The seven seniors on the Boys Swim and Dive state team stand on top of an eight-place podium after being awarded the State Championship trophy on Feb. 17. The seniors Aidan Holbrook, Elias Lowland, Evan Root, Tyler Cunningham, Carter Kirkland, Brian Christian and diver Dante Stokes — didn’t lose a State meet in their high school careers.
This is the last time the seniors will swim for East, the last time they will look into the columbia blue crowd cheering for them, and this is the fourth and final time the seniors will be on the podium, proudly holding their trophy proudly above their heads.
Winning State four consecutive years has only happened once before in East boys swim history, and five times before in Kansas history. The boys did it together, for each other, and for head coach Wiley Wright.
“It’s overwhelming,” Holbrook said. “There’s no other way I would want to go out. It never gets better.”
According to Holbrook, this year was different for the team as he thinks they were underestimated. Even going into the finals, they were seated second. However with 12 swimmers that reached a State qualifying time and three divers, they were able to rack up points.
At the State meet, the team got first place in just two relays out of 12 events. However they were able to earn points by placing in the top eight in 10 events, including two relays. Without the depth of the team, winning State would have never been possible.
The seven seniors have been in the water together since freshman year, dropping time alongside one another each year. Lowland dropped seven seconds off of his 100 yard freestyle; Holbrook was able to place top three in the 500 freestyle every time he swam it; Christian consistently moved up in the state, finishing a two-time State qualifier; Root was a part of two different State records.
“The seniors had a unique stretch of success because not only are they all extremely talented and tough-minded young men but they always had a great supporting cast of swimmers older and younger than them to help get them to their goal of winning all four years,” assistant coach Colby Dischinger said.
This year, the seniors asked the varsity team to give the team 100 percent, according to Lowland — if they didn’t win, but gave it their all, that was okay. The 3 months leading up to the State meet, the boys gave their all in the water every day, as did their coaches.
The newest coach, Hank Krusen, who was featured on the last issue of the Harbinger, specializes in technique work. He makes sure the boys know every little thing in their stroke that can be changed — anything from the turn of a hand to a quicker flip turn to shave time and move up a spot.
Dischinger is the pusher. Dischinger can be seen quietly encouraging the boys behind the blocks to do their best, but then moments later turns into a different person, cheering for the boys as loud as his lungs allow during races.
33-year-tenured Wright brings the seniors to tears at the end of every single season. Holbrook’s eyes began to water as he described Wright as the leader, the one who is always there for the boys to look up to and be comforted by.
“Even though he would hate to hear it, we all really do it for him,” Lowland said. “Wiley is everything we’d want in a coach and a mentor.”
Without each of these specialized coaches, the boys think a four-peat wouldn’t be possible.
Winning State was never a given — the championship came down to the last hundredth of a second in the every event. But without ever losing hope, the boys did it for each other alongside each other.
On Feb. 17, the seniors jumped off the four foot podium and into the pool for the fourth and final time after being awarded the State championship trophy. Their tears mixed with the water, and their team was the only thing on their mind. They treaded water while belting out the school song with their teammates, their coaches, their friends. And God watch over SMEast.
Click here to see the full gallery from the State meet.
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