By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
Special to Hays Post
There are a variety of ways of measuring top team performances in sporting events.
Take, for example, the Hays High School boys’ swim team.
The Indians finished second in team scoring at last week’s Western Athletic Conference Championships while fielding the smallest roster in the meet.
But the team trophy is about the only top award the Indians didn’t bring home.
The HHS squad of 10 swimmers won eight of the 11 events and recorded four other top-three finishes.
The Indians powered their way through the meet, recording first-place times in the first seven events, then winning the meet finale (the 400-yard freestyle relay).
However, Hays High ultimately couldn’t keep up with Garden City’s roster depth. The Buffaloes were able to enter numerous swimmers whose points in lower placings added to their team score.
In the end, the Indians finished second to Garden City in team points (390-346.5) but still came home with 14 gold medals – more than twice as many as Garden City.
Following that impressive performance, Hays High coach Tyler Stein was voted WAC Coach of the Year, and HHS senior Marshall Sook earned WAC swimmer-of-the-year honors.
“Having my old coach there and other coaches I’ve gotten to know through the years was cool,” said Stein, a former all-state swimmer at Great Bend High School. “It was rewarding to see that they felt I had done a good job this year.”
Sook won both his individual events – the 50- and 100-yard freestyle – and also was a member of the Indians’ two gold-medal relay teams (the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle).
Juniors Karsen Flaska and Chase Zadina also each won four golds.
Both swam on those championship relay teams with Sook, while Flaska also won the 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle, and Zadina won the 100-yard butterfly and tied for first in the 200-yard freestyle.
The final member of the championship 200-yard medley relay team was junior Noah Schaeffer, who also was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Schaeffer also helped the Indians’ 200-yard freestyle relay team finish third along with seniors Christian Miller, Bryton Unsworth and Justin Reeves. Those three seniors completed their prep careers in style by winning WAC medals while also scoring valuable points in other races along with junior Levi Crisenberry.
“I was really proud of all the guys, and I made sure they knew that,” Stein said. “I wanted them to know how grateful I am how hard they worked this year, and that hard work paid off.”
Sophomore Cedric Durr won two medals – a gold in the 400-yard freestyle relay and a silver in the 100-yard butterfly.
Completing the Indians’ list of individual WAC medalists was junior Jude Hileman, the runner-up in the 100y backstroke.
Not finished yet
Next up for the Indians is this weekend’s Class 5-1A Swimming and Diving State Championships in Lenexa.
Hays High has qualified for state in five events – five more automatic qualifications than a year ago.
“I am so proud of this team, especially with them only making a state consideration time last year,” Stein said. “The improvement this year individually and in the relays has been phenomenal.”
Sook will compete at state in his two freestyle specialties as well as the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Flaska, Zadina and Durr will make up three-fourths of both those relays as well as the 200-yard medley relay. Schaeffer will complete the foursome in the medley relay, and Hileman will accompany the team to state as an alternate.