By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Closing out his junior swim season at Great Bend High School last winter, Kasey Kennedy had plenty of reasons to be optimistic for a senior season. He was already part of the school-record 200 medley relay team, he'd swam at state all three years in the relays, and he was an individual state qualifier in the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Everything changed near is birthday in July.
"I ran into a bunch of internal stomach problems this summer," he said. "Coming into this swim season, I didn't know if I was going to be able to overcome those problems. I think I've spent about two and a half weeks in the hospital total."
A bout of pancreatitis landed Kennedy in the Great Bend hospital for nearly a week in July, and he spent another week in the Salina hospital after a similar attack over Christmas break. The ongoing health issues made certain events in the water impossible.
"Backstroke was out of the question because the kick was too much compression on my stomach," Kennedy said. "Butterfly, freestyle, breaststroke I could still do just fine."
Last season, Kennedy swam a 59.15 in the 100 butterfly at state to make the top-16. This season, the Panthers had no state qualifiers heading into the Western Athletic Conference Championships at Barton Community College on Feb. 8, and Kennedy had not competed in his marquee event. That day, he won the league title by nearly six seconds in 59.00, punching his ticket to state in the process.
"My mindset was pretty much just fight through it," he said. "If you feel pain, don't stop. After the fly, my pain level was, I'd call it an eight out of a 10."
Kennedy said the pain after a big swim usually subsides in three or four days. That would not be an option at the Class 5-1A State Swimming and Diving Championships, held on back-to-back days in Topeka. Kennedy's best 100 butterfly time of 58.62 already ranked No. 13 all-time at GBHS. He moved to No. 8 in the record books with a 57.26 in the state preliminaries. That also secured him a spot in the championship race with the top seven other swimmers.
"I think it was just because I was well-rested," he said. "I'd been eating well. I wasn't sore, I wasn't tired, I hadn't swam anything before it. I didn't do a relay. I was just strong and well-rested."
Kennedy returned to the pool the very next day for finals, picking up a medal in eighth place with a time of 58.32.
Kennedy is thankful for the friends he has made on the swim team, and to the coaches who have dedicated their time to the program. His 2022 200 medley relay team which includes Tyler Stein, Ellis Long, and Brody Feist still holds the school record by 0.11s in 1:40.21.