Kansas high school boys swimming: A list of the 25 best swimmers from Wichita area
With the Kansas high school boys swimming and diving season starting this week, Varsity Kansas is ranking the top 25 athletes in the area for this season.
Top 25 swimmers and divers
No. 1 Drayden Bell, East junior
Already a three-time state champion, Bell is the fastest swimmer in Kansas after winning the Class 6A 50 free title in a personal-best time of 20.53 seconds at the state meet. Bell also claimed the 100 free title last season with the top time in Kansas at 45.69.
No. 2 George Jekov, Independent senior
Claimed two Class 5-1A state championships last season, winning the 200 free in 1 minute, 43.19 seconds and the 500 free in 4:48.06 — both were the third-fastest times in Kansas. It was quite the ascent for Jekov, who finished third in the 200 free and seventh in the 100 free the season before. Also a member of Independent’s record-setting, title-winning 400 free relay team.
No. 3 Daniel Jekov, Independent junior
Came home with a pair of third-place finishes at the 5-1A state meet, coming in the 500 free (4:53.90) and the 100 back (55.26). He is a two-time state medalist in the 100 back and also a member of Independent’s record-setting, title-winning 400 free relay team.
No. 4 Matthew Janssen, Independent junior
Picked up a pair of fourth-place finishes at the 5-1A state meet in the 200 IM (1:57.77) and the 100 breast (1:00.78). He finished third in the 200 IM as a freshman, making him a two-time state medalist in the event. Also a member of Independent’s record-setting, title-winning 400 free relay team.
No. 5 Quade Harris, Bishop Carroll junior
Harris is one of the top 200 free swimmers in the state and provided it with a third-place finish at the 5-1A state meet this past season in a time of 1:46.00. He also logged a sixth-place finish in the 100 free (48.64), giving him state medals in his two events for the second straight year.
No. 6 Jackson Burrus, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior
Burrus was one of the most improved backstroke swimmers in the state last season, as he ripped off a personal-best time of 54.97 to finish runner-up in 5-1A. It was quite the improvement after he finished 10th in the event as a freshman. Burrus also picked up his second straight state medal in the 200 IM with a sixth-place finish in 2:02.66.
No. 7 Adam Sandid, Collegiate sophomore
Sandid made a big impression his first year in high school, logging a pair of fifth-place finishes in his two events — the 50 free (22.38) and the 100 free (48.36). With another year of growth and improvement, Sandid is a burgeoning star.
No. 8 Lucas Krueger, Andover Central junior
Krueger is one of the top distance swimmers in the state. After finishing fifth in the 500 free at the 5-1A state meet as a freshman, Krueger improved to a fourth-place finish (4:54.94) last season. He also registered a seventh-place finish in the 200 IM.
No. 9 Luke Taylor, Maize junior
After failing to reach the finals in the 200 IM and 500 free at state as a freshman, Taylor made a drastic leap as a sophomore with a fifth-place finish at the 5-1A state meet in the 500 free (4:57.11) and a ninth-place finish in the 200 IM (2:04.24).
No. 10 Brandon Bowles, Maize South senior
After missing out on the finals in the 50 free and 100 free his first two seasons, Bowles had a breakout junior campaign that was capped by a fourth-place finish at 5-1A state in the 50 free (22.35) and ninth-place finish in the 100 free (50.12)
No. 11 Lane Werth, Wichita North junior (200 free, 500 free)
No. 12 Austin Schmidt, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior (200 free, 100 free)
No. 13 Will McCabe, Derby junior (500 free, 200 free)
No. 14 Tate Harrison, Wichita Heights senior (diving)
No. 15 Brendon Chadd, Campus senior (500 free, 200 free)
No. 16 Luc Diefenbach, Andover senior (100 back)
No. 17 P.J. Damico, Andover Central junior (100 fly, 100 back)
No. 18 Tommy Higgins, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior (200 IM, 100 breast)
No. 19 Ethan Jensen, Wichita Heights senior (100 free, 50 free)
No. 20 Joseph Gadalla, Collegiate junior (200 IM, 100 breast)
No. 21 Reid Richardson, Maize South senior (50 free, 100 breast)
No. 22 Lucas Laufer, Wichita East (100 back)
No. 23 Brock Wallace, Wichita Northwest freshman (100 back)
No. 24 Kaleb Clayton, Wichita Northwest sophomore (diving)
No. 25 Jaxon Trower, Bishop Carroll junior (diving)
Top swimmers for area teams
Bishop Carroll: Quade Harris, jr.; Jaxon Trower, jr.; Eddy Nolaso, jr.; Blake Rump, sr.; Dalton Fisher, jr.; Tyler Rump, so.Wilson Eustance, jr.
East: Drayden Bell, jr.; Lucas Laufer, sr.; Jackson Kleeman, so.; Eric Pham, sr.; Alex Mandanis, sr.; Olivier Scholl, sr.; Will Weiford, sr.; Colby Sheih, sr.; Caleb Asher, jr.
Heights: Tate Harrison, sr.; Ethan Jensen, sr.; Evan Jensen, sr.; Javan Titus, jr.; Gage Conrady, jr.; Kadan Claasen, jr.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel: Jackson Burrus, jr.; Tommy Higgins, jr.; Austin Schmidt, jr.; Cooper Burrus, jr.; Brandon Kinman, so.
North: Lane Werth, jr.
Northwest: Brock Wallace, fr.; Nick Butler, sr.; Greg Darnell, sr.; Kaleb Clayton, so.
South: Naim Moreno, sr.; Ethan Godsy, jr.; David Campos, jr.; Eli Sidebottom, jr.; Jackson Gleeson, fr.
Southeast: Aidan Jones, jr.; John Dang, sr.;. Minh-Tri Bui, sr.; Kelvin Sayaphet, sr.
West: Reuben Campos, sr.; Pierson Blick, so.; David Lopez, jr.; Martin Tovar, jr.; Isaiah Crabtree, fr.
Andover: Luc Diefenbach, sr.; Henry Gott, jr.; Jonathan Gott, so.; Sam Ellis, so.; Duncan McNeil, sr.; Ian Diefenbach, fr.; David Gott, fr.; Luke Neugent, fr.; Carter Champlin, jr.; Colton Bair, so.; Jack Ebert, so.; Jack Phillips, fr.; Jakob Swan, sr.; Jack Vinson, jr.; Joel Stumpe, so.
Andover Central: Lucas Krueger, jr.; P.J. Damico, jr.; Noah Krueger, so.; Beau Blankenship, so.; Jackson Ward, sr.; Ryan Crowley, sr.
Buhler: Kaleb Webster, jr.; Colton Webster, sr.; Clayton Webster; Mitchel Cross, so.; William Trumpp, so.; Dawson Banning, so.; Spencer Hines, so.; Calvin Shank, so.
Campus: Brendon Chadd, sr.; Cameron Warren, sr.; Derrick Marshall, sr.; Gavin Conn, jr.; Kaden Davis, jr.; Breaden Gibson, jr.; Matthew Glidden, jr.; Logan Roberts, jr.; Cael Warren, so.; Sebastian Ybarra, so.; Jonah Easterby, fr.; Trenton Ellis, fr.; Ajay Joseph, so.; Ryan Echton, so.; Caleb Kronk, so.
Collegiate: Adam Sandid, so.; Joseph Gadalla, jr.; Charlie Nolan, jr.; Daniel Hechenberger, so.
Derby: Will McCabe, jr.; Magnus Moeder, sr.; Trent Voth, sr.; Peyton Lake, sr.
El Dorado: David Kilpatrick, sr.; Jay Tipton, so.
Hutchinson: Ethan Reimer, jr.; Jace Rimbey, jr.; Zion Hayes, fr.; Calvin Krohlow, fr.; Caleb Zugay, fr.
Independent: George Jekov, sr.; Daniel Jekov, jr.; Matthew Janssen, jr.; Graham Burmeister, sr.; Joshua Jacobson, sr.; Isaiah Page, fr..; Myles Loewen, fr.
Maize: Josh Sprowls, sr.; Luke Taylor, jr.; Tate Johnson, sr.; Sam Broberg, sr.; Demitrius Dixon, jr.; Collin Van Ness, jr.
Maize South: Brandon Bowles, sr.; Reid Richardson, sr.; Eli Stucky, sr.; Skyler Snow, sr.; Regan Richardson, so.; Levi Eck, jr.; Fabrizo Quiroz-Garza, jr.; Jayden Stehm, jr.; Zach Washburn, sr.
McPherson: Matthew Powers, sr.; Rhys Vanderhoof, sr.; Cody Achilles, sr.; Logan Ediger, sr.; Alex Houston, sr.; Tytus Reed, so.; Wesley Wurm, jr.
Newton: Creed Ekerberg, sr.; Simon Hodge, jr.; Luke Schmidt, sr.; Andrew Barron, jr.; Max Musser, sr.; Otis Musser, so.
Rose Hill: Bryce Bischler, sr.; Tim Hoopes, sr.; Drew Leck, sr.; Zach Hoang, sr.Trinity: Jacob Smith, sr.; Trendan Davis, so.
Valley Center: Tristan Molello, sr.; Cameron Morand, sr.; Garret Fitch, jr.; Logan Dean, jr.
Winfield: Caden Roark, sr.; Albert Compala, sr.; Bryce Dolch, so.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
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