LENEXA — The future of Blue Valley West girls swimming arrived early — and it brought a state championship with it. 

Powered by a roster loaded with talented freshmen and sophomores, the Jaguars pieced together a complete team performance Saturday at the Class 6A State Swim and Dive Championships, capturing their first state title since 2021 at the Shawnee Mission District Aquatic Center. 

Blue Valley West leaned on depth, relay dominance and a breakout individual performance to score 333 points and hold off runner-up Shawnee Mission East (288.5) for the crown. 

“There is a lot of pressure coming from the outside with a lot of the talent that we had coming into this year,” Blue Valley West coach Jordan Jacobs said. “I felt it and I think the girls knew there was a target on their back. We worked all season in taking a bunch of talented underclassmen and teaching them the Jaguar Way and how to be a family.” 

That family atmosphere, Jacobs said, became the difference. 

“This was my biggest challenge because they obviously already had the talent in the water,” Jacobs said. “It was teaching them how to be a family outside of the water and supporting each other the way that a family does. They have done a wonderful job with that.” 

 

The Jaguars wasted little time asserting themselves. 

Blue Valley West opened the meet with a state title in the 200-yard medley relay as freshmen Sasha Weiner and Anya Pivonka joined sophomores Caitlyn Chopra and Avery Johnson to post a winning time of 1:47.51, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of the field. 

“The medley relay I knew that we could do it,” Jacobs said. “The girls really wanted that championship.” 

West capped the meet in memorable fashion, too. 

An all-freshman quartet of Weiner, Pivonka, Amber Stringer and Hayden Benbow closed the championships with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay, shaving five seconds off their prelim time to win in 3:35.06 and finish nearly three seconds ahead of the competition. 

“We weren’t seeded first going into prelims, but had a great day, so repeating it two days in a row is always a challenge,” Jacobs said. “Plus all four of them are freshmen, so you wonder how they would handle the pressure. They are all veteran club swimmers, but state is a little different. It was cool to see them all come together.” 

 

For  Weiner, the final relay victory perfectly reflected what made the Jaguars special. 

“It is an amazing opportunity for all of us,” Weiner said. “This team is so good and everyone really did what they needed to do so we can come out of here with a win. It feels really good.” 

“Club and high school swim is just so different,” she added. “High school is an amazing opportunity to be a family and bond together. It is such a special moment for us freshmen to help out and be welcomed onto this team.” 

In between relay victories, freshman Amber Stringer delivered Blue Valley West’s lone individual championship, rallying late in the 500-yard freestyle to win gold in 5:05.68 after cutting six seconds off her prelim time. 

Stringer found herself battling teammate Hayden Benbow and Olathe East senior Libby Barney and Shawnee Mission Northwest freshman Evie Boshart throughout the race before surging late. 

“Amber and Hayden were neck-and-neck in that race, so I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Jacobs said. “I knew Libby would be a challenge as well. It was cool to watch Amber because I have been told by people who know her better than me that she has fire. You think she is going to be out of the race, then at the end she just shocks you. That is exactly what happened in that race.” 

 

Stringer credited her teammates for helping her find another gear. 

“That family atmosphere is what really pushed me in my 500,” Stringer said. “I wanted to win that state title for my team and do whatever I could so we could win a state title.” 

“Knowing that my teammates were at the end of the lane cheering me on, pushing me — that is what helped when the 500 got hard,” she added. “When I felt like I wanted to give up during it, I knew I had a lot of others counting on me.” 

While Blue Valley West only captured one individual title, the Jaguars stacked points throughout the meet. 

Benbow placed second in the 200 freestyle, Stringer finished runner-up in the 200 individual medley, Pivonka took second in the 50 freestyle, Weiner finished third in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 backstroke, while Pivonka added a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke. West also earned a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. 

 

That consistent scoring proved crucial in the team race. 

“That depth is huge,” Jacobs said. “I have been coaching for 13 years and I have been fortunate to win a few state championships. There are a lot of them where you don’t get first in a lot of individual events, but having the depth and people score further down is what can sneak up and win a state championship.” 

For a young Blue Valley West squad, Saturday may have felt like the beginning of something bigger. But for now, the Jaguars were simply enjoying the payoff of becoming champions together.