Great Bend Post Sports
The Great Bend High School swimmers hit the water in Hutchinson Tuesday. Buhler scored 535 points to cruise to the win, followed by Garden City with 336 points and Goddard-Eisenhower with 242 points in third. The Panthers scored 111.5 points for eighth.
The competition was tough across the board. Great Bend's 400 free relay team of Kale Mermis, Matthew Williams, Mark Sperlein, and Jordan Sander placed ninth in 4:42.62, 14 seconds under its seed time and 31 seconds behind the bronze. The 200 medley relay team of Williams, Sperlein, Mermis, and Randy Weber swam nine seconds under its seed time in 2:21.44 to miss the bronze by 19 seconds.
Individually, Sperlein finished 10th in the 500 free in 7:05.97, 35 seconds under his seed time and 56 seconds from the bronze. Williams finished behind him in 7:08.72. Williams also placed 11th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:27.90 to miss the bronze by 12 seconds. Cade Urban placed 16th in the 100 back in 1:51.28, followed by Leo Bashor in 1:52.78 for 19th, and Tyler Scheuerman in 20th with a time of 2:02.75.
Sander placed 11th in the 200 free in 2:44.27 to miss the top five by 22 seconds. Weber placed 17th in 3:00.75. AJ Schartz finished 15th in the 200 IM in 3:24.68 to miss the top five by 52 seconds. Zach Hart followed in 3:45.49 for 16th. Mermis finished 18th in the 50 free, hitting the wall in 29.91 to tie a competitor from Dodge City for the final half-point. Eisenhower's Dylan Patterson won that race by more than a second in 23.01. Mermis also placed 11th in the 100 free in 67.67 to miss the bronze by 10 seconds. Sander placed 15th in 69.50.
Great Bend's 200 free relay team of Weber, Sperlein, Sander, and Hart finished ninth in 2:05.67 to miss the bronze by 17 seconds.
The Panthers travel to Garden City on Thursday.