Here are the 10 Wichita swimmers and divers to watch for this weekend’s state meet
The Kansas high school state swim and dive state championships will look a little different this season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For starters, no spectators will be allowed and the venue has been changed to the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center in the Kansas City area. The state meet will be live streamed through the NFHS Network, which requires a paid subscription.
Another change is that there will be no preliminaries, only timed finals with the top 24 qualifiers swimming at state. The Class 6A meet will happen on Friday and the Class 5-1A meet is Saturday. The swimming and diving finals will begin at 4:15 p.m. both days.
Here are the 10 swimmers from the Wichita area who should be in state contention this weekend:
Drayden Bell, East junior
All eyes will be on Bell to not only see if he can win his third straight 50 free 6A title, but if he can break the state record time of 20.09 seconds. He has the best time in Kansas so far this season at 21.35, but his club-best time of 20.10 set this past summer is the fastest time in the country for his class. Bell, who also won the 100 free title last season, also has the fastest time in the state in the 100 free (46.74) and 100 back (51.81) this season.
George Jekov, Independent senior
Coming off a breakout state meet last winter when he won two 5-1A championships, Jekov is back to defend his titles in the 200 free and 500 free. He enters with the fourth-best 5-1A time in the 200 free (1:50.26) and the third-best 5-1A time in the 500 free (5:02.05), this season but proved his potential with his state-winning times last year in the 200 free (1:43.19) and 500 free (4:48.06).
Adam Sandid, Collegiate sophomore
One of the fastest rising stars in Kansas, Sandid has posted top-15 times in the state as a sophomore in five different events this season. He owns the fastest 5-1A time in the 100 free (48.45) and will have options for his second event in the 5-1A field — he has the second-fastest 100 fly time (54.03) and third-fastest 50 free (22.05) time. He finished fifth at 5-1A state in the 50 free and 100 free last season.
Frank Alberti, Kapaun Mt. Carmel freshman
Already one of the state’s best swimmers as a freshman, Alberti enters with the best 5-1A times this season in the 100 back (55.01) and 500 free (4:49.34) and the second-best 5-1A time in the 200 IM (2:00.30). Alberti has top-20 times in the state in four different events.
Austin Schmidt, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior
He’ll have to unseat the defending champion, but Schmidt enters with the fastest 5-1A time in the 200 free this season in 1:47.42. After finishing sixth at state last season, Schmidt has a chance to contend with defending champion George Jekov of Independent. Schmidt also has the sixth-fastest 5-1A time in the 100 free (49.68) this season.
Ryan Ecton, Campus junior
After not qualifying for the state meet last year, Ecton has burst onto the diving scene as a junior. He has shattered the Campus school record and owns the best 6A six-dive score this season (282.65 points).
Daniel Jekov, Independent junior
After finishing third in 5-1A in the 100 back and 500 free last season, Jekov is back in the mix again this season. He has the second-fastest 5-1A time this year in the 100 back (55.19) and the seventh-fastest 5-1A time in the 200 free (1:51.30) and eighth-fastest 5-1A time in the 500 free (5:10.67), although his state time in the 500 free last season (4:53.90) proves he can go much faster.
Lane Werth, North junior
After finishing off the 6A medal stand in both of his events, Werth has exploded onto the scene in his junior season. He enters with top-five times in the state in the 200 free (1:46.00) is fifth-fastest in 6A) and the 500 free (4:49.84) is third-fastest in 6A).
William McCabe, Derby junior
One of the most versatile swimmers in Kansas, McCabe has posted top-20 times in the state in six different events this season. He’ll be looking for his first 6A medal this season, as he enters with the sixth-best 6A time in the 500 free (4:56.55) and seventh-best 6A time in the 200 IM (2:02.49).
Quade Harris, Bishop Carroll junior
Harris has turned his attention to the sprints this season, as he owns the fourth-fastest 5-1A time in the 100 free (49.01) and the sixth-fastest 5-1A time in the 50 free (22.54) this season. He finished sixth at the 5-1A state meet last season in the 100 free.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 3:36 PM.
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