CURRENT PLACEMENTS
The team is ranked first in the Sunflower League. They won their last invitational meet on April 25 against all the teams within their league; therefore, the team is placed first going into the Sunflower League championship.
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TOP PERFORMERS
According to head coach Chris Copeland, seniors Georgia Boyd and Natalie Jones, and junior Vada Walsh are the top performing seniors due to their fast and consistent times, are in the water on time every day, and work to better their stroke and technique for the overall benefit of the team. Boyd is eighth in the state in the 200 yard freestyle, ninth in the state in the 500 yard freestyle, and 20th in the state in the 50 yard freestyle. Jones is 14th in the state in the 50 yard freestyle and 17th in the state in the 100 yard freestyle. Walsh is 18th in the state in the 200 yard freestyle, 13th in the state in the 50 yard freestyle, and sixth in the state in the 100 yard backstroke. Freshmen Charlie Harris and Teni Oyentungi are consistently top performers as they swim fast and have good work ethic, according to assistant coach Leslee Dummermuth.
Boyd explained that while the team has many top performers, what they are really looking for is depth. She says that in the build up for state championships, depth is really important. Getting as many people to qualify for state as possible and then qualify for finals at state is going to give them more points than just a couple first and second places at state. This is because the more swimmers at finals, the more points the team can earn.
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UPCOMING COMPETITIONS
The team's biggest competition is BV West according to Boyd. They have competed against BV West at the SMSD Invitational, the Olathe Invitational, and at a regular season meet which was on March 31. They will compete against them at the Sunflower League Meet and the KSHAA State Meet. The team has three meets left, but their regular season has already finished. The Sunflower League meet will be held at Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center on May 7 to May 9. The “last chance meet” will also be held at SM Aquatic Center on May 13 this is the last chance the girls have to qualify for the 6A State meet. The 6A state meet will be held at SM Aquatic Center from May 21 to 23.
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STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
According to Copeland, the team's biggest strengths are their relays and sprints. The teams A-Medley Relay is ranked second in the state, the A-200 Freestyle Relay is ranked first in the state, and the A-400 Freestyle Relay is ranked second in the state. In sprints freshman Teni Oyentungi is ranked third in the state, junior Coco Reiser is ranked 12th in the state, junior Vada Walsh is ranked 13th in the state, and senior Natalie Jones ranked 14th in the state. Copeland predicts that all three relays will be seeded first going into state. Hunter, Boyd and Walsh say that the team's biggest strength is their morale and support for each other. They explained that the team is much closer than most of the teams they compete against. Boyd and Hunter say that the last meet really brought the team together because of how much they supported each other. Many girls got new state cuts and considerations and the support that the team gave for each other boosted the teams bond.
Boyd also predicts that a possible weakness will be the KSHAA State Meet being in the summer this year. School ends on May 19, and the KSHAA State Meet starts on May 22. She thinks that it will be very hard for the team to stay motivated and continue working hard once school is out.
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INJURIES
Sophomore Meg Eakes is out for the majority of the season due to an appendectomy, which is the surgical removal of the appendix.
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