Caldwell, FSHS off to fast start at state swimming

? Free State High senior Courtney Caldwell hardly bothered to think about individual accomplishments during the season.

Friday, during the Class 6A state swimming and diving preliminaries, that continued to be the case — despite the fact she set two state records.

“The state records weren’t necessarily on my mind today,” Caldwell said after setting records in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. “It was just to swim really, really fast and keep my place so I could go in tomorrow feeling confident, and I managed to do that.”

Free State High swimmer Alvena Walpole, left, visits with teammate Courtney Caldwell before Walpole's swim in the 200-yard individual medley during preliminary events of the Class 6A state swim championships Friday in Topeka.

Caldwell broke her own record in the 100 free in 50.01 seconds, bettering her time of 50.28 from the 2014 state meet. Although Friday’s swim was a state record, it fell just short of her personal-best time.

“I’ve been 49.9 once, sophomore year in club,” Caldwell said. “This is the closest I’ve been since then, but it’s a nice confidence-booster.”

The North Carolina State signee followed that up by shattering the state record in the 100 back. Caldwell clocked in at 54.11, swimming 1.52 seconds faster than Wichita Heights’ Bailey Beins’ time from 2009.

“I am so proud of her,” FSHS coach Annette McDonald said. “She works hard, and she’s fast. I think she just did a great job with her races. She worked her turns, picked up the speed.”

McDonald and Caldwell have their eyes set on a team state title, which will be decided in today’s finals. FSHS will try to dethrone five-time defending state champion Shawnee Mission East, and McDonald believes the Firebirds are primed to do so.

“We’re seeded well. The girls are motivated still,” the FSHS coach said, despite a few girls who qualified just outside the finals, “that have the girls a little disheartened, but they’re ready to race tomorrow. Our top girls are excited about swimming at finals, and I think we look good.”

Lawrence High swimmers Mary Reed-Weston, left, and Morgan Traughber take a break during preliminary events of the Class 6A state swim championships Friday in Topeka. The finals are today.

The Firebirds swept top qualifying spots for the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 free relays, and added a top qualifier in the 50 free (Sydney Sirimongkhon-Dyck, 24.20), to go along with Caldwell’s two top times.

“Each and every one of us have to step up,” Caldwell said. “We talk about our 1 percent, and we just have to be positive and each put in our effort.”

The relays were also a focal point for Lawrence High coach Kent McDonald and his Lions at Friday’s prelims.

Freshman Morgan Traughber, sophomore Mary Reed-Weston and seniors Hannah Lee and Nicole Oblon teamed up to qualify fifth in the 400 free relay and seventh in the 200 medley relay.

“We needed that out of all the relays, really, with the double points,” Kent McDonald said. “We were hoping to get in the top eight in all three of them. We didn’t in the 200 free, but we were fifth in the 400 free. Starting off with the medley was important to get off on the right track.”

Reed-Weston entered prelims with the No. 1 seed time in the 100 breaststroke and came away with a third-place finish. The LHS sophomore said that having a year of experience at the state helped her in the prelims and should in the finals as well.

“I’m a lot more relaxed this year because I know what is going to happen and how the meet is going to run,” Reed-Weston said. “It’s a lot easier to just focus on my races.”

Free State High swimmer Sydney Sirimongkhon-Dyck, left, is congratulated by teammate Cierra Campbell after Sirimongkhon-Dyck and the FSHS 200-yard medley relay team won its heat during preliminary events of the Class 6A state swim championships Friday in Topeka.

Finals for both swimming and diving will begin at 10:30 a.m. today at Capitol Federal Natatorium.

Preliminaries

200 medley relay

Championship finals — 1. Free State (Courtney Caldwell, Ava Cormaney, Alvena Walpole, Sydney Sirimongkhon-Dyck), 1:48.34; 2. Shawnee Mission East (Sarah Allegri, Maddie Mann, Bonnie Longan, Rilye Fries), 1:49.48; 3. Wichita East (Madison Allen, Aiden Chan, Sammy King, Caitlyn Goodman), 1:51.57; 4. Blue Valley Northwest (Kadisyn Kircher, Lauren Nordell-Morris,

Kylie Miller, Katie Thill), 1:52.74; 5. Blue Valley North (Grace Brimacombe, Cherilyn Camichel, Delaney Cross, Olivia Vance), 1:52.87; 6. Olathe Northwest (Taylor Badowsi, Hannah Pugh, London Durr, Brenna Gaul), 1:52.95; 7. Lawrence (Hannah Lee, Mar Reed-Weston, Morgan Traughber, Nicole Oblon), 1:57.91; 8. Shawnee Mission West (Erin Fast, Caroline Wilkus, Hannah Heaton, Addison Benson), 1:57.92.

Consolation finals — 9. Shawnee Mission South (Taylor Laws, Crimson Barker, Hannah Underwood, Sophia Vogt), 1:58.06; 10. Olathe East (Abbey Johnstone, Selina Liu, Delaney Green, Mackenzie Bohn), 1:58.31; 11. Washburn Rural (Brooke Burkdoll, Leah Nelson, Libby Pope, Haley Unruh), 1:58.34; 12. Hutchinson (Lonna Porter, Madelyn Fee, Toni Lehr, Emily Hendricks), 2:01.01; 13. Campus (Kaitlyn Cooper, Callie Simpson, Kirsten Nicholas, Victoria Staerke), 2:02.75; 14. Blue Valley (Lilly Hallock, Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Grace Euler, Kristina Jewell), 2:02.86; 15. Manhattan (Lauren Casper, Luann Jung, Mariah Scipio, Leilani Kreck), 2:03.29; 16. Garden City (Grace Schmidt, Lindsay Bradstreet, Claire Schmidt, Abigail Ginest-Dougherty), 2:06.36.

200 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Crissie Blomquist, SM East, 1:52.21; 2. Cierra Campbell, Free State, 1:52.99; 3. Joely Merriman, SM North, 1:59.57; 4. Eliza Anderson, Free State, 2:00.33; 5. Miller, BV Northwest, 2:00.55; 6. Kircher, BV Northwest, 2:01.93; 7. Izzy Smith, SM East, 2:01.94; 8. Gillian Schwartz, Olathe Northwest, 2:02.20.

Consolation finals — 9. Carter Stacey, Free State, 2:02.26; 10. Porter, Hutchinson, 2:03.15; 11. Chloe Stanford, SM East, 2:03.22; 12. Katie Vahle, SM East, 2:04.03; 13. Adelaide Gunderson, BV North, 2:04.41; 14. Claire Williams, SM Northwest; 15. Sophia Smith, Olathe East, 2:04.60; 16. Hallock, Blue Valley, 2:04.88.

Other city — 19. Brittany Archer, Lawrence, 2:07.62; 22. KaraKrannawitter, Free State, 2:10.78.

200 individual medley

Championship finals — 1. Fries, SM East, 1:06.97; 2. Walpole, Free State, 2:08.03; 3. Meaghan Bower, SM Northwest, 2:12.42; 4. Traughber, Lawrence, 2:15.67; 5. Nordell-Morris, BV Northwest, 2:15.98; 6. Reed-Weston, Lawrence, 2:16.02; 7. Chan, Wichita East, 2:17.05;8. Mary Booton SM East, 2:17.40.

Consolation finals — 9. Emma Linscott, SM East, 2:17.61; 10. Badowski, Olathe Northwest, 2:18.07; 11. Claire Albright, BV Northwest, 2:18.19; 12. Anna McCurdy, Free State, 2:18.20; 13. Brenna Vandeventer, Wichita East, 2:18.66; 14. Cross, BV North, 2:18.80; 15. Mary Grace Apodaca, SM East, 2:20.64; 16. Fast, SM West, 2:20.80.

Other area — 19. Charlotte Crandall, Free State, 2:22.51.

50 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Free State, 24.20; 2. Keil, Derby, 24.40; 3. Allegri, SM East, 24.61; 4. Claire Campbell, Free State, 24.82; 5. Brimacombe, BV North, 24.85; 6. Goodman, Wichita East, 24.95; 7. Lauren Pugh, Olathe Northwest, 25.08; 8. Gaul, Olathe Northwest, 25.09.

Consolation finals — 9. Vance, BV North, 25.13; 10. Thill, BV Northwest, 25.26; 11. Alexa Malik, Free State, 25.27; 12. Hannah McPhail, SM East, 25.46; 13. Scipio, Manhattan, 25.56; 14. Morgan Clausen, SM East, 25.63; 15. Vogt, SM South, 25.79; 16. Simone Herlihy, Free State, 25.82.

100 butterfly

Championship finals — 1. Fries, SM East, 56.80; 2. Brull, SM Northwest, 57.92; 3. Walpole, Free State, 57.95; 4. Longan, SM East, 58.46; 5. Bower, SM Northwest, 59.33; 6. Linscott, SM East, 59.59; 7. Miller, BV Northwest, 59.83; 8. Albright, BV Northwest, 1:01.34.

Consolation finals — 9. Piper Rogers, Free State, 1:01.39; 10. King, Wichita East, 1:01.59; 11. Apodaca, SM East, 1:01.83; 12. Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Free State, 1:01.89; 13. Cross, BV North, 1:02.60; 14. Durr, Olathe Northwest, 1:02.79; 15. Thill, BV Northwest, 1:02.95; 16. Green, Olathe East, 1:03.54.

Other city — 18. Zicker, Free State, 1:03.83; 21. Alex Ginsburg, Lawrence, 1:05.91.

100 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Caldwell, Free State, 50.01 (record; old record, 50.28, Courtney Caldwell, Free State, 2014); 2. Allen, Wichita East, 52.73; 3. Cl. Campbell, Free State, 53.77; 4. Keil, Derby, 54.20; 5. Brimacombe, BV North, 54.60; 6. Vance, BV North, 54.81; 7. L. Pugh, Olathe Northwest, 55.06; 8. Malik, Free State, 55.08.

Consolation finals — 9. Goodman, Wichita East, 55.40; 10. Gaul, Olathe Northwest, 55.94; 11. Stanford, SM East, 56.02; 12. McPhail, SM East, 56.64; 13. Herlihy, Free State, 57.47; 14. Paulk, SM East, 57.74; 15. Ellie Hicks, Olathe East, 57.79; 16. Dunn, SM East, 57.87.

Other city — 19. Oblon, Lawrence, 58.30; 24.

500 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Bloomquist, SM East, 5:00.45; 2. Ci. Campbell, Free State, 5:01.86; 3. Cormaney, Free State, 5:23.61; 4. Smith, Olathe East, 5:24.95; 5. Smith, SM East, 5:25.48; 6. Vandeventer, Wichita East, 5:28.99; 7. McCurdy, Free State, 5:29.12; 8. Gunderson, BV North, 5:30.67.

Consolation finals — 9. Stacey, Free State, 5:31.20; 10. Vahle, SM East, 5:33.34; 11. Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Blue Valley, 5:34.11; 12. Williams, SM Northwest, 5:34.59; 13. Archer, Lawrence, 5:36.07; 14. Hallock, Blue Valley, 5:36.08; 15. Porter, Hutchinson, 5:36.98; 16. Emily Prekopy, Washburn Rural, 5:37.02.

200 freestyle relay

Championship finals — 1. Free State (Cl. Campbell, Malik, Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Ci. Campbell), 1:38.66; 2. Olathe Northwest (Durr, Schwartz, Bogdan, L. Pugh), 1:41.11; 3. BV North (Brimacombe, Mallory McKee, Marjie Trussell, Vance), 1:41.31; 4. Wichita East (Goodman, King, Allen, Martin), 1:41.64; 5. SM East (McPhail, Dunn, Linscott, Blomquist), 1:42.63; 6. Olathe East (Green, Johnstone, Smith, Bohn(, 1:45.26; 7. BV Northwest (Thill, Amy Douglas, Megan Rodrigues, Albright), 1:46.11; 8. Blue Valley (Megan Hegarty, Sally Cochran, Jewell, Hallock), 1:46.49.

Consolation finals — 9. SM North (Amanda Enyart, Kali Duche, Caitlyn Howard, Merriman), 1:46.90; 10. SM South (Amelia du Bois, Claire Nash, Olivia Wilkerson, Vogt), 1:47.04; 11. Washburn Rural (Unruh, Anna Fritz, Nelson, Pope), 1:48.07; 12. Olathe North (Jayde Fickel, Alexis McCalla, Blake Smith, Olivia Parmentier), 1:48.63; 13. SM West (Colette Balas, Hannah Heaton, Jensen Shipp, Brooke Wade), 1:48.79; 14. Lawrence (Oblon, Archer, Ginsberg, Lee), 1:48.98; 15. Manhattan (Scipio, Emily Cox, Casper, Kreck), 1:49.20; 16. SM Northwest (Paige Eickhorn, Jessica Kirchner, Carolyn Osbern, Williams), 1:49.54.

100 backstroke

Championship finals — 1. Caldwell, Free State, 54.11 (record; old record: 55.63, Bailey Beins, Wichita Heights, 2009); 2. Allegri, SM East, 56.77; 3. Longan, SM East, 58.00; 4. Allen, Wichita East, 1:00.03; 5. Merriman, SM North, 1:00.05; 6. Anderson, Free State, 1:00.11; 7. Badowski, Olathe Northwest, 1:00.25; 8. H. Pugh, Olathe Northwest, 1:00.43.

Consolation finals — 9. Traughber, Lawerence, 1:00.68; 10. Kircher, BV Northwest, 1:01.56; 11. Myers, SM East, 1:02.09; 12. Fast, SM West, 1:02.73; 13. Paulk, SM East, 1:02.94; 14. Addison Benson, SM West, 1:04.14; 15. Laws, SM South, 1:04.99; 16. Hicks, Olathe East, 1:05.29.

Other city — 18. Crandall, FreeState, 1:06.54.

100 breaststroke

Championship finals — 1. Brull, SM Northwest, 1:08.38; 2. Booton, SM East, 1:08.64; 3. Reed-Weston, Lawrence, 1:09.21; 4. Chan, Wichita East, 1:09.91; 5. Wilkus, SM West, 1:09.94; 6. Camichel, BV North, 1:09.97; 7. Cormaney, Free State, 1:10.62; 8. Nordell0Morris, BV Northwest, 1:10.66.

Consolation finals — 9. Clausen, SM East, 1:11.37; 10. Mae Lavacek, Wichita East, 1:11.85; 11. King, Wichita East, 1:11.90; 12. Krannawitter, Free State, 1:12.72; 13. George, SM East, 1:13.29; 14. Kat LaFever, Free State, 1:13.37; 15. Lehr, Hutchinson, 1:13.46; 16. Grace Hatesohl, Topeka High, 1:13.61.

Other city — 24. Courtney Cruickshank, Free State, 1:17.33

400 freestyle relay

Championship finals — 1. Free State (Ci. Campbell, Walpole, Cl. Campbell, Caldwell), 3:31.90; 2. Olathe Northwest (L. Pugh, Badowski, Schwartz, Gaul), 3:43.52; 3. SM East (Blomquist, McPhail, Linscott, Longan), 3:45.47; 4. BV Northwest (Kircher, Albright, Nordell-Morris,, Miller), 3:45.70; 5. Lawrence (Traughber, Oblon, Lee, Reed-Weston), 3:50.24; 6. Olathe East (Green, Johnstone, Hicks, Smith), 3:51.52; 7. SM Northwest (Eickhorn, Bower, Williams, Brull), 3:51.67; 8. Wichita East (Martin, Vandeventer, Wilson, Chan), 3:51.93.

Consolation finals — 9. SM South (Underwood, du Bois, Laws, Vogt), 3:55.03; 10. SM West (Benson, Wade, Heaton, Fast), 3:55.61; 11. BV North (Elizabeth Hendrickson, Allison Kurse, Gunderson, Trussell), 3:56.81; 12. Hutchinson (Porter, Hendricks, Fee, Lehr), 3:57.57; 13. Blue Valley (Cochran, Erin Rambo, Jewell, Fitzpatrick), 3:58.19; 14. Manhattan (Kreck, Casper, Jung, Scipio), 3:59.31; 15. Olathe South (Anne Augustyn, Annike Highstrom, Emma Barnes, Megan Barb), 4:00.11; 16. Sm North (Howard, Tessa Poterbin, Enyart, Merriman), 4:02.91.

One-meter diving

City results — 3. Haley Johnson, Free State, 296.20. 36. Alexis Luinstra, Free State, 81.