Kapaun boys turn ‘dream into reality’ by winning first City League swimming title
The trio of Austin Schmidt, Jackson Burrus and Tommy Higgins made a promise to themselves early in their swimming careers at Kapaun Mt. Carmel that they would become City League champions before they graduated.
It seemed reasonable enough on the surface, but a whole lot more daunting when you consider the history.
When the Kapaun trio entered high school, Wichita East was beginning the second decade of a dynasty. No team had topped the Blue Aces in the city since 2008. Meanwhile, Kapaun had never won a city title in school history.
That all changed on Saturday when Schmidt, Burrus and Higgins fulfilled their pact and became city champions, ending East’s 13-year reign and leading Kapaun to its first City League championship in runaway fashion with a team score of 354 points finished off in the Wichita Heights pool on Saturday.
“They were going to do whatever it took,” Kapaun coach Haley Knapp said. “They put in the work and they were able to make their dream become a reality. It was really cool to see the excitement on their faces.”
Schmidt was Kapaun’s only individual champion, winning the 50-yard freestyle (22.71) and 100-yard freestyle (49.02) titles, while Burrus was runner-up in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke and Higgins added third-place finishes in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke.
But winning the best in Wichita tag was far from a three-man effort. Of the 16 swimmers Kapaun took to the swimming portion of the meet on Friday, 15 of them scored points in at least one of their events with 13 of them placing in both of their races.
“The depth that we have this year is amazing,” Knapp said. “It took a lot of teamwork. A lot of the boys had to swim in events they were strong in, but maybe wasn’t necessarily their favorite or best events because it was best for the team. Our coaching staff really appreciated the boys who stepped up and offered to do that because it was really helpful for us. I think the teamwork aspect of it all was the best part.”
Kapaun scored major points from Frank Alberti (third in 200 free, second in 500 free), Brandon Kinman (second in 100 fly, third in 100 back), Sam Knapp (third in 200 IM, fifth in 100 breast), Colton Hill (third in 500 free, sixth in 200 free), Jack Judkins (fifth in 200 IM and 100 back), Dimitri Fernando (fifth in 100 free, sixth in 100 breast) and Andrew Guyer (fourth in 500 free, seventh in 100 back). The Crusaders also received points from Ian Ruesser, Jacob Feuerborn, Ben Heppler, Cooper Burrus, Jacob Pham and Carson Byrd.
The Crusaders also teamed up to win two of the three relays, as the team of Alberti, Higgins, Kinman and Schmidt took home the 200 medley relay title with a time of 1:38.01 and the squad of Kinman, Jackson Burrus, Alberti and Schmidt won the 400 free relay title in 3:23.48.
After winning City League, Kapaun will turn its attention to making a run at state with the Kansas high school boys swimming and diving state meet taking place in Topeka from Feb. 17-19.
“It definitely sounds a little crazy (for Kapaun to be champions) because for so long it’s been East,” Knapp said. “They’ve been such tough competitors, so it’s fun to be able to achieve this goal. But I know things go in cycles and I’m sure East will be back on top soon because coach Joe (Hutchinson) has a great program. He’s made everyone else work even harder.”
While East saw its run as top team in Wichita come to an end, the Blue Aces did have the top performer of the meet. East senior Drayden Bell, an Alabama signee, put on a show, shattering a decade-long record in 200 free with his season-best time of 1:41.64 and breaking another record in the breaststroke with his time of 57.57.
Other league champions from the results were Northwest’s Brock Wallace (200 IM and 100 backstroke), Northwest’s Giani Benoit (diving), East’s Jackson Kleeman (100 butterfly) and North’s Lane Werth (500 free). Bishop Carroll’s 200 free relay team of Luke Morrow, Tyler Rump, Wilson Eustace and Quade Harris won the other relay title.
Wichita City League boys swimming and diving results
This story was originally published February 6, 2022 at 12:13 PM.
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