LENEXA — They didn’t have the biggest roster and when the final event was called Saturday afternoon, they didn’t even have a lane in the pool. 

What Louisburg had was four swimmers, a stack of gold medals and a place in school history. 

Competing with the smallest lineup among the contenders, the Wildcats captured their first-ever top-three finish at the Kansas Class 5-1A Swimming and Diving Championships at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center, scoring 205 points to take third overall. Louisburg finished just 20 points behind runner-up Kapaun Mt. Carmel and ahead of Blue Valley Southwest (198). 

It was a stunning rise for a program less than a decade old. The Wildcats’ previous best state finish was seventh, set just a year ago. This time, they were in second place heading into the final event before slipping to third since they did not field a 400-yard freestyle relay. 

Still, the hardware — and the history — remained. 

“It is just insane the fact that it is even possible and that we executed it is just surreal,” senior Colin Brown said. “I am just proud of everyone here. It still hasn’t fully hit me yet, but I am just so grateful to be a part of it.” 
 

Louisburg’s third-place trophy was built on dominance at the top. Junior Casey Carpenter-Ross was named the Athlete of the Meet after collecting four gold medals in his first-ever high school state appearance. 

The Wildcats opened the meet in record-breaking fashion. The 200-yard medley relay team of Brown, Andrew Jamison, Noah Sharp and Carpenter-Ross surged to a state title in a record time of 1 minute, 34.87 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:35.02 set in 2019 by Bishop Miege. 

“It feels awesome but it takes four to get a state record,” Carpenter-Ross said. “Yeah, I bring it home, but these guys gave me a big enough lead to where I didn’t have to worry at all. It feels great and I am so proud of all four of us.” 

Carpenter-Ross wasn’t finished. 

He blazed to victory in the 50-yard freestyle in a season-best 20.95 seconds, then later pulled away in the 100 freestyle with another season-best of 45.81 — winning by nearly a second and a half. Though new to the Louisburg roster this year, Carpenter-Ross brought extensive club experience and delivered immediately. 

“Coming into the year, I had high expectations for myself, but I didn’t expect to be named Athlete of the Meet,” he said. “I am so proud of myself and my teammates for this achievement. I feel like next year I still have a lot still left in the tank.” 

Louisburg added another state title in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Brown, Jamison, Sharp and Carpenter-Ross won comfortably in 1:26.60, just a half-second shy of another state record. 

Brown continued his own decorated career with a second straight state championship in the 100 butterfly. After entering the meet with the third-fastest seed time, he won Friday’s prelims and followed it with a personal-best 50.96 seconds in the finals to claim gold. 
 

“The first time to go under 51 was just amazing,” Brown said. “Going in third kind of gave me that underdog feeling. Even though I won it before, I kind of felt like I needed to go show why I won it last year. I am very happy to bring it back home again this year.” 

Brown nearly added another title. The defending 100 backstroke champion finished runner-up this season in a season-best 53.52, falling to El Dorado freshman Sam Christy. 

Jamison also delivered multiple medals. After posting the fastest preliminary time in the 100 breaststroke, he finished second in the finals with a personal-best 59.04, edged out by Andover’s Eric Witt (58.06). Jamison added a fourth-place medal in the 200 individual medley in a season-best 1:58.94. 

“It does feel good to be a state runner-up, but it is a little disheartening going in first and then coming out second,” Jamison said. “Eric is a fantastic swimmer and an outstanding person. I wouldn’t have wanted to lose it to anyone else. He deserves it. At the same time, to be able to PR and do better than I have ever done was awesome for me.” 
 

For Jamison, the team finish was almost unimaginable when he arrived as a freshman. 

“Absolutely not. I never thought that this was possible,” he said. “Going from my freshman year where we had a couple individuals making ‘B’ finals and the one or two relays that we did to this is just insane. It has been a great experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world.” 

Sharp, meanwhile, earned his first individual state medal by placing eighth in the 50 freestyle in 22.32 seconds. 

“I was super excited for my 50 free and to be able to medal for myself,” Sharp said. “It was amazing for me.” 

He also reflected on the record-setting relay performance. 
 

“I never thought we would beat the state record when I first started,” Sharp said. “But to see everyone come out here and give their best, it was truly amazing and the adrenaline was insane.” 

What makes Louisburg’s accomplishment even more impressive is its size. The Wildcats scored 205 points with just four swimmers, competing as a co-op program with Paola, Osawatomie and Spring Hill during the season. Brown and Jamison have been part of the steady climb over the last four years, watching the program grow from hopeful to historic. 

On Saturday, that growth culminated in a podium finish — and proof that depth isn’t always about numbers. 

Sometimes, four is enough. 
 

EISENHOWER’S PATTERSON COMPLETES DISTANCE DOUBLE
 
Dylan Patterson’s immediate reward for completing the distance double in the Class 5-1A state freestyle events seemed a bit harsh Saturday.
 
Moments after crawling out of the pool after his victorious swim in the 500-yard freestyle, Patterson joined teammates Derek Hunsaker, AC Mendenhall and Chase Marcotte near the starting blocks for his anchor leg in the B final of the 200-yard freestyle relay.
 
“That was definitely the most I’ve hurt in a 50 ever,” Patterson said after helping the Tigers to a second-place finish in the consolation heat and 10^th place overall.
 
But if any swimmer proved himself capable of having the versatility and ability to meet a challenge, it was Patterson. A year after winning state titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, the Eisenhower junior made good on a season-long goal to add the 5-1A 200- and 500-yard freestyle crowns to his collection.
 
Even if he admittedly didn’t consider how rare the feat might be.
 
“I honestly didn’t,” said Patterson, who won the 200 free in a time of 1:40.77, then later added the 500 free title in 4:37.83. “I just felt like changing my races up for this meet was the same as changing up for every other championship meet I’ve ever done.
 
“I just knew I had to come out and prove that my hard work would pay off.”
 
Patterson completed the sprint double at state last season, becoming Eisenhower’s first boys champion in swimming. His first victory was shared with Winfield’s Corden Cuington, as both touched the wall in 21.84 seconds to tie for the title.
 

Patterson enjoyed a more convincing victory in the 100 free, winning by more than a second over Andover Central’s Tyler Voros in 46.76.
 
With a new coach at Eisenhower this season in Melissa Short and a new training philosophy, Patterson’s focus shifted.
 
“Last year, all of our practices were so sprint-oriented,” Patterson said. “I felt this year they were more aerobic-oriented. We do way more longer sets.
 
“Changing up to aerobic really made me want to change my events to the 200 and 500.”
 
Patterson swam the 200 free well enough during the regular season to establish himself as a favorite coming into the weekend. His best time of 1:43.82 prior to state led all 5-1A swimmers by more than a second.
 
In the 500 free, Patterson’s top time of 4:47.14 was second to Andover’s Clark Young, one of his teammates at Wichita Swim Club.
 
“Clark’s an amazing athlete and a very elite-level swimmer,” Patterson said. “It’s the main thing I thought about this week, just racing Clark and beating Clark. He’s a really good teammate, he’s a really good athlete, and I’m glad I got to race with him.”
 
After winning the 200 free by more than three seconds over runner-up Blake Royse, an Andover sophomore who finished in 1:44.12, Patterson and Young swam the first 300 yards of the 500 practically side by side. Patterson then began establishing his lead over the next 50, and with 100 yards to go, he was more than two seconds clear.
 
Patterson said he heeded the advice of “one of the Wichita Swim Club’s OGs,” Ron Neugent, a former Wichita East swimmer who qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that did not compete in the Moscow Games due to a boycott.
 
“He just told me once you get to that 11^th (lap) counter mark, that 13^th counter mark, just push it and make everyone think they’re going to get second or third,” Patterson said. “I really went for it on that 13^th counter mark.”
 

CHRISTY BECOMES EL DORADO’S FIRST BOYS SWIM CHAMP IN 10 YEARS
 
Once El Dorado freshman Sam Christy got comfortable with the state championship environment, his natural talent took over.
 
Admittedly nervous during Friday’s preliminaries, Christy still produced the top qualifying time in the 100-yard backstroke and the third-fastest time in the 100-yard butterfly. Then Christy, one of the state’s top newcomers, went out and showed it Saturday, winning the backstroke in a personal-best 51.73 seconds to become El Dorado’s first boys state swimming champion since Keagan Wilson won the 5-1A 100 freestyle title in 2016.
 
“It’s so cool,” Christy said of adding his name to the Wildcats’ list of champions. “Everybody back home has been asking how I’ve been doing. It’s just been cool.”

Christy dethroned Louisburg senior Colin Brown, who finished second in 53.26. Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Henry Studnicka, a training partner of Christy’s at Wichita Swim Club, finished third in 53.67.
 
“I was definitely more nervous yesterday (during prelims),” Christy said. “I felt like I was used to it today and I’ve been at this pool multiple times.
 
“I just kind of used that first day as a way for me to know what I needed to do today.”
 

Christy earned his victory after finishing third in the butterfly final. Brown, the reigning champion in that event, defended his title in 50.96, followed by Wichita Collegiate senior Luke Cremin in 51.74.
 
Christy, who competed in the butterfly early in his youth career before turning his attention to the freestyle and then back to the fly, posted another season-best with his time of 51.96.
 
“He’s gotten everything he deserved at this meet,” El Dorado coach Diane Solorio said. “He’s worked very hard for it.”
 
Christy, one of just three swimmers on El Dorado’s roster this winter, quickly established himself in his first high school campaign. He set five school records and won Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail III-IV titles in the back and fly.
 
The backstroke, at this point, has become his calling card.
 
“It’s definitely an underwater-focused event,” Christy said. “And I’d like to think my underwaters are pretty good.
 
“It’s still been a crazy first year. Coming into it, I didn’t even think I’d be able to get top three.” 
 

ANDALE’S COOPER ADDS TO ARSENAL, REPEATS AS DIVING CHAMPION
 
Gage Cooper returned to the state meet as the reigning Class 5-1A diving champion with some new dives and a career-best score during the regular season that surpassed what stands as the 5-1A state meet record.
 
Other than that, no pressure.
 
“I definitely felt like if I came in second I wouldn’t have deserved the score that I got,” said Cooper, referring to the 11-dive total of 548.50 he used to win the Wichita Northwest Invitational in late January. “But since I got first, I feel like I proved it.”
 
Cooper fell short of his score that led all 5-1A divers this winter. But his total of 474.55 after Saturday’s finals was enough to defend his title in a 1-2 finish with Bishop Miege junior Justin Pullen that duplicated the 2025 state competition.
 
Cooper executed a dive new to his arsenal this year – a 1½  front flip with three twists – on his final attempt to seal the outcome and move ahead of Pullen, who finished the competition with a score of 445.00.
 
“The moment I hit the water, I knew it was game over,” said Cooper, one of two Andale divers who competes prior to state through a co-operative agreement with Bishop Carroll.
 
Cooper, a state diving runner-up as a freshman, overcame a torn MCL in his right knee and a broken kneecap he sustained in a trampoline accident late in his freshman year to win the 5-1A title as a sophomore. This time, he only had to overcome a slow start to the state competition.
 
“It was definitely scary at first,” said Cooper, who trailed Pullen after the preliminaries before taking the lead during the semifinals. “I didn’t do my first five dives how I wanted to, but it came out good in the end.”
 
Cooper said his physical development helped him expand his diving repertoire, adding higher degree of difficulty attempts. His mental approach was aided, he said, by training with another Andale diver, junior Hudson Tankersley, who finished 11^th.
 
While Cooper didn’t use all the dives he has been working on this season, the one he needed at the end delivered him his second state title.
 
“I’m definitely more consistent, more confident this year,” Cooper said. “I have better head space. I’ve gotten stronger with my body and gotten more athletic, too.
 
“And with Hudson, diving is such a mental sport, and if I didn’t have a friend to train with, it would be a lot more difficult.”


CLASS 5-1A ALL-STATE TEAMS
 
FIRST TEAM
 
Colin Brown, sr., Louisburg; Casey Carpenter-Ross, jr., Louisburg; Henry Christensen, fr., Andover; Sam Christy, fr., El Dorado; Gage Cooper, jr., Andale; Andrew Jamison, sr., Louisburg; Dylan Patterson, jr., Eisenhower; Blake Royse, so., Andover; Henry Studnicka, sr., Kapaun Mt. Carmel; Dane Weninger, sr., Blue Valley Southwest; Eric Witt, sr., Andover; Clark Young, jr., Andover.
 
SECOND TEAM
 
Connor Borchers, so., Andover; Tanner Copeland, so., Hesston; Luke Cremin, sr., Wichita Collegiate; Corden Cuington, sr., Winfield; Elijah Kitchen, fr., Wichita Independent; Jayden Mai, so., Wichita Collegiate; Brant Myers, jr., Winfield; Carter Ocken, so., Blue Valley Southwest; Justin Pullen, jr., Bishop Miege; Karim Sandid, jr., Wichita Collegiate; Landen Terflinger, sr., Paola; Tyler Voros, sr., Andover Central.