The only requirements for the 4x400-yard freestyle relay swimmers: don’t flinch on the block and don’t get disqualified.
Head coach Wiley Wright and assistant coach Colby Dischinger had run the numbers using Dischinger’s formula. They knew exactly where the SM East boys swim and dive team stood relative to their competitors. All they had to do was complete the final relay.
Three minutes and 14.5 seconds later, on Feb. 21, the boys swim and dive team won state.
The entire team jumped into the pool of the SMSD Aquatic Center. Tears filled the athletes eyes.
Following three years of second place trophies, the team secured a state victory by 20.5 points over Blue Valley West High School.
“It was nerve-wracking because [the seniors] had never won before,” Senior and varsity swimmer Sawyer Chapman said. “We didn't know what that felt like.”
The stands were packed with parents, relatives and their biggest student section of the year — 20 students.
The team has had the potential to win with their podium finishes each year, yet it wasn’t until senior night that the team began to believe they could finally secure a first place trophy. The team beat Blue Valley North High School in a dual meet on Jan. 20 for the first time in four years.
“That was when [the team] started to buy into the idea of, ‘OK, if we work hard, we can absolutely win it this year,’” Chapman said. “And come state, we were all prepared. We were all ready.”
This momentum was then carried into the Sunflower League Meet and then to state, according to Chapman.
“We've gotten second, three years in a row, are we just gonna get second for a fourth year in a row or are we gonna go out as champions?” Chapman said.
Going into the final day of state, following preliminaries, SM East was in the lead by 10 points. They won by 20.5. And a relay can be worth 40 points, meaning one false start and they could lose their lead, according to senior varsity swimmer Grant Kimmel.
Every technique is memorized, almost robotic. The starts, the turns, the pushoffs, the breathing — all habits.
“I wanted the guys to be so disciplined in their training that when they race, they can just be relentless and focus on beating the other [athletes] around them,” Dischinger said.
While the team doesn’t have single stand-out athletes, and few first place finishes in individual races, they have many strong athletes placing high enough to accumulate points, according to Dischinger. SM East sent more athletes to state than any other team allowing them to gain more points.
“This was the hardest year we've practiced, the most we've worked, the most dedication the team's put in any year, because we knew how bad we wanted it,” Chapman said.
Chapman is one of eight team “captains” or more accurately, seniors. Wright doesn’t name captains; the entire senior class is charged with leading the team. The senior class this year was larger than usual and “exceptional,” according to assistant coach Chris Copeland.
“When these young kids, like the freshmen [and] underclassmen, see how hard the older kids work, and how much fun they have, it's very motivating for them to keep working and keep working hard,” Copeland said.
A part of this brotherhood is lining up the freshmen athletes in the locker room, shaving their heads and laughing at the absurd haircuts. And, “the Gauntlet,” where athletes line up on the side of the pool at the final Saturday practice of the year and scream cheers as their teammates sprint 25 yards in the pool one at a time.
“You gotta reach down deep to finish some of the substance stuff we do, and they support each other,” Copeland said.
And now, the 2026 boys swim and dive team is one of the 113 state championships displayed in the main gym.
“Going out and winning senior year, it was literally the best ending I could ask for,” Kimmel said. “Happy endings do happen after all.”
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