photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Ella Marsh smiles after breaking the Sunflower League record in the 200-yard individual medley during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

Before the Free State girls swim and dive team arrived for the Sunflower League swim meet, coach Janna Skinner made sure freshman Ella Marsh was aware of the league’s 200-yard individual medley record.

Marsh has spent her first season at Free State inching closer to passing Free State’s school record in the event, and Marsh came 0.16 seconds away from that record in a swim meet on April 15. Marsh swam close to that record again, but was still under a second away from topping it. It’s an older record, and Marsh said she was really hoping she could get it this season.

Still, her coach knew she could swim much faster than both the school record she was knocking on the door of and the league record that stood four seconds away. Skinner knew that Marsh had it in her to beat it.

On Friday, Marsh not only crushed the school record but topped the record for the event at the Sunflower League meet with a swim of 2 minutes, 4.21 seconds, improving upon her prior best by 4.30 seconds. The next day, during the finals, Marsh beat her own record, swimming 0.53 seconds faster to set a 2:03.68 league record.

“It was really unexpected,” Marsh said. “I didn’t taper for this meet, so I’m not feeling my best right now. I’m really happy with how I swam.”

Marsh finished the butterfly section in 27.05 seconds, the backstroke section in 30.97 seconds, the breaststroke section in 36.26 seconds and the freestyle section in 29.40 seconds. She finished seven seconds faster than the runner-up and was swimming the final 25 yards while other swimmers in the event were starting the freestyle section.

“I knew her best time was actually faster than the league record,” Skinner said. “I wanted to put it out there for her to go, ‘oh, maybe it is worth swimming out and seeing what I can do.’ She really is dialed in when she swims. She knows exactly what she needs to target. She’s got multiple coaches working with her, and it helps. She’s willing to take the feedback to get any place.”

Not only did Marsh topple the record as a freshman, her time put her in consideration for National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association all-America honors. Marsh is 2.21 seconds away from the all-America qualifying time.

“I don’t think we’ve had a freshman do that for a while,” Skinner said. “She’s definitely not peaking. She hasn’t hit a plateau yet.”

Marsh got started in swimming at a young age and got into club swimming. She was the only member of her family to competitively swim, and she fell in love with the water.

“I love racing and the competitiveness of it,” Marsh said. “It’s an individual sport, and I like that aspect. I love being on the team, but I like the individual part of it.”

Because swimming is an individual sport, swimmers’ work ethic most directly contributes to their successes, and Marsh’s work ethic is noticeable. Marsh said she also works out a lot and lifts weights. It’s a noticeable difference in the pool — Marsh’s kick power and strength separates her from the rest.

Marsh has a lot of personal maturity as a freshman. She focuses on her physical training in the weight room, and she’s dialed in on her eating and sleeping habits to maximize her training. As she grows and her training compounds, that extra effort will continue to pay dividends.

Aside from the Free State swim team, she works with Cassie Campbell, a personal swim coach and the wife of the Kansas swim team’s women’s swim and dive coach Clark Campbell.

While she’s in the pool, Marsh said she’s totally focused on competing and does her best not to overthink things.

“I try not to think when I’m swimming,” Marsh said. “When I think when I swim, I can get in my head. So I’m not trying to think about it.”

When it comes to the 200-yard individual medley, there are a few things that she’s worked hard to perfect. Her versatility and strength as a swimmer have helped her succeed in the four different races that make up the medley. But the crossovers are what she’s had to work the most on, particularly on switching between the backstroke and the breaststroke.

Working continuously on that is what made the big difference in cutting down those final seconds to hit the record, and Marsh is only going to get faster as she continues to work in the pool.

“She really has come on to swimming recently in terms of moving up into the rise that she’s had, it’s been the last couple of years,” Skinner said. “She’s come on strong, so she’s far from her peak — she’s got a lot of growth left.”

It’s as exciting for Marsh as it is for Skinner — there’s still a lot left in the tank for Marsh’s swimming future. Now that she’s got the school and league record, toppling the state record before she graduates is in her sights.

“I’m so excited,” Marsh said. “It’s definitely possible in the future toward my junior, senior years. If I keep training like I have been and keep up with all my different factors and make sure I show up to practice, the state record is definitely possible.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ella Marsh swims her portion of the 400-yard freestyle relay during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.