a race that totally delivered on pre-meet expectations.
 
An eye blink separated Howard and Griffin as they turned for home for the final 25 yards of the IM’s freestyle leg. Howard knew she touched first, albeit not by much.
 
“It meant so much to me to win that one,” said Howard, a Missouri State signee. “Racing against her is so cool because I didn’t get here today without her. I came into this meet really anxious and really nervous. But I was really happy with that race.”
 
Howard, who was diagnosed with Chron’s disease in 2019, recalled looking up to Griffin in early days as club swimmers. She aspired to be on the Wichita Swim Club’s gold squad with Griffin, and later joined her on WSC’s highest-level national squad.
 
“Starting in eighth grade, I was looking up to her and then when I got to nationals, I was just so glad I got to train with her. I’ve gained a lot of confidence from that. It’s nice having someone who’s there for me.”
 
Howard developed into a standout herself, finishing second at state in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke as a freshman. She then won both events as a sophomore and junior, spending the latter of the state meets with former U.S. Olympian Caroline (Bruce) McAndrew, who filled in due to a family commitment of Trinity coach Shelly Green.
 
For her final state meet, Howard’s individual event choices set up marquee matchups with Griffin in the 200 IM and Hillsboro’s Lauryn Vogt in the 100 freestyle. Howard came away with one gold, one silver and no regrets.
 
“It felt like I was going to pass out in the 200 IM,” Howard said. “I couldn’t feel my body, I was so numb. After that, I tried cooling down a bit and put my legs up. I just thought, ‘Whatever happens in this 100 free, it’ll be a good one.”
 
The magnitude of the 200 IM duel wasn’t lost on Griffin.
 
“During that last 50, I could hear the crowd,” she said. “It was the most fun racing experience I’ve had in my entire life.”
 
Griffin, who will swim collegiately at Arkansas, fondly recalled the start of her club swimming friendship with Howard. After both were named to the all-state first team on Saturday, Griffin proclaimed her mutual respect for Howard.
 
“We were swimming with the boys on the intervals,” Griffin said. “It was always me and Aleca, racing each other every single day. She has pushed me to be where I am today, and I couldn’t have done it without her.”
 

BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST DUO OF WENINGER, BOLYARD LED TIMBERWOLVES TO MULTIPLE GOLD MEDALS, STATE RECORD AS TEAM SETTLES FOR STATE RUNNER-UP

Blue Valley Southwest had hoped to repeat as the 5-1A state champions this year, but the Timberwolves did not have quite enough depth to keep up with Andover this time around.

Andover delivered on its frontrunner status by winning the team title with 304 points.

But Blue Valley Southwest still put up a great fight. The Timberwolves racked up 276.5 points to claim state runner-up, 61.5 points ahead of third-place Lansing.

Junior Willow Weninger and sophomore Ashlyn Bolyard set the tone for the team as they combined for three gold medals as individuals and were both on the Timberwolves’ 200-yard freestyle relay team that broke the state meet record in addition to taking first place.

Weninger repeated as state champion in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. Bolyard broke through for her first individual gold medal by winning the 100-yard butterfly. She also took second in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing behind only a record-breaking performance from Andover’s Mari Griffin.

Weninger got the team started strong in individual swim events with her first-place finish in the 200 free. She finished with a time of 1:51.51, more than two seconds ahead of runner-up, Norwich junior Kimberlyn Grim.

Weninger followed up by also winning the 500 free with a time of 5:04.97, nearly three seconds ahead of Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Kate Kochenderfer as the runner-up.

What was most impressive about Weninger’s finals performance was how much faster her times were than they were in prelims.
 

Weninger shaved more than three seconds off her prelims time in the 200 free and nearly eight seconds off her opening time in the 500 free.

Although the huge improvement in times from prelims to finals remains jarring, these performances from Weninger should no longer be surprising. She has done the same thing each of the last two years.

For Weninger, it’s all part of the plan. Her strategy is to avoid overspending her energy in the prelims while going all out in the finals.

“That's normally what I try to do,” Weninger said. “I felt like I had great swims and I was feeling really strong.”

Weninger agreed with the idea that her prelim times are sort of like playing a game of chicken with the other swimmers in her races. But for her, it’s less about psyching out her opponents than is about her setting herself up for success when it matters most.

“That’s just me preparing myself to be my fastest version in the finals,” Weninger said.

Weninger said she finds it funny whenever the word “underdog” gets thrown around based on a swimmer not finishing with the top time in prelims.

“It doesn’t really feel like that to me,” Weninger said. “I know mentally that I will come out on top.”
 

Her only concern has been with surviving a grueling schedule in the weeks leading up to state. Weninger said her focus on competing in club volleyball during the spring ends up conflicting with swim training.

“I was a little worried a few weeks ago,” Weninger said. “I was like, ‘Oh no, I won’t be able to do it.’ But we came through. I just trusted that I'm strong and I'm doing all this training, even if it's not just swim training. I knew that I was strong and I can do it. It's all a mental game.”

Her personal conservation plan has clearly been successful, but the extra energy she stores up is still not enough to avoid Weninger feeling depleted when she reaches the last stretch of races in the finals of the state meet.

After she won the 500 free, Weninger turned right around to anchor Blue Valley Southwest in the 200 free relay. Then she gets a short break before swimming the open leg of the Timberwolves’ 400 freestyle relay.

“Obviously I'm just swimming for my team at that point,” Weninger said. “I know that pain is temporary and I can just push through it. It is a hard turnaround, for sure, but just being there for my team and knowing that they're counting on me is really what pushes me to the next level.”

Still, Weninger was able to help Bolyard, junior Sophia Sponseller and freshman Molly Hartweger break the state meet record in the 200 free relay, which the Timberwolves already held from their performance at state in 2023. Weninger also swam for Blue Valley Southwest in that race as freshman, taking the third leg alongside Jess Heise, Miriam Hill and Presley Baber. Heise and Baber were seniors while Hill was a junior.

“I think it's really special that we can do it again, and that we broke our own record,” Weninger said. “I'm definitely going to have to tease the girls from my freshman year about that. 

“But I just think it's so special that we can do it again, and it shows that Southwest is not done. Everyone in that relay is returning. I think that next year is going to be our year for sure, and we're definitely going to come back stronger than you've seen us before.”
 

Weninger finished out her day swimming with Sponseller, freshman Kameryn Ross and Bolyard in the 400 free relay. The Timberwolves took second behind an Andover quartet that finished 0.06 seconds away from breaking the state meet record for that event.

In addition to her results in those relays, Bolyard improved upon her individual results from an already impressive freshman outing last season. 

Bolyard finished the 100 fly with a time of 55.54, nearly four seconds ahead of Andover senior Sophia Mandanis as the runner-up.

Bolyard said it felt awesome to win her first individual gold medal, but it was hard to tell that by the look on her face when she started at the leaderboard after the race. 

She sported a furled brow in the pool for quite awhile until her teammate in the next line reached over to her. Sponseller, who took third with a time of 58.34, grabbed Bolyard’s hand, which finally drew out a smile from the state champ.

“I’m just my biggest critic,” Bolyard said. “I’m always pushing myself to be faster, be whatever. I just have a super high standard for myself, and I had a higher goal for myself. But I'm still super happy with how I did and what I achieved.”

Bolyard said she did not feel any pressure going into that race as the frontrunner who was going after her first individual state title. Bolyard took fourth in both the 100 freestyle and the 100 back as a freshman last year.

“I didn't really feel pressure, I was really confident going into it,” Bolyard said. “I know what I can do, and I know how I can race.”
 

Bolyard said she was a little surprised by the team breaking the 200 free relay record. 

“We were not going for that,” Bolyard said. “But we just all knew that we wanted to go as hard as we could, and whatever happened happened. We were so happy when we did that.”

Bolyard actually did not even find out they set the record until well after the race. 

“After I swam my leg, I had to race over to cool down before the 100 back,” Bolyard said. “All my races are back-to-back-to-back-to-back.”

It wasn’t until after Bolyard claimed second place in that race that she got back to her team and heard the news.

Similar to her response to her state medal performance, Bolyard felt mixed emotions when it came to Blue Valley Southwest being announced as the state runner-up in the team race.

“I think that we were all a little sad that we didn't get first, but we know that we all tried our best,” Bolyard said. “We're all happy with how we did, so it's okay. 

“We know that we'll be back and we'll be ready to win next year.”

Her fellow state champion teammate agreed

“Runner-up is not something that is bad,” Weninger said. “But obviously we're shooting for first, and that's something that we can go get next year.”
 

EMPORIA’S WEISS OVERCOMES OFFSEASON INJURY TO REPEAT AS STATE CHAMP IN DIVE

Emporia junior Allisyn Weiss won her second straight state title in the one-meter diving event, and again with a large advantage over the next closest competitor. Weiss scored 453.75, narrowly surpassing her winning mark of 451.20 in 2024.

“It feels pretty good having two state titles under my belt now,” Weiss said. “Gives me a lot to look forward to next year. I'm just really happy that I walked out of there with another one.”

Weiss has been the only 5-1A diver to post a score above 400 over the last two years. At this year’s meet, Centre senior Olivia Carlson took runner-up with a score of 393.20. Maize South junior Sydney Schumaker finished right behind her with a 393.10 to take third.

Although Weiss improved her score, her margin was actually less than it was a season ago. Last year St. Thomas Aquinas’ Abby Paprocki took runner-up with a 381.65 score.

It also was not a foregone conclusion that Weiss would be able to compete at this year’s meet, let alone when it again.

Weiss had a surgery right after the last swim season, which took away her offseason before her gymnastics season started in the fall. In March, Weiss ended up needing another surgery on her stomach.
 

“This season has probably been the hardest season for me, coming out of that surgery,” Weiss said. “All of my (stomach) muscles and everything were gone. I had to rebuild those all very quickly.

“So I am just a little bit disappointed in where my score is (at state). But having to go through that tough time and building back those muscles, I think I'm exactly where I need to be for next season.”

Despite that setback, Weiss still PR’d this season with a 512.85 in her last regular season meet. She followed up with a 500.75 at league.

Weiss is still chasing her sister’s school record of 531, as well as her best state score of 459.50 in 2019. Although Weiss is getting very close to the latter, she also wants to shoot past that to try and beat the score that prevented her sister from winning fourth state title. Haylie finished state runner-up that year as Blue Valley Southwest’s Natalie Leachner set the state meet record at 486.90. 

“I think that I will meet (Haylie’s) record next year, at least that's the goal,” Weiss said. “I'll just keep pushing. With that offseason training, hopefully I will be in the same place I am now. Once my season starts next year, being in the same place, I'll be able to push myself more and get more experience and get harder dives and just make sure that everything I can keep advancing from here.”

As a freshman in 2023, Weiss took fourth with a score of 369.55. She finished behind Andover’s Emma Todd and a pair of St. James Academy divers Emma Holton and Megan Callahan. Todd was the only one of those to break 400 with her 400.70. Holton got close with a 396.70 to take runner-up.

CLASS 5-1A ALL-STATE TEAMS
 
First team
 
Ashlyn Bolyard, so., Blue Valley Southwest; Jadyn Bruch, jr., Basehor-Linwood; Jillian Davis, sr., Valley Center; Kiersten Elliott, sr., Andover; Mari Griffin, sr., Andover; Makaila Hayes, jr., Lansing; Aleca Howard, sr., Wichita Trinity; Sophia Mandanis, sr., Andover; Izabel Schmidt, sr., Hays; Lauryn Vogt, jr., Hillsboro; Allisyn Weiss, jr., Emporia; Willow Weninger, jr., Blue Valley Southwest.
 
Second team
 
Sabra Brueggen, sr., Louisburg; Olivia Carlson, sr., Centre; Joslynn Grace, sr., Seaman; Hollyn Griffin, fr., Andover; Kimberlyn Grim, jr., Norwich; Elisabeth Howell, jr., Leavenworth; Piper Kobs, fr., Lansing; Kate Kochenderfer, sr., Kapaun Mt. Carmel; Briley Larcom, sr., El Dorado; Ali Richardson, sr., Southeast of Saline; Laiken Vorthmann, sr., De Soto; Genevieve Wilhite, jr., Bishop Carroll.
 
5-1A athlete of the meet – Lauryn Vogt, Hillsboro
 
5-1A coach of the year – Diane Solorio, El Dorado