Trio of seniors win Andover girls swimming another Kansas state title
After announcing their arrival to the world of Kansas high school girls swimming as champions, a trio of seniors at Andover are leaving as champions.
Mari Griffin, Kiersten Elliott and Sophia Mandanis have practically rewritten the program record books during their illustrious 4-year careers that have coincided to help establish Andover as a premier program in the state.
The group saved its best for last, winning another Class 5-1A team championship for Andover and breaking two state meet records this past Saturday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium in Topeka. The same trio also helped the Trojans win the 2022 state title when they were freshmen.
“You go through cycles of seniors and you always remember them, but a group like this doesn’t come around very often,” Andover coach Bethany Bastian said. “It’s their speed, their work ethic, their determination, their confidence, it just sets the tone for the whole program. I won’t ever say it was easy, but it was just a lot of fun coaching them and I’m going to miss them.”
After spending the majority of her career chasing the state meet record in the 100-yard backstroke, Griffin capitalized on her advantage in the underwaters phase to finally achieve her dream with a time of 54.88 seconds — easily clearing the 9-year-old record of 55.15 held by Bishop Miege’s Cailey Grunhard.
It was an emotional victory for Griffin, an Arkansas signee who thought she had broken the record last year at the state meet only for a soft touch at the finish to cost her the record. She finished her career as a 3-time champion in the event.
“I actually was going for the record in the prelims and was totally off, so I changed my mindset for the finals,” Griffin said. “I just wanted to go out there and enjoy my last 100 back of my high school career. Honestly, it didn’t feel like a best-time swim, but when I finished, I heard my sister screaming at me and I didn’t have my contacts in, so I couldn’t see the time. I squinted and saw the 54 and I was so excited. I was just over the moon.”
Griffin was part of another state meet record on Andover’s 200-yard medley relay team, which fittingly also included Elliott and Mandanis. If that wasn’t sweet enough, Griffin’s younger sister, Hollyn, a freshman, recorded a personal-best anchor leg to help Andover record a time of 1 minute, 46.09 seconds to shatter the 8-year-old state meet record held previously by Miege by a full second.
“I call our seniors the ‘old ladies’ and the old ladies set the tone for us to be successful,” Bastian said. “They had a goal and they executed their race plan. They weren’t cocky, but they were very confident in their training and who they were as swimmers and I think that helped Hollyn swim the fastest leg she’s ever swam in that stroke.”
In an expected battle with Blue Valley Southwest, the 2-time reigning champions with six of the last 11 state titles, Andover was clinging to a 1-point lead halfway through the meet.
Bastian thought the team race swung in the eighth event, the 500-yard freestyle, and ninth event, the 200-yard freestyle relay. Hollyn Griffin shaved more than 10 seconds off her prelim time to finish in 5:16.68 to take fourth in the finals, while senior Anaya Madden, sophomore Brynn Eilert, freshman Ella Goodman and freshman Alli Zerger teamed up to take third in the relay with a time of 1:44.12.
It was a true team effort from Andover, which had all 10 swimmers advance to at least one final to help score 304 points — the most in a 5-1A state meet since 2016 — to edge out BV Southwest by 27.5 points.
Mari Griffin (champion in 100 back, second in 200 individual medley), Elliott (champion in 100 breaststroke, fifth in 100 free), Mandanis (second in 100 butterfly, third in 100 breaststroke), Hollyn Griffin (fourth in 500 free, fifth in 200 individual medley) and Madden (seventh in 200 free, 11th in 100 butterfly) were all double medalists for Andover. Other contributors for the team included freshman Emily Wallace and freshman Madey Zerger.
“It says a lot about how resilient they are and how strong of a work ethic they had,” Bastian said. “I’ve never seen a group of kids work as hard as they did. They had one common goal and put the team before themselves and that’s what set them apart. This group has crushed records since they were freshmen and I think those records are going to stand for a long time.”
The championship celebration was already emotional with the trio soaking in their last time swimming together before Griffin (Arkansas), Elliott (Drury) and Mandanis (Trinity) head their separate ways in college.
But it was even more special with the presence of former teammate Natalie Neugent, now a sprinter at SMU who was a senior on the 2022 title team and helped mentor all three swimmers who blossomed into stars.
“Natalie was the leader who started it all for us,” Mari Griffin said. “We were her little sisters on the team and she taught me, Kiersten and Sophia so much and was a great role model. We were all crying at the end of the meet because it was so cool for her to come back and support us. It was just really cool to show her how much we learned from her and apply that to our last meet together.”
Wichita-area 6A state swimming results
East junior Jordan Kleeman notched a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly (57.89) and fifth-place finish in the 100 back (59.47). She also swam a leg on East’s 200 free relay team that took eighth in 1:44.86, as she was joined by sophomore Kaitlyn Ly, senior McKenna Blessant and junior June Schmidt.
Derby sophomore Ridlee Parkhurst collected two individual medals in the 100 breast (sixth, 1:10.41) and 200 free (seventh, 1:58.95). She was joined by freshman Hope Friedel, senior Leah Rogers and junior Michaela Blankenship to take seventh in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:56.34.
Heights senior Sydney Albers doubled up on the medal stand with eighth-place finishes in both the 100 free (56.25) and 100 breast (1:11.89).
Wichita-area 5-1A state swimming results
For the second straight year, Hillsboro junior Lauryn Vogt took home the gold medal in 50 free and 100 free. Vogt, a Kansas verbal commit, has won the 50 free title all three years, as she broke her own state meet record in the event with a time of 23.39 and also produced a winning 100 free time of 50.28. She was joined by junior Talia Jost, sophomore Austyn Driggers and junior Gracelyn Just to pick up relay medals in the 200 medley (eighth in 1:59.89) and 200 free (1:45.50).
Wichita Trinity senior Aleca Howard won her third straight title in the 200 IM with the fastest time in Kansas this season in 2:03.50, edging Andover’s Mari Griffin by less than two-tenths of a second. Howard, a Missouri State recruit, also took second in the 100 free in a time of 51.92.
Maize South had three individual medalists in junior Sydney Schumaker (third in diving, 393.10), senior Camille Keeler (fifth in 100 breast, 1:09.67) and sophomore Madelyn McCluskey (seventh in 100 free, 55.66). The Mavericks also had two relays place, as Keeler and McCluskey were joined by freshman Chloe Keeler and senior Erin Wilson to take sixth in the 200 medley (1:58.16) and eighth in the 200 free (1:48.33).
Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Kate Kochenderfer was a double medalist after taking second in the 500 free (5:07.74) and fifth in the 200 free (1:56.54), while junior Gabby Kingman took sixth in diving (345.10). Kochenderfer was joined by senior Isabel Wentzel, junior Emily Kauffman and freshman Anna Vermeeren to take fourth in the 200 free relay (1:44.34) and by Wentzel, Vermeeren and senior Alexandra Grimm to take sixth in the 400 free relay (3:51.57).
Andover Central junior Sienna Hurst was a double medalist, collecting a sixth-place finish in the 50 free (25.17) and eighth-place finish in the 100 free (55.72). Meanwhile, senior Faith Butler took fifth in the 500 free in 5:22.73. Hurst and Butler were joined by sophomore Lindsay McIntyre and senior Sarah McClellan to take fourth in the 400 free relay in 3:48.56.
Other individual double medalists from the area were Norwich junior Kimberlyn Grim (second in 200 free, 1:53.64; fifth in 100 back, 58.78); Valley Center senior Jillian Davis (third in 100 butterfly, 58.34; third in 100 back, 57.65), Bishop Carroll junior Genevieve Wilhite (fourth in 200 free, 1:54.11; fourth in 100 back, 57.96) and El Dorado senior Briley Larcom (third in 50 free, 24.43; sixth in 100 free, 53.85.
Other Wichita-area individual medalists included Bishop Carroll junior Maggie Bailey (seventh in 200 IM, 2:16.51); Hutchinson junior A.J. Gooch (seventh in 100 breast, 1:12.27), Hesston junior Angela Ewert (eighth in 200 free, 2:00.48), McPherson senior Bree Pickerell (eighth in 500 free, 5:37.52).
The Winfield 400 free relay team of senior Jordan Hughes, freshman Karsyn Hutto, senior Lydia Nelson and freshman Ansley McCaslin took seventh in a time of 3:54.10.
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