By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Washburn Rural had a vacancy for a girls swimming coach back in 2020, veteran coach Bob Burdick stepped in for the Junior Blues.
Senior Luke Lemke (front) led Washburn Rural to a third-place team finish in Wednesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
This winter is deja vu all over again for Burdick, who took over the reins of the Rural boys program after Janson Garman stepped down.
"He graduated from college and got a job,'' Burdick said. "I hoped Janson would stay because he had a lot of energy and he's a young coach and I want to see these young coaches move up because people like me, we're going to be retiring. But he just couldn't do it.''
Burdick had put together a long coaching career in Missouri before retiring in that state and moving over to Washburn Rural, where he teaches history and eventually took on the girls coaching position.
And as fate would have it, the timing worked out perfectly this winter for Burdick to take on the added responsibility of coaching both Rural teams.
"About two or three years ago I told our athletic director (Charlie Nimz) that I couldn't do this (coach the boys) because I used to coach the boys and the girls back in Missouri and when I took the girls my wife said, 'Promise me you're not going to take the boys until our last son's in college,' '' Burdick said.
"Well, he's at K-State now, so she said, 'You can do whatever the heck you want with swimming now, so enjoy.' Charlie came to me and said, 'Are you going to do this?' And I was like, 'Yes, I'm going to do it,' so that's how it all went down.''
Burdick's Washburn Rural boys team made its debut in Wednesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational at the Capitol Federal Natatorium, posting a third-place finish.
"I'm enjoying it,'' Burdick said. "I love swimming, so I enjoy watching these guys swim, I enjoy the races. We had a lot of surprises tonight for our team and there's a lot of great teams out here and I love seeing all the other coaches.
"This has been a great start and it was getting the bugs out for everybody.''
Washburn Rural suffered heavy graduation losses, including state champions Brogan Meier and Jack Miranda, off last year's team that tied for third in Class 6A, but Burdick said the team is coming around.
"It's going to take awhile, but we can see it on the horizon,'' he said.
Luke Lemke led Rural in Wednesday's opener, placing second in the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 10.90 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (58.98) while also swimming on the Junior Blues' third-place 200 medley relay (1:49.96) and fourth-place 400 free relay (3:40.96).
Lemke teamed with Castle Wallace, Alexander Lanterman and Andres Morao-Jaspe on the 200 medley relay and with Morao-Jaspe, Thomas Appuhn and Joseph Jensen on the 400 free relay.
Rural's foursome of Wallace, Ethan Overbey, Lanterman and Jensen posted a third-place finish in the 200 free relay (1:42.93) while Wallace finished third in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.19).
Topeka High's Dawson Blankenship posted a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in Wednesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka High finished sixth as a team, led by Dominic Delgado (209.65) and Malichi Delgado (166.70), who went one-two in one-meter diving. The Trojans also got a third-place finish from Dawson Blankenship in the 100 butterfly (1:00.40).
Shawnee Heights senior Truman Brede posted a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights' Evan Hoobler finished third in the 100-yard freestyle in the Topeka West Invitational on Wednesday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights got a third-place finish from Truman Brede in the 200 freestyle (2:02.51) and a third from Evan Hoobler in the 100 free (53.02).
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
At Capitol Federal Natatorium
Team scores
Olathe Northwest 446, Manhattan 419, Washburn Rural 355, Lansing 247, Basehor-Linwood 206, Topeka High 153, Hayden 112, Shawnee Heights 108, Seaman 106, Junction City 83, Topeka West 46.
Individual results
200 medley relay -- 1. Manhattan, 1:44.23; 2. Olathe Northwest, 1:47.63; 3. Washburn Rural, 1:49.96.
200 freestyle -- 1. Gibson, Lansing, 1:55.35; 2. Wymer, Manhattan, 1:57.59; 3. Brede, Shawnee Heights, 2:02.51.
200 individual medley -- 1. Steffensmeier, Manhattan, 2:10.09; 2. Lemke, Washburn Rural, 2;10.90; 3. Mapes, Olathe Northwest, 2:14.83.
50 freestyle -- 1. Branstrom, Olathe Northwest, 22.46; 2. Kobs, Lansing, 22.88; 3. Lein, Olathe Northwest, 23.18.
One meter diving -- 1. D. Delgado, Topeka High, 209.65; 2. M. Delgado, Topeka High, 166.70; 3. Rastorfer, Olathe Northwest, 165.20.
100 butterfly -- 1. Balman, Manhattan, 55.26; 2. Lein, Olathe Northwest, 58.65; 3. Blankenship, Topeka High, 1:00.40.
100 freestyle -- 1. Branstrom, Olathe Northwest, 52.11; 2. Wymer, Manhattan, 52.42; 3. Hoobler, Shawnee Heights, 53.02.
500 freestyle -- 1. Graves, Manhattan, 5:10.45; 2. Murphy, Lansing, 5:32.96; 3. Dunn, Manhattan, 5:36.39.
200 free relay -- 1. Manhattan, 1:39.59; 2. Olathe Northwest, 1:41.56; 3. Washburn Rural, 1:42.93.
100 backstroke -- 1. Steffensmeier, Manhattan, 57.53; 2. Lemke, Washburn Rural, 58.98; 3. Gibson, Lansing, 1:00.15.
100 breastroke -- 1. Graves, Manhattan, 1:05.68; 2. Yim, Olathe Northwest, 1:07.77; 3. Wallace, Washburn Rural, 1:08.19.
400 free relay -- 1. Olathe Northwest, 3:33.67; 2. Manhattan, 3:33.94; 3. Lansing, 3:39.81.
