The Kansas girls state swimming and diving meet will take place Friday and Saturday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium in Topeka. Here are five storylines to watch.
1. Shawnee Mission East looking for another title. For four straight seasons, the Shawnee Mission East girls swim and dive team has won the Kansas Class 6A state title, and this year they could very well do it again. Sophomore Bonnie Longan led the Lancers to their 10th consecutive Sunflower League title this month with a top finish in the 100-yard backstroke and a leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay.
2. Musser leading the Huskies. Although Shawnee Mission East may be the favorite in Class 6A, the Lancers will have their hands full warding off Hannah Musser of Blue Valley Northwest. Musser led the Huskies to the Eastern Kansas League championship with individual titles in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle while participating in the winning 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay. She is headed to Western Kentucky this fall.
3. Roush dominating diving. Blue Valley West’s Emma Roush, who is headed to UMass this fall, won the Class 6A diving title last year and is poised to do it again. She has continually broken her own school record this season and won the Eastern Kansas League Championships with 495.45 points.
4. Grunhard making quite an impression. Bishop Miege’s Cailey Grunhard may be only a freshman, but she is making herself known in the Eastern Kansas League. She won the 100-yard fly at the EKL championships in 57.44 seconds, a full 5.14 seconds faster than the next swimmer. She is one daughter of former Chiefs’ offensive lineman Tim Grunhard.
5. Where will Blue Valley Southwest land? Blue Valley Southwest won the Class 5-1A state title last season, but lost a few talented seniors. The Timberwolves finished fourth at the Eastern Kansas League meet, and when the teams are split up into 6A and 5-1A that puts them back at the top of their class. Madison Carrigan won the 200-yard IM and 100-yard breaststroke and swam a leg of the 200 yard medley relay and 400 yard free relays which finished third.
Comments are closed.