xBy Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Led by conference coach of the year Daryl Halsey, the Seaman girls placed second in the United Kansas Conference swim meet at Capitol Federal Natatorium Tuesday.
Avery Walz, Seaman
Tauren Walz, Seaman
The Walz twins – seniors Avery and Tauren – accounted for four first-place individual medals for the Vikings to lead the team. They also led relay teams that placed first and second.
Junior Joslynn Grace added two firsts and two seconds and senior Avery Samuelson claimed a first and a second-place medal.
Seaman swimmers placed first in five of the eight individual events, but the Vikings’ 218 points fell a distant second behind Lansing’s 287.
“All of the Seaman swimmers were on fire today,” Halsey said. “They all swam their best times of the year. I think regardless of what the final scores say, they all did excellently and I’m proud of every single one of them.”
The Vikings are a senior-led team with Avery Walz taking both the 50 and 100 freestyle races and Tauren Walz winning the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke. Samuelson contributed to first- and second-place finishes in relays.
“They really build the team up,” Grace said of the team’s senior leaders. “They make the environment fun and they’re really motivating. Having them do so well raises the energy of the team.”
Grace qualified for state in two different events as a sophomore and hopes to build on that performance this year.
“She is right up there with the seniors on the team not only on her performance in the water, but in the leadership that she provides to the team,” Halsey said of Grace.
Shawnee Heights chased the leaders and finished in sixth place in the nine-school league with 114.50 points. The T-Birds were led by Ashlynn Landry, who placed third in the 200 freestyle. She also helped Shawnee Heights place fourth in two relays.
Halsey was announced coach of the year for the United Kansas Conference in his second year as Seaman head coach. He shared the honor with two other coaches in his first season.
“The only reason that I got it is because of the swimmers on the team and the success that they’ve had,” Halsey said.
The Vikings placed second in the City Championships last Friday, trailing only Washburn Rural. Halsey said he believes the team is trending in the right direction.
“We had such a good city meet last week that I was a little worried that they might be peaking a little too early,” Halsey said. “But they came out today and swam even better. I think they are peaking at the right time. We have a week and a half until state and I’m really excited to see what they’re going to do at state.”
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE
Team scores
Lansing 287, Seaman 218, De Soto 163, Leavenworth 145, Piper 132.50, Shawnee Heights 114.50, Basehor-Linwood 112, Topeka West 34, Turner 20
Swimmer of the year
(Seven-way tie)
Jadyn Bruch, Basehor-Linwood; Adrian Escalante, Lansing; MaKala Hayes, Lansing; Ashlynn Landry, Shawnee Heights; Alyssa Stenerson, Leavenworth; Avery Walz, Seaman; Tauren Walz, Seaman.
Coach of the year
Daryl Halsey, Seaman
Individual results
200 medley relay — 1. Seaman (A. Walz, Grace, T. Walz, Samuelson), 1:55.69; 2. Leavenworth (A. Howell, E. Howell, Stenerson, Beaulieu), 2:01.69; 3. Piper (Carstensen, Shaw, Kindle, Huisman), 2:06.51.
200 freestyle — 1. Hayes, Lansing, 1:58.68; 2. E. Howell, Leavenworth, 2:01.86; 3. Landry, Shawnee Heights, 2:05.29.
200 individual medley — 1. Grace, Seaman, 2:12.83; 2. Archambault, Lansing, 2:18.41; 3. Bruch, Basehor-Linwood, 2:21.04.
50 freestyle — 1. A. Walz, Seaman, 24.69; 2. Swartz, De Soto, 24.95; 3. Verzola, Lansing, 25.86.
100 butterfly — 1. T. Walz, Seaman, 59.19; 2. Vorthmann, De Soto, 59.64; 3. Archambault, Lansing, 1:00.10.
100 freestyle — 1. A. Walz, Seaman, 53.20; 2. E. Howell, Leavenworth, 54.29; 3. Swarts, De Soto, 54.41.
500 freestyle — 1. Bruch, Basehor-Linwood, 5:18.94; 2. Grace, Seaman, 5:24.94; 3. Johannes, Lansing, 5:41.76.
200 freestyle relay — 1. Lansing (Archambault, Hayes, Claassen, Verzola), 1:42.61; 2. Seaman (T. Walz, Samuelson, Grace, A. Walz), 1:44.03; 3. De Soto (Vorthmann, Cross, Yamaashi, Swarts), 1:47.01.
100 backstroke — 1. Vorthmann, De Soto, 59.76; 2. Hayes, Lansing, 1:00.39; 3. A. Howell, Leavenworth, 1:05.95.
100 breaststroke — 1. T. Walz, Seaman, 1:07.76; 2. Johannes, Lansing, 1:14.68; 3. Gould, Seaman, 1:18.02.
400 freestyle relay — 1. Lansing (Walter, Archambault, Verzola, Hayes), 3:47.82; 2. De Soto (Yamaashi, Cross, Vorthmann, Swarts), 3:52.96; 3. Leavenworth (A. Howell, Beaulieu, Stenerson, E. Howell), 3:54.81.
