Emporia High girls swimming and diving coach Bob Yevak can empathize with EHS track and field coach Randy Wells.
With so much of their two sports relying on building an endurance base, it’s not hard to understand why the upcoming week of spring break is frowned upon by Yevak and also, as Yevak assumes, Wells.
“I hate spring break, and I’m sure the track coach doesn’t like it either,” Yevak said. “We’ve got spring break next week, and a lot of the kids are going to be leaving ... and they’ll lose all or most of their conditioning.”
But with spring break not going anywhere, Yevak figured he’d make the most out of the time he had with his athletes before they go on their vacations and cruises and such, as the Spartans played host to the Emporia High Swimming Invitational on Tuesday.
With only two weeks of practice under their belts, the Spartans came away with a third-place team finish in what was admittedly an unflattering day when it came to times. Emporia finished with 297 points, while Lawrence placed first (434) and Manhattan took second (341).
“We all know we’re not really in shape right now,” senior Caitlin McGuire said. “We need a lot more time in practice, but I thought we did pretty good with what we had today.”
Though Emporia High had no event winners, EHS turned in several top-five finishes, led by a pair of third-place showings in the relays.
The 200 medley relay team and the 400 freestyle relay squad — both consisting of Hilary Larson, McGuire, Whitney Starr and Kathryn Scherich — each finished third, as the 200 medley finished in a time of 2 minutes, 6.74 seconds while the 400 freestyle ended in 4:07.94.
McGuire turned in the top individual performance for the Spartans, coming in third in the 100 freestyle in a time of 1:01.06
“I was pretty pleased with how I did considering how early it is,” said McGuire, who qualified for State in the event last season. “There’s a lot of improving left to do.”
McGuire also had the top EHS time in the 200 individual medley, touching the wall in a time of 2:32.77.
Larson, a senior, turned in a pair of individual top-five performances, coming in fourth in the 50 freestyle (27.46 seconds) and fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:51.02), an event in which she qualified for State last season.
Though no Spartan swimmer met State-qualifying time on Tuesday, Yevak said it didn’t matter.
“Those girls know they’re not in shape,” Yevak said, “so they’re not getting upset about their times.”
Senior Whitney Starr also had a nice day individually, placing seventh in the 100 butterfly (1:10.26) and ninth in the 200 individual medley (2:34.73), as did Scherich, who came in sixth in the 100 free (1:04.12) and ninth in the 50 free (28.95 seconds).
The final top-10 finish for EHS came from senior Jennie Loucks in the 100 breaststroke (ninth, 1:25.15).
Summer Wilson was the top Spartan in the 200 freestyle (11th, 2:30.69), freshman Jalen Hollenbeck paced EHS in the 100 backstroke (13th, 1:21.91) and Emporia’s third relay, the 200 freestyle team of Erika Krueger, Kendra Clark, Kristen Ranalli and Michelle Thompson, came in eighth (2:03.55).
“Overall, our girls didn’t come in near as good of shape as they usually do, and that showed today,” Yevak said. “But, we swam hard today all day, we’re just not in shape. Whether they swam good or bad, they needed to swim.”
Emporia will be back in action on March 27 at the Topeka High Invitational at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.
Emporia Invitational
Tuesday at EHS
Team Scores
1. Lawrence 434, 2. Manhattan 341, 3. Emporia 297, 4. Lawrence Free State 293, 5. Washburn Rural 252, 6. Andover 239, 7. Seaman 153, 8. Garden City 148, 9. Trinity Academy 140.
EHS Individual Results
200 Medley Relay
3. EHS “A” (Larson, McGuire, Starr, Scherich) 2:06.74
13. EHS “B” (Mason, Loucks, Clark, Bennett) 2:20.22
200 Freestyle
11. Summer Wilson 2:30.69
18. Erika Krueger 2:41.82
19. Kristen Ranalli 2:42.83
200 Individual Medley
8. Caitlin McGuire 2:32.77
9. Whitney Starr 2:34.73
22. Jade Gaskill 3:04.94
50 Freestyle
4. Hilary Larson 27.46
9. Kathryn Scherich 28.95
10. Jennie Loucks 29.55
100 Butterfly
7. Whitney Starr 1:10.26
15. Cali Schelling 1:22.97
17. Kendra Clark 1:27.01
100 Freestyle
3. Caitlin McGuire 1:01.06
6. Kathryn Scherich 1:04.12
14. Erika Krueger 1:08.90
500 Freestyle
5. Hilary Larson 5:51.02
16. Jade Gaskill 7:03.49
17. Summer Wilson 7:14.39
200 Freestyle Relay
8. EHS “A” (Krueger, Clark, Ranalli, Thompson) 2:03.55
17. EHS “B” (Hilbish, Selby, Weaver, Throgmorton) 2:15.94
20. EHS “C” (Tidwell, Miller, Fowler, Summey) 2:21.53
100 Backstroke
13. Jalen Hollenbeck 1:21.91
16. Erica Bennett 1:24.36
100 Breaststroke
9. Jennie Loucks 1:25.15
12. Misha Neer 1:30.30
19. Megan Wacker 1:34.77
400 Freestyle Relay
3. EHS “A” (Larson, Starr, Scherich, McGuire) 4:07.94
7. EHS “B” (Gaskill, Thompson, Schelling, Wilson) 4:34.77
16. EHS “C” (Hilbish, Selby, Weaver, Tidwell) 5:10.50