Maize High wins last regular season meet

Different city, new pool; but the outcome remains the same.  Maize High School took its winning ways to the Kansas State Ahearn Natatorium on Saturday, February 4th.  The Eagles won the Manhattan Invitational in convincing fashion with 443 team points. Wichita Heights took second with 264 and Derby High School finished third with 253.

Click Here to see complete meet results.

Maize won all the individual events except two and also won gold in two of the three relays.  Derby’s medley relay team was a spoiler with a first place finish in a time of 1:46.13.  The medley team was made up of Erik Russell, Bryce Hill, Carl Mayou and Jackson Sandstrom.  Wichita Heights (Kyle Cullinan, Ayron Lewallen, Mitchell Lawrence and Zach Zimmerman) took second in a time of 1:49.14.  Wichita Collegiate’s team of Jake Barrett, Trent Pirner, Sam Horner and Rhys Powell took third in a time of 1:50.21.

Maize South’s Greyson Heckman continued his winning ways with another first in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 23.01.  Collegiate’s Powell picked up silver with a time of 23.38 and Derby’s Sandstrom took third in a time of 23.47.

Salina South’s Bryce Kampfe picked up the gold in 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.28, edging out Lucas Popp from Maize (56.45).  John Lavalle from Maize South took third in 57.72.

Maize took home gold in the rest of the individual events and the two freestyle relays.

Gavin Olson from Maize won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.40.  Shane Ahrens from Topeka High School took second in 1:54.98 and Collegiate’s Sam Horner placed third with a time of 1:57.88.

In the 200-yard individual medley it was a tight finish between swimmers from the top three schools.  Christopher Clemons of Maize took the victory in a time of 2:03.38. Heights’ Cullinan placed second in 2:03:45 and Derby’s Russell finished third in 2:03.60.

Maize’s Gavin Olson won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 53.78.  Derby’s Russell finished second (55.11) and Wagner from Maize finished third (55.73).

In the 100-yard freestyle Popp won gold with a blistering time of 47.78. Kamfe picked up silver in this freestyle sprint in a time of 50.21.  Collegiate’s Powell took bronze in a time of 51.40.

Kyle Allison from Maize won the endurance contest with a first place finish in the 500-yard free style in a time of 5:07.59.  Heights’ Bryce Blattner took second in a time of 5:09.13; Manhattan’s Jordan DeLoach finished third in 5:11.11.

The Eagles’ Clemmons picked up his second individual gold in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:05.94.  Paul Wyckoff of Wichita Northwest took second in 1:08.10 edging out The Independent School’s Andrew Parker (1:08.84).

The Maize team of Olson, Clemons, Popp, and Wagner combined for wins in both the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:29.60) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:20.38).

Wichita Heights winning medley team came back to get a silver in the 200-yard freestyle relay.  Zimmerman, Lewallen, Lawrence and Cullinan finished with a 1:36.03.   The Trinity Academy team of Cody Buettgenbach, Josiah Kortje, Alex King and Ben Johnson picked up a bronze (1:39.50).

In the 400-yard freestyle relay Derby placed second while Wichita Collegiate picked up another third. Derby’s team of Sandstrom, Hill, Mayou and Russell finished in a time of 3:28.54.  The same foursome for Collegiate (Barrett, Pirner, Horner and Powell) combined for another third place relay finish (3:40.25).

For most teams, this was the last regular season meet before league championships next weekend.  The state swim championships will be held Feb. 17-18 in Topeka.   Schools in class 6A will compete against each other and those schools in class 5A and under compete in another division.