Progress — that’s what six All-Centennial League honorees and a third-place league finish represent for the Emporia High swim and dive team.
The Spartans won the 200 freestyle relay and finished third overall behind Manhattan and Washburn Rural at Monday’s continuation of the league meet at EHS.
“We’ve come a long way,” EHS coach Bob Yevak said. “If we don’t DQ the 400 free relay, we’re right in the hunt.”
Considering Yevak knew from the beginning of the season that sophomore Rebecca Tidwell and junior Kathryn Scherich were his best swimmers, it wasn’t a big surprise to see both make the all-league first team. The surprises came among some of the group of four Spartans who earned second-team honors. Senior Michelle Thompson, junior Summer Wilson and sophomore Jalen Hollenbeck joined senior diver Carissa Schmitz in that group.
Thompson finished fourth in the 50 freestyle, and she and Wilson joined Tidwell and Scherich on the winning 200 relay squad, which finished in 1 minute, 44.78 seconds. Thompson was also part of the 200-medley relay team, which swam to a fifth-place finish. Wilson finished fifth in both the 200 individual medley and the 100 free, in which Thompson finished sixth.
Hollenbeck added sixth-place finishes in the 200 and 500 free races.
“Jalen Hollenbeck swam out of her mind,” Yevak said. “Summer Wilson had the meet of her life. What she did in the IM, dropping eight seconds in the IM and then coming back and going 59 (seconds) in the 100 freestyle... it’s nice to have kids we can ask that, ‘Hey, we need to do this, you need to do this.’ And she’s one of the kids that will do what’s needed, no matter how much it hurts.
“I could’ve put her in the 200 free and the 500, and she would’ve been first team All-League. She swam what we needed as a team.”
Couple those efforts with the usual strong performances by Tidwell and Scherich in the pool, and by Schmitz, Chelsey Kessler and Madison Reiber off the diving board, and you’ve got a successful three-day-long league meet. The meet picked up from the 100 butterfly event Monday after last Friday’s storm invoked a lightning rule that suspended the action. Tidwell, who had already finished third in Friday’s 200 IM, finished second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:04.24. Scherich had finished second in Friday’s 50 free, and she added a fourth place finish in the 100 free on Monday.
The aforementioned disqualification in the day’s final event, the 400 free relay, hurt EHS. But it did produce another State qualifying time for Tidwell. Her time on the lead leg of the relay, 57.09, wasn’t recorded on the meet stats because of the DQ that came after it. But Yevak said it would still count as a 100 free qualifier. With that, EHS has qualifiers in four events for next weekend’s State meet in Topeka: in the 200 and 400 free relays, in Tidwell’s 100 free, and in diving, in which Schmitz will represent the Spartans. However, Emporia will be at State without Scherich, who’s a part of both qualifying relay squads; she’ll be competing in a national debate tournament.
Last week, Yevak made the curious-sounding prediction that the Spartans would outswim Manhattan and Rural, but wouldn’t beat them. His perception, after the meet was over, was that that was exactly what had happened.
“I mean, we outswam everybody,” he said. “They beat us in some stuff, but it wasn’t because we didn’t swim better. I mean, it’s hard to understand, but our effort was better than anybody’s in the water. And it always is in League. Right now, they have better kids than we do at the top. We’re coming. They will know we’re around next year.”
Centennial League meet
Thursday, Friday and Monday at EHS
Team scores
Manhattan 431, Washburn Rural 412, Emporia 350, Hayden Women’s Swim Team 243, Topeka High 232, Seaman 205, Topeka West 121, Junction City Swim 84.
Emporia results
200 medley relay
5. Emporia A (Mason, Wacker, J. Wheeler, Thompson), 2:08.69.
200 freestyle
6. Hollenbeck, 2:16.59; 11. Clark, 2:27.03; 13. Gaskill 2:28.54.
200 individual medley
3. Tidwell, 2:26.70; 5. Wilson, 2:34.13; 9. Mason, 2:49.14.
50 freestyle
2. Scherich, 26.06; 4. Thompson, 27.31; 11. E. Krueger, 28.71.
1-meter diving
2. Schmitz, 333.45; 4. Kessler, 310.30; 5. Reiber, 276.70.
100 butterfly
2. Tidwell, 1:04.24; 10. E. Krueger, 1:18.32; 13. J. Wheeler, 1:21.43.
100 freestyle
4. Scherich, 58.80; 5. Wilson, 59.58; 6. Thompson, 1:00.02.
500 freestyle
6. Hollenbeck, 6:26.18; 10. Clark, 6:39.37; 12. Ranalli, 7:02.36.
200 freestyle relay
1. Emporia A (Tidwell, Thompson, Wilson, Scherich), 1:44.78.
100 backstroke
7. Wacker, 1:22.54; 12. Hilbish, 1:30.73; 14. Osborn, 1:30.93.
All-Centennial League (d-diver)
First team
Molly Christensen, WR; Teshia Scipio, MAN; Moema Santiago, WR; Molly Rockefeller, WR; Haley Prekopy, TH; Hannah Alexander, HAY; Kimi Fritsch, WR; Michelle Woods, MAN; Rebecca Tidwell, EMP; Kate Wright, WR; Kathryn Scherich, EMP; Jolene Hund, HAY; d-Lisa Allen, MAN.
Second team
Kylie Martin, MAN; Anna Hamilton, TH; Natalie Kundel, MAN; Maddy Kundel, MAN; Summer Wilson, EMP; Michelle Thompson, EMP; Claire Alexander, HAY; Kimberly Meader, SEA; Kristen Bulmer, SEA; Jalen Hollenbeck, EMP; Callie Versluys, HAY; d-Carissa Schmitz, EMP.