By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights senior Luke Perkins and Washburn Rural junior Jack Miranda headline the 2023 All-City boys swimming and diving team after combining for four top-four individual finishes in state competition.
The 2023 All-City boys swimming and diving team -- Front, from left: Luke Perkins, Shawnee Heights; Evan Hoobler, Shawnee Heights; Brogan Meier, Washburn Rural; Jack Miranda, Washburn Rural; Will Powell, Washburn Rural; Luke Lemke, Washburn Rural; Cordell Dimick, Washburn Rural. Back, from left: Riccardo Corazza, Shawnee Heights; Ryan Johnson, Hayden; Colin O'Rourke, Seaman; Daniel Ramirez, Seaman; Jaxon Cowdin, Topeka High; Will Stewart, Topeka High;Dylan Gregg, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The 2023 All-City boys swimming and diving second team -- Front, from left: Grady Johnson, Topeka High; Blaize Appelhanz, Seaman; Stuart Campbell, Topeka High; Thomas Schmidt, Topeka High. Back, from left: Souvish Sinha, Washburn Rural; Branen Moore, Seaman; Eli Wahlmeier, Hayden; Perry Payne, Topeka High; Landon Stuke, Seaman. Not pictured: Truman Brede, Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Perkins capped his prep career with four Class 5A-1A state medals while running his four-year career medal haul to 12 while Rural's Miranda finished his junior season with three medals in the 6A state meet, including a pair of third-place individual finishes.
Perkins, who earned four state medals for the second straight season, posted a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly and a fourth-place finish in the 200 individual medley and swam on Shawnee Heights' fourth-place 200 medley relay and sixth-place 200 free relay.
Miranda finished third in the 6A 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500 free in and swam on the Junior Blues' seventh-place 400 free relay.
Heights All-City first-team sophomore Evan Hoobler and senior Riccardo Corazza earned state medals in the 200 medley and 200 free relays while Corazza added an individual medal to his two relay medals, finishing eighth in the 5A-1A 100 free.
Rural junior Brogan Meier earned a 6A individual medal for the second straight year, taking eighth in the 100 free, and was part of the seventh-place 400 free relay along with Miranda, junior Will Powell and sophomore Luke Lemke.
Seaman senior Colin O'Rourke finished fifth in the 5A-1A 100 butterfly while Viking senior Daniel Ramirez took seventh in the 5A-1A 500 freestyle and eighth in the 200 free.
Topeka High sophomore Jaxon Cowdin finished 10th in the 6A one-meter diving event.
All-City capsules:
RICCARDO CORAZZA, Shawnee Heights -- A senior foreign exchange student, Corazza won three medals in the Class 5A-1A state meet, finishing eighth in the 100-yard freestyle and swimming on Shawnee Heights' fourth-place 200 medley relay and sixth-place 200 free relay. Corazza won three gold medals in the city meet and the United Kansas Conference championships, including a pair of individual wins.
JAXON COWDIN, Topeka High -- Cowdin, a sophomore, won his second straight city championship in one-meter diving for Topeka High and went on to claim his first Centennial League championship. Cowdin advanced to the Class 6A diving finals for the second straight year and posted a 10th-place finish in 6A.
CORDELL DIMICK, Washburn Rural -- The lone senior on Washburn Rural's team, Dimick was the city champion in the 100-yard breaststroke and also swam on the Junior Blues' second-place 200-yard medley and 200 free relays. Dimick finished third in the 100 breast in the Centennial League meet and swam on Washburn Rural's second-place 200 medley relay beore competing in the 6A state meet.
DYLAN GREGG, Hayden -- A senior, Gregg placed third in the 100-yard freestyle and fourth in the 50 free in the city meet and swam on the Wildcats' third-place 200 medley and 400 free relays. Gregg helped the Wildcats post a third-place finish in the 200 free relay in the Centennial League championships and competed in the 5A-1A state meet.
EVAN HOOBLER, Shawnee Heights -- Hoobler, a sophomore, swam on Shawnee Heights' fourth-place 200-yard medley relay and sixth-place 200 free relay in the Class 5A-1A state meet. Hoobler swam on Heights' winning 200-yard medley and 200 free relays in the city and United Kansas Conference meets and was the league champion in the 100 breaststroke. Hoobler placed second in the 500 free and third in the 100 breast in the city meet.
RYAN JOHNSON, Hayden -- A senior, Johnson finished third in the 200-yard individual medley and swam on the Wildcats' third-place 200 medley and 400 free relays in the city meet and finished third in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke in the Centennial League meet. Johnson also helped Hayden post a third-place league finish in the 200 free relay before competing in the 5A-1A state meet.
LUKE LEMKE, Washburn Rural -- Lemke, a sophomore, swam on Washburn Rural's seventh-place 400-yard free relay in the Class 6A state meet. Lemke was part of Rural's winning 400 free relay and second-place 200 free relay in the city meet. Lemke was second in the Centennial League 200 individual medley and third in the 100 free and swam on Rural's winning 400 free relay and runner-up 200 medley relay.
JACK MIRANDA, Washburn Rural -- Miranda capped an oustanding junior campaign with a pair of third-place individual finishes and three Class 6A state medals overall. Miranda finished third in the 200-yard freestyle and 500 freestyle and also swam on the Junior Blues' seventh-place 400 free relay. Miranda won city and Centennial League titles in the 200 and 500 free and also swam on the Junior Blues' winning 400 free relay in both meets.
BROGAN MEIER, Washburn Rural -- Meier ended his junior season with a pair of Class 6A state medals. Meier finished eighth in the 100-yard freestyle and also swam on the Junior Blues' seventh-place 400 free relay. Meier posted individual wins in the city and Centennial League meets in the 100 free and 100 backstroke and also swam on Rural's winning 400 relay in both the city and league meets.
COLIN O'ROURKE, Seaman -- A senior, O'Rourke posted a fifth-place finish in the Class 5A-1A state meet in the 100-yard butterfly. O'Rourke finished second in three events in the city meet and was part of four runner-up finishes in the United Kansas Conference championships, including second-place individual finishes in both the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterly in both meets.
LUKE PERKINS, Shawnee Heights -- Perkins finished his high school swimming career with 12 Class 5A-1A state medals, including four as both a junior and a senior. Perkins finished third in the 100-yard butterfly and fourth in the 200 individual medley in this year's state meet and also swam on the T-Birds fourth-place 200 medley relay and sixth-place 200 free relay. Perkins won four gold medals in the city and United Kansas Conference meets as a senior.
WILL POWELL, Washburn Rural -- A junior, Powell earned a Class 6A state medal as part of Washburn Rural's seventh-place 400-yard 400 frree relay. Powell posted second (50 free) and third-place (100 butterfly) individual finishes in the city meet and swam on the Junior Blues' winning 400 free relay and second-place 200 medley relay. Powell posted three second-place finishes in the Centennial League meet and swam on Rual's winning 400 relay.
DANIEL RAMIREZ, Seaman -- Ramirez, a senior, was a two-time state medalist in the Class 5A-1A state meet, finishing seventh in the 500-yard freestyle and eighth in the 200 free. Ramirez was second in the 200 free and third in the 100 backstroke in the city meet and won the United Kansas Conference title in the 100 back and finished second in the 200 free. Ramirez also swam on the Vikings' second-place 400 relay in the UKC meet.
WILL STEWART, Topeka High -- The Trojan fresshman standout finished third in the 200-yard freestyle and fourth in the 100 butterfly in the city meet and swam on High's fourth-place 200 free and 400 free relays. Stewart was third in the 100 butterfly in the Centennial League meet and swam on the Trojans' third-place 400 free relay.
ALL-CITY BOYS SWIMMING
First team
Brogan Meier, Washburn Rural; Luke Perkins, Shawnee Heights; Jack Miranda, Washburn Rural; Riccardo Corazza, Shawnee Heights; Cordell Dimick, Washburn Rural; Colin O’Rourke, Seaman; Evan Hoobler, Shawnee Heights; Will Powell, Washburn Rural; Daniel Ramirez, Seaman; Will Stewart, Topeka High; Dylan Gregg, Hayden; Ryan Johnson, Hayden; Luke Lemke, Washburn Rural; Jaxon Cowdin, Topeka High (diver).
Second team
Truman Brede, Shawnee Heights; Grady Johnson, Topeka High; Perry Payne, Topeka High; Blaize Appelhanz, Seaman; Souvish Sinha, Washburn Rural; Thomas Schmidt, Topeka High; Eli Wahlmeier, Hayden; Landon Stuke, Seaman; Branen Moore, Seaman; Stuart Campbel, Topeka High (diver).
