Great Bend Post
Another swim meet, another state qualifier. The Great Bend High School swimmers picked up the win Thursday in Newton. The Lady Panthers scored 227 points to beat the field, with Marion scoring 219 points for second, and Newton placing third with 216 points.
The big news came in the 100-yard freestyle race where sophomore Josephine Mazouch punched her ticket to state. She finished second in 59.38 to miss the gold by half a second. The state qualification line was 59.44. Kamryn Johns finished sixth in the race in 1:02.80.
The 200-freestyle relay team has already secured a spot at state. Thursday, the squad of Mazouch, Johns, Elly Somers, and Emilee Hall took the gold by more than five seconds in 1:50.20. The 200-medley relay qualified for state in the first meet of the season. With a change in the lineup, the squad of Hall, Somers, Ava Gregg, and Sydney Kruckenberg placed third Thursday in 2:12.06 to miss the gold by eight seconds.
Great Bend dominated the 500-free with Braylee Carper taking the gold in 6:33.52, followed by Katelyn Mermis in 6:49.51 for the silver, still nine seconds ahead of the third-place swimmer. A 6:15 is required for state consideration.
Somers, already a state qualifier in the 200-IM, finished third Thursday in 2:35.38 to miss the silver by three seconds. Hall, already a state qualifier in the 100-back, finished third in 1:10.06 to miss the silver by two seconds. Johns placed eighth in the 50-free in 28.80, two-plus seconds behind the gold. Alyvia Mingenback swam seventh in the 100-butterfly in 1:27.02, 14 seconds behind the bronze.
Great Bend's 400-free relay has already punched its ticket to state. Mazouch led a different team with Mermis, Sidney Gilkison, and Darcy Feist to a fourth-place finish in 4:39.54 to miss the bronze by five seconds.
Great Bend has now qualified for state in the 200-freesyle relay, 200-medley relay, 400-freestyle relay, 200-IM, 100-back, and 100-free.