Introducing the 2022 Wichita Eagle high school girls swim and dive All-Metro team
The Wichita area featured some of the best high school swimmers in Kansas this season and that star power is highlighted on The Wichita Eagle’s 2022 All-Metro girls swimming and diving team.
The All-Metro squad consists of nine of the top swimmers, a top diver, a top coach and three top relay teams from Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties based heavily on performances at the state meet.
Wichita East senior Ariana Dirkzwager earned the nod for Swimmer of the Year honors on the All-Metro team after winning a pair of individual golds and earning All-American consideration time in the 200-yard freestyle at the Class 6A state meet. Below are the full All-Metro selections:
2022 Wichita Eagle All-Metro girls swimming and diving team
Ariana Dirkzwager, East senior
For the second straight year, Dirkzwager won a pair of individual gold medals to cap off a standout career as a 7-time state champion in just three state meets. Not only did she successfully defend her Class 6A title in the 100 free, but she cut enough time to earn All-American consideration to win the 200 free title for the first time in her career. Her times in the 100 free (51.61) and 200 free (1:50.32) were both the fastest in the state this season. She also was a 4-time City League champion this year, most notably breaking the meet record in the 100 free. On top of her individual golds at state, Dirkzwager swam a leg on East’s 400 free relay and 200 free relay teams that each placed fourth. She is signed to swim at the Division I level at Georgia Tech and was a 3-time All-Metro swimmer.
Katherine Grace, Collegiate junior
Grace rose to the occasion at the state meet, ripping off her best race of the season in the 50 free (24.40) to break seed and finish second overall in Class 5-1A. The time finished as the sixth-fastest in the state this season, improving upon her sixth-place finish at state in the 50 free last season. She also picked up another medal in her other open race, placing seventh in the backstroke in a season-best time of 1:02.76.
Mari Griffin, Andover freshman
The Andover freshmen class was vital to the Trojans winning the Class 5-1A team state championship, the first team state title in program history, and Griffin was front and center. Not only did she swim the lead-off leg in Andover’s championship-winning 400 free relay and 200 medley relay teams, but she added an individual gold in the backstroke with a season-best time of 56.74. The 3-time state champion also added a fourth-place medal in her other open event, the 200 IM with a time of 2:12.67. Griffin also was a 4-time league champion, which included the AV-CTL Div. II-IV individual medley and backstroke titles.
Aleca Howard, Trinity Academy freshman
It was a superb start to a career for Howard in her first state meet, as she came away with a pair of silver medals in her open races. The Trinity freshman nearly won the Class 5-1A breaststroke title, finishing less than three tenths of a second away from gold in a time of 1:06.32, which was the fourth-fastest time in the state. She added her second silver in the 200 IM, where she entered with the fourth-fastest time in the field but moved up by cutting nearly four seconds with a season-best time of 2:093.32. Howard also swam the anchor leg on Trinity’s medal-winning relay teams in the 400 free relay (seventh) and 200 medley relay (eighth).
Abby Jones, East sophomore
Jones came away with four state medals for the first time in her career, placing in both of her open events and also swimming a leg on East’s 200 free relay and 400 free relay that both took fourth place. After swimming the 500 free at state last year, Jones dipped all the way down to the 100 butterfly this year to great success. She was the City League champion in the event and placed sixth in Class 6A in a time of 1:01.33, while also adding a fourth-place medal in the 200 IM in a time of 2:14.39. Jones, who won a state title on a relay last year, is now a 7-time state medalist and was also a 3-time City League champion this season.
Natalie Neugent, Andover senior
Not only did Neugent successfully defend her state title in the 50 free, but she was also the senior leader and driving force behind Andover winning the Class 5-1A team state championship, the first in program history. Neugent finished off an illustrious career in style, as she collected 12 state medals in three state meets with three gold medals and three silver medals in her open races. This year, she won the 50 free title in 24.18 and finished runner-up in the 100 free in 52.62. The future Division I swimmer at SMU also was a 4-time AV-CTL Div. II-IV champion this year, winning the open titles in the 50 free and 100 free, and a 3-time All-Metro pick.
Karis Reynaga, Bishop Carroll junior
After winning a pair of golds at last year’s state meet on two relays, Reynaga ascended to the top of the Class 5-1A podium this year on her own with a title in the 100 free. It was an impressive win, as she edged out the defending champion in the event with a season-best time of 52.53. Reynaga also added a third-place finish in her other open event, the 200 free in a time of 1:54.23. In her first two state meets, Reynaga now has a gold, a silver and two bronze medals in her open events. She also added a second City League title to her career collection, this time in the 500 free this season, and is now a 2-time All-Metro selection.
Sayler Roberts, Campus junior
Few improved as much as Roberts did in her junior year at Campus, as she had a breakout performance at the state meet to come away with a pair of top-four finishes in Class 6A. Her most impressive leap came in the backstroke, an event she placed 10th at state last year, but she cracked a minute for the first time this year and finished with a bronze medal at state in a season-best time of 59.72. She also cut her time at state by more than four seconds in the 200 free from last year, which earned her a fourth-place medal in a season-best time of 1:57.03. She was the AV-CTL Div. I champion in the backstroke and 200 IM, the second straight year she won a pair of league golds.
Ana Self, Derby sophomore
No one in the area came close to Self as the top diver, especially after a breakout performance at the Class 6A state meet. After qualifying in 10th place in the preliminaries, Self moved up to fifth after the semifinals and finished with a silver medal in diving after the finals with a score of 391.8 points. Self also successfully defended her AV-CTL Div. I championship in diving this season.
Zoe Winter, Bishop Carroll senior
One of the best swimmers to ever come through Wichita, Winter ended her storied career with another pair of gold medals. She was a dominant butterfly swimmer and finished her career as a 3-time state champion in the event in three state meets, this time winning the Class 5-1A title in a personal-best time of 55.98. Winter also reclaimed her title in the 200 IM, which she won as a freshman in 2019 and finished runner-up in 2021, with a season-best time of 2:05.49. In three state meets, Winter finished with 12 state medals and as a 8-time state champion, which includes five individual golds and a silver. Winter, a Division I signee at Missouri who finished as a 3-time All-Metro pick, was also a 5-time City League individual champion and added the 200 IM title to her collection this season.
Andover’s 200-yard medley relay
Senior Natalie Neugent anchored the relay composed of three freshmen, which included Mari Griffin, Kiersten Elliott and Sophia Mandanis, to win the Class 5-1A state championship in a season-best time of 1:48.40. Neugent and Griffin both won individual golds and were All-Metro picks, while Elliott and Mandanis were second team selections.
East’s 200-yard freestyle relay
While East’s run of three straight Class 6A state championships came to an end in the event, the Blue Aces were still able to muster a fourth-place finish in a time of 1:42.83 that was the best in the area. The team was made up of three seniors in Ariana Dirkzwager, Alida Nola and Sophia Randle and sophomore Abby Jones. Dirkzwager was a two-time individual gold medalist, while Jones joined her on the All-Metro team this year.
Andover’s 400-yard freestyle relay
It was the perfect way to finish off Andover’s first team state championship in program history, as the Trojans won the final event of the state meet. It was the same combination as the title-winning 200 medley relay team, as senior Natalie Neugent led a trio of freshmen in Mari Griffin, Sophia Mandanis and Kiersten Elliott to win the Class 5-1A title in the 400 free relay in a season-best time of 3:37.12.
Bethany Bastian, Andover coach
A no-brainer pick after Andover completed a dominant season that culminated with the program’s first team state championship, as the Trojans dominated the Class 5-1A field to score 258 points and win the team title by 56 points. It was quite the timing with Andover opening its own swimming complex this season, which correlated with the arrival of arguably the most impressive freshman class in the state. That’s why the Trojans believe this could be the start of something special under Bastian.
All-Metro second team
Tarissa Adams, Maize junior
Alex Bailey, Bishop Carroll senior
Bryanna Bailey, Bishop Carroll sophomore
Kiersten Elliott, Andover freshman
Carson Griffin, Derby freshman
Kate Kochenderfer, Kapaun Mt. Carmel freshman
Sydney Le, Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior
Sophia Mandanis, Andover freshman
Trinity McDowell, Northwest junior
Kayla Milligan, Valley Center sophomore
Emily Sprowls, Maize junior
Sydney Turner, Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore
Megan Walls, Trinity Academy senior
Bishop Carroll’s 200-yard medley relay (Teagen Patterson, Bryanna Bailey, Zoe Winter, Emerson Daughtery)
Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s 200-yard freestyle relay (Isabel Wentzel, Anna Richardson, Kate Kochenderfer, Olivia Orth)
Bishop Carroll’s 400-yard freestyle relay (Karis Reynaga, Teagen Patterson, Bryanna Bailey, Zoe Winter)
Kelsey Kauffman, Bishop Carroll coach
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