The pressure is off now.
After coming so close to qualifying for State the past few meets, the 200 freestyle relay squad for the Emporia High girls swimming team finally broke through Thursday at the Emporia High Invitational, eclipsing the mark needed to automatically qualify for State by finishing second in a time of 1 minute, 48.90 seconds.
The State mark is 1:49.27, and EHS entered the meet with a season-best time of 1:49.67.
“We’ve been working for this all season, so it feels really good to finally get it qualified,” sophomore Kathryn Scherich said. “We came really close the last meet, and now that we’re getting back in shape, it feels good to be back to where we should be.”
The squad — consisting of Scherich, Caitlin McGuire, Whitney Starr and Hilary Larson — just barely missed out on a first-place finish in the event as well, as Olathe East finished just .8 seconds ahead of Emporia to claim the victory.
But with State qualification in hand, the relay squad could focus solely on dropping times now, EHS coach Bob Yevak said.
“They don’t have any pressure now. They’re going (to State),” Yevak said.
The Lady Spartans also picked up a pair of individual first-place finishes on the way to a second-place finish as a team behind Olathe East. East finished with 510 points while EHS came in with 476. Washburn Rural was third (461), El Dorado was fourth (364) and Garden City placed fifth (323).
Yevak said he was pleased with the outcome of the team scores — particularly being so close to Olathe East — despite what he considered to be a somewhat tired-looking showing from his swimmers.
“They didn’t have it today.We just looked kind of funky,” Yevak said. “But we’ve really been hitting it hard. We’re OK. We’re close to Olathe East, and we’re never close to them.”
Bringing in the first-place finishes for Emporia were Starr and Larson.
Larson got her victory in the 200 freestyle, touching the wall in 2:08.98 to finish nearly 4 1/2 seconds ahead of Olathe East’s Lori Wilhelm. Larson also placed second in the 100 freestyle in a time of 59.81 seconds, just .67 off the winning time.
As for Starr, she held off a late charge from El Dorado’s Remi Oda to win the 100 butterfly, finishing in a time of 1:08.12, just .41 seconds ahead of Oda.
“Near the end of the race, you could definitely tell the difference in my pace,” Starr said. “You feel a lot more tired, a lot weaker, but as the meets go on, I feel a lot stronger and can tell I’m improving.
“I felt a lot stronger this time.”
Starr also finished fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:33.05) and teamed with Larson, Scherich and Summer Wilson in the 400 freestyle relay, which placed second (4:09.52).
Carissa Schmitz continued her recent run of strong showings in the diving competition, as she placed second with a score of 170.85, while Washburn Rural’s Taylor Martindell won the event with a score of 184.90. Emporia’s Aubrey Armitage (166.30) and Hayley Fry (164.55) finished right behind Schmitz in third and fourth, respectively.
McGuire turned in a pair of individual top-six finishes, as she placed fourth in the 50 free (27.35) and followed that with a sixth-place showing in the 100 breaststroke (1:21.81).
Jennie Loucks (6:51.75) and Jade Gaskill (6:56.38) came in fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 500 freestyle, while Erica Bennett placed seventh in the 100 backstroke (1:18.75) to round out the top individual finishes for EHS.
Emporia’s 200 medley relay team of Jalen Hollenbeck, McGuire, Cali Schelling and Loucks placed sixth (2:12.72).
The next action for EHS is next Tuesday when it travels to the Blue Valley Northwest Invite.
Emporia High Invite
Thursday at EHS
Team Scores
1. Olathe East 510, 2. Emporia 476, 3. Washburn Rural 461, 4. El Dorado 364, 5. Garden City 323.
EHS Individual Results
200 Medley Relay
6. Emporia “A” (Hollenbeck, McGuire, Schelling, Loucks) 2:12.72
9. Emporia “B” (Mason, Wacker, Bennett, Thompson) 2:20.66
200 Freestyle
1. Hilary Larson 2:08.98
7. Summer Wilson 2:24.04
9. Kendra Clark 2:35.13
200 Individual Medley
5. Whitney Starr 2:33.05
10. Kathryn Scherich 2:51.52
11. Cali Schelling 2:59.66
50 Freestyle
4. Caitlin McGuire 27.35
10. Jennie Loucks 29.43
13. Michelle Thompson 29.87
1-Meter Diving
2. Carissa Schmitz 170.85
3. Aubrey Armitage 166.30
4. Hayley Fry 164.55
100 Butterfly
1. Whitney Starr 1:08.12
7. Cali Schelling 1:17.28
9. Kendra Clark 1:25.62
100 Freestyle
2. Hilary Larson 59.81
6. Kathryn Scherich 1:03.60
10. Erika Krueger 1:06.41
500 Freestyle
5. Jennie Loucks 6:51.75
6. Jade Gaskill 6:56.38
200 Freestyle Relay
2. Emporia “A” (McGuire, Starr, Scherich, Larson) 1:48.90
8. Emporia “B” (Krueger, Thompson, Tidwell, Clark) 2:01.08
100 Backstroke
7. Erica Bennett 1:18.75
8. Taylor Mason 1:19.49
9. Jalen Hollenbeck 1:19.95
100 Breaststroke
6. Caitlin McGuire 1:21.81
9. Megan Wacker 1:29.99
10. Jessica Hilbish 1:31.81
400 Freestyle Relay
2. Emporia “A” (Larson, Wilson, Scherich, Starr) 4:09.04
7. Emporia “B” (Krueger, Gaskill, Schelling, Loucks) 4:31.63