Introducing the 2023 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 2023 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.
Trinity Academy sophomore Aleca Howard earned the nod for Swimmer of the Year after winning a pair of individual golds at the Class 5-1A state meet. Below are the full All-Metro selections.
2023 Wichita Eagle All-Metro Girls Swimming and Diving team
Kiersten Elliott, Andover sophomore
Now a three-time relay state champion, Elliott doubled up on the podium in her individual races this season. She finished with 5-1A medals in the breaststroke (fourth, 1:07.37) and 200 free (2:01.91), then helped the Trojans defend their title in the 200 medley relay and also swam a leg on Andover’s second-place 400 free relay team this year.
Mari Griffin, Andover sophomore
Griffin finished top-three in all four of her events this year at the 5-1A state meet, adding another relay state title to her collection. Griffin finished runner-up in the backstroke (55.84) and her time of 55.44 in the preliminaries finished as the fastest time in Kansas this season. She also added a third-place finish in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 2:07.74, while swimming a leg to help Andover defend its title in the 200 medley relay and also one on Andover’s second-place 400 free relay squad. After just her sophomore year, Griffin is already a four-time state champion — with three coming in relays and one individual from last year’s backstroke title — and also a two-time All-Metro pick.
Aleca Howard, Trinity Academy sophomore
After finishing runner-up in both of her events as a freshman, Howard took the final step on top of the podium in both events as a sophomore. The Trinity product logged a season-best time of 2:04.22 to win the 200 IM title by more than three seconds, then completed the golden sweep later with a season-best time of 1:03.86 to edge out the victory in the breaststroke. She was one of only two double individual champions at the 5-1A state meet and a two-time All-Metro selection.
Abby Jones, East junior
The versatility of Jones continued in her junior season, as she has now won an individual state medal in four different events in her career. Jones was on the podium in both of her events at the 6A state meet, finishing fifth in the 200 IM (2:12.54) and sixth in the backstroke (1:00.75). She also swam a leg on East’s 400 free relay, which finished in eighth place, to help her earn her second straight All-Metro nod.
Kate Kochenderfer, Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore
A first-time All-Metro selection, Kochenderfer picked up a third-place medal in both of her individual events at the 5-1A state meet this season. The Kapaun sophomore repeated her third-place finish in the 500 free in a time of 5:21.27, then improved her finish to third in the 200 free with a season-best time of 1:56.18. She also swam a leg on the Kapaun relay teams that took fifth (400 free) and sixth (200 medley).
Sophia Mandanis, Andover sophomore
After being a championship relay swimmer last season, Mandanis blossomed in her individual events as a sophomore. She improved her finish in the 200 free from eighth at last year’s 5-1A state meet to second place this year with a season-best time of 1:55.94, plus a fourth-place finish in the butterfly (59.04). On top of that, Mandanis picked up her third career gold medal in a relay by helping Andover defend its title in the 200 medley relay, while she also swam a leg on the Trojans’ 400 free relay team that took second. She is a first-time All-Metro selection.
Karis Reynaga, Bishop Carroll senior
Reynaga cemented her status as one of the best to ever come through Bishop Carroll with her third straight 5-1A state meet with four medals. She finished runner-up in both the 50 free (24.29) and 100 free (52.74) and ended her individual career with one gold medal, three silver medals and two bronze medals. She also helped the Carroll relay teams finish second (200 free) and third (400 free) this year, as Reynaga finished as a two-time state champion with two silvers and a bronze in the relays. She was selected All-Metro in all three of her years.
Sayler Roberts, Campus senior
Roberts finished her career among the best to ever come out of Campus, pulling off a double-medal performance for the second straight year. She stood on the 6A podium for the third straight year in the 200 free with a fourth-place finish in a time of 1:58.67, then added another fourth-place finish in the backstroke in a time of 59.74. She ended her career as a two-time All-Metro selection and five-time individual state medalist.
Emma Todd, Andover senior
From off the podium to state champion, Todd completed her meteoric rise in the diving world by winning the 5-1A title this season with a score of 400.7 points. After finishing in ninth place at last year’s state meet, Todd finished her career on top and earned her first All-Metro nod.
Genevieve Wilhite, Bishop Carroll freshman
The only freshman to be named All-Metro, Wilhite started her career with a bang: four medals and four top-four finishes at the 5-1A state meet. Wilhite finished fourth in both of her individual races: the backstroke (59.00) and 200 IM (2:14.35). She also swam a leg on Carroll’s 200 free relay (second) and 400 free relay (third) in her first state meet.
Andover’s 200-yard medley relay
For the second straight year and with three of the same legs back, Andover won the 5-1A state title in the 200 medley relay. This year the relay featured four sophomores, as Mari Griffin, Kiersten Elliott, Sophia Mandanis and Marisa Scholl won the state race by nearly three seconds with a season-best time of 1:48.78. Griffin, Elliott and Mandanis were on last year’s gold-winning relay and all three are All-Metro picks this year.
Bishop Carroll’s 200-yard freestyle relay
Carroll’s 200 free relay team was loaded this season with two All-Metro selections in senior Karis Reynaga and freshman Genevieve Wilhite, while juniors Teagen Patterson and Bryanna Bailey also helped the team finish in second place at the 5-1A state meet with a time of 1:42.27.
Andover’s 400-yard freestyle relay
The same relay team that won the 200 medley relay teamed up to finish second place in the 400 free relay, as sophomores Mari Griffin, Kiersten Elliott, Marisa Scholl and Sophia Mandanis finished in a time of 3:40.72. Griffin, Elliott and Mandanis were all All-Metro team selections this season.
Alec Lebeda, Kapaun Mt. Carmel coach
After serving as assistant coach last season, Lebeda took over as head coach and led Kapaun to its second straight City League team championship. The Crusaders also had another strong showing at the 5-1A state meet, finishing in sixth place as a team with 143 points led by Sydney Turner and Kate Kochenderfer, who both earned medals in both of their individual events.
All Metro second team
Bryanna Bailey, Bishop Carroll junior
Maggie Bailey, Bishop Carroll freshman
Faith Butler, Andover Central sophomore
Georgia Devine, Circle senior
Angela Ewert, Hesston freshman
Katherine Grace, Collegiate senior
Camille Keeler, Maize South sophomore
Jordan Kleeman, East freshman
Briley Larcom, El Dorado sophomore
Sydney Schumaker, Maize South freshman
Sydney Turner, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior
Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s 200-yard medley relay (Makenzie Amphone, Kate Kochenderfer, Savannah Austin, Isabel Wentzel)
Collegiate’s 200-yard freestyle relay (Lana Sandid, Katherine Grace, Carlyle Johnson, Michaela Strecker)
Bishop Carroll’s 400-yard freestyle relay (Genevieve Wilhite, Maggie Bailey, Bryanna Bailey, Karis Reynaga)
Bethany Bastian, Andover coach
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