By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Mara Bare
MARA BARE, Washburn Rural
A senior, Bare placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and sixth in the 500 free in the 2022 Class 6A state meet, earning second-team All-State honors. Bare helped lead Washburn Rural to its 19th straight city team title last season, placing second in the 200 freestyle and the 500 free and swimming on Rural's runner-up 200 medley and 400 free relays. Bare also helped the Junior Blues win the Centennial League team championship, taking second in the 200 free and 500 free and earning first-team all-league honors.
Breann Devlin
BREANNA DEVLIN, Topeka High
Devlin, a senior, turned in an outstanding season for Topeka High in her first year as a high school one-meter diver last spring, placing fourth in the Class 6A state meet. Devlin swept the city and Centennial League diving championships in 2022 while setting Topeka High school records for the six-dive and 11-dive events.
Joslynn Grace
JOSLYNN GRACE, Seaman
Grace, a sophomore, earned three Class 5A-1A state medals last season, helping the Vikings finish fourth as a team in 5A-1A. Grace finished fifth in the 200-yard individual medley and swam on Seaman's third-place 200 medley and 400 free relays. Grace finished second in the city meet in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly and swam on the Vikings' winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. Grace placed third in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly in the Centennial League meet and swam on Seaman's winning 200 medley and 400 free relays, earning first-team all-league recognition.
Kiersten Harris
KIERSTEN HARRIS, Washburn Rural
Harris, a senior, helped Washburn Rural stretch its city-meet winning streak to 19 years in 2022, placing second in the 100 breastsroke and third in the 200 individual medley and swimming on the Junior Blues' second-place 200 medley and 400 free relays. Harris finished 16th in the 100 breastroke in the Class 6A state meet.
Ashtyn Landry
ASHTYNN LANDRY, Shawnee Heights
Landry, a sophomore, finished third in the city meet in the 50 freestyle and the 100 free last season and swam on the T-Birds' runner-up 200 free relay and Shawnee Heights' third-place 400 freestyle relay. Landry finished third in the 100 freestyle in the United Kansas Conference meet and fifth in the 50 free.
Makenna Pritchard
MAKENNA PRITCHARD, Washburn Rural
Pritchard, a senior, placed seventh in Class 6A in the 100-yard freestyle and eighth in the 50 free. Pritchard was the city champion in the 50 freestyle and the 100 free in 2022 and also swam on the Junior Blues' second-place 200 medley relay and 400 free relays. Pritchard placed second in the Centennial League meet in the 50 free and the 100 free and swam on the Junior Blues' third-place 200 medley relay.
Avery Walz
AVERY WALZ, Seaman
A junior, Walz earned her first state championship in the 2022 Class 5A-1A state meet in the 100-yard backstroke and earned four state medals as Seaman finished fourth in the team standings. Walz was third in the 200 individual medley and swam on the Vikings' third-place 200 medley and 400 free relays. Walz was the city champion in both the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and also helped Seaman win city titles in the 200 medley and 400 free relays. Walz also swept Centennial League tiitles in the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke and swam on the Vikings' winning 200 medley and 400 free relays. Walz was a first-team All-State pick in 2022.
Tauren Walz
TAUREN WALZ, Seaman
Walz, a junior, earned four 5A-1A state medals in the 2022 state meet, helping Seaman finish fourth as a team. A second-team All-State pick, Walz took fifth in the 5A-1A 500-yard free and sixth in the 100 butterfly and swam on Seaman's third-place 200 medley and 400 free relays. Walz.was the city champion in the 100 butterfly and finished second in the 50 free and also helped Seaman win city titles in the 200 medley and 400 free relays. Walz was the Centennial League champion in the 50 freestyle and finished second in the 100 butterfly and swam on the Vikings' winning 200 medley and 400 free relays.
