Great Bend Post Sports
The postseason has officially arrived for prep swimmers around the state. League championships were held last week. For Great Bend, that meant a trip to rival Garden City last Thursday. The Lady Buffs scored 419 points to secure the Western Athletic Conference championship. Great Bend scored 366 points for second, and Hays followed with 258 points in third.
Josephine Mazouch swam under the automatic state qualifying time to win the 100-yard free by a quarter-second in 58.67. Darcy Feist finished fifth in 1:03.87, and Meredith Mazouch placed sixth in 1:04.15.
Josephine won the title in the 50-yard free, winning by 0.29 seconds in 26.95. The time was just a third of a second from automatic state qualification. Meredith swam third in 28.26, and Ellie Lutt finished seventh in 29.77.
The 200 free relay team of both Mazouchs, Emilee Hall, and Sydney Kruckenberg won their league title in a photo finish. Their time of 1:50.84 was just 0.06 seconds faster than Hays. Great Bend's team of Feist, Ava Gregg, Madelynne Siefkes, and Clarise Snapp placed fourth in 2:00.06 to miss the bronze by just over two seconds.
Hall claimed an individual gold in the 100 back by seven seconds in 1:07.07. Olivia Boone finished sixth for the Panthers in 1:36.79. Hall finished second in the 100 butterfly in 1:06.73 to miss another title by five seconds. Avah Holden placed eighth in 1:34.61, and Shatarah Newton swam 10th in 1:45.32.
The 200 medley relay team of Feist, Snapp, Kruckenberg, and Meredith Mazouch finished third in 2:13.45, just 0.14 seconds behind the silver. The team of Lutt, Gregg, Katelyn Mermis, and Braylee Carper placed fourth in 2:27.24.
Snapp placed third in the 200 IM in 2:51.17, 11 seconds off the silver. Gregg placed fourth in 2:52.59, more than a second behind the bronze, and Seifkes swam eighth in 3:06.33. Kruckenberg finished fifth in the 200 free in 2:27.81 to miss the bronze by three seconds. Carper hit the wall next in 2:28.33 for sixth. Snapp also placed third in the 100 breast in 1:21.13 to miss the silver by just 0.25 seconds. Gregg finished fifth in 1:25.55.
Carper led the team in the 500 free race in 6:43.70 for third, just four seconds shy of the silver. Lutt placed fifth in 7:00.27, and Mermis finished sixth in 7:14.74.
Great Bend's 400 free relay team of Hall, Feist, Kruckenberg, and Josephine Mazouch finished third in 4:05.32 to miss the silver by less than a second.
The Class 5-1A State Swim and Dive Championships begin Thursday at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center in Lenexa. Diving competition gets underway Thursday with swimmers hitting the pool Friday. All three Lady Panther relays have qualified for state with Hall in the 100 fly and 100 back and Josephine Mazouch now in the 100 free.