As Blue Springs prepared to go after its 10th consecutive Suburban Big Seven conference swimming and diving title, Wildcat senior standout Shelby Bolin took time to reflect on what would be the last conference meet of her high school career.
Bolin, headed to the University of Pacific next year, was focused, intense and prepared for the meet as were the Wildcats as a whole. The task of qualifying more swimmers for state and cemented Blue Springs as the conference’s premier program was at hand, and Bolin and crew were not going to be denied in Saturday’s finals at the Gladstone Community Center.
“I’m a little nervous, but I’m so excited,” Bolin said as the meet got under way. “It’s my senior of conference and one of our goals this year was to definitely win conference and we’re looking OK right now. As long as everyone does well, we should be OK.”
Consider the Wildcats well. Led by first-place finishers Bolin, Ibby Simcox, Anna Juarez and its 400 freestyle relay team, Blue Springs captured the conference title with 522 points, easily outdistancing second-place Liberty (394) by 128 points.
Blue Springs South finished third with 317 points and Lee’s Summit North (314) and Lee’s Summit (226) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Best times and state cuts,” Blue Springs co head-coach Rob Sturman said of the Wildcats’ Big Seven meet goals. “We did a good job. We felt pretty good about it. Everybody swam fast, had best times – which is good. We just want to get as many to state as possible and that’s the most important thing right now.”
Bolin claimed first-place medals in the 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 58.47 seconds) and 100 backstroke (59.43) and Simcox finished first in the 200 individual medley (2:12.78) and 500 freestyle (5:18.42).
Juarez won the 100 butterfly with a time of (1:03.43) and the Wildcats’ 400 relay team won with a time of 3:43.13.
That Bolin would win the backstroke event wasn’t a major surprise, but she is one of the area’s best 200 and 500 freestyle swimmers. Alas, she had qualified earlier in the season for the state swim meet in the backstroke and used the conference meet to gain momentum for the event.
“I kind of like doing the 100 backstroke because it’s something different,” Bolin said, “I’ve always done the (200) and the (500), but I’m excited to do the (200) and (500) at state.”
Bolin will have plenty of company at the state meet in St. Peters. Several Wildcats punched tickets to the grand stage in two weeks, including Liz Oles, Bryonna Lewis, Maria Juarez and Kristen Parsons.
Oles qualified for state in the 200 freestyle by swimming a 2:04.65 cut in Friday’s preliminaries. Lewis qualified in the 500 freestyle, Maria Juarez made the cut in the 100 breaststroke and Parsons qualified in the 100 and 200 freestyle over the weekend.
“I was very excited,” Oles said. “I was really shocked, but I was really happy.”
Blue Springs South’s Anna Lajoie and Rachel Honig both qualified for state in the 50 freestyle with strong performances at the Big Seven meet. Morgan Connors used the conference meet to qualify for state in the 100 and 200 freestyle.
“I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” said Honig, who also used the Big Seven meet to get into the 100 freestyle field at state. Honig added she plans to go to state on a mission. “A swim coach a long time ago once told me that once you’re satisfied you shouldn’t swim anymore. I’m not satisfied.”
All three of the Jaguars’ relay teams swam state qualifying times in Saturday’s finals. Freshman Breanne Schlenger claimed second place in one-meter diving, totaling 346.20 in the 11-dive event to finish behind only Liberty’s Tamesha Peterson’s 390.05.
Lisa Menne led Lee’s Summit North, posting second-place finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle.
SUBURBAN BIG SIX: Truman’s Kara Schoneboom is the best 100-yard butterfly swimmer in the Suburban Big Six conference. The Patriot swimmer claimed a first place medal Saturday with a time of 1 minute, 2.17 seconds.
Schoneboom’s performance helped the Patriots finish fourth as a team with 174 points. Park Hill South won the Big Six with a whopping 627 points and William Chrisman finished sixth with 112.
“She did OK,” Truman and William Chrisman head coach Trevor Tomney said of Schoneboom’s swimming. “We’ve been swimming pretty hard long distances this week and she hadn’t tapered at all. I was expecting her to swim around her best times and she was, so she swam fine.”
Kasey Dickerson led William Chrisman with a pair of 11th-place showing in the 100 and 200 freestyles.
FINAL RESULTS
SUBURBAN BIG SEVEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday’s Finals
At Gladstone Community Center
Team scores: 1. Blue Springs, 522; 2. Liberty, 394; 3. Blue Springs South, 317; 4. Lee’s Summit North, 314; 5. Lee’s Summit, 226; 6. St. Joseph Central, 181; 7. Raymore-Peculiar, 73.
Winners and area finishers (top 8 are finals and first-team all-conference, Nos. 9-16 are consolation finals and honorable mention all-conference):
200-yard medley relay: 1. Liberty, 1:53.75; 2. Blue Springs (Abby Stanley, Maria Juarez, Ibby Simcox, Megan Wright), 1:54.29; 3. Blue Springs South (Haley Sparks, Chloe Moore, Anna Lajoie, Allyssa Kays), 1:59.67; 4. Lee’s Summit (Ashley Nolan, Rebecca Foley, Claire Bohlman, Rachel Reynolds), 1:59.99; 5. Lee’s Summit North (Katey Carlton, Jenny Hayden, Anna Lee, Felicia Bender), 2:06.43.
200 freestyle: 1. Shelby Bolin, BS, 1:58.47; 2. Lisa Menne, LSN, 2:01.48; 4. Morgan Connors, BSS, 2:04.40; 5. Anna Juarez, BS, 2:05.82; 6. Liz Oles, BS, 2:08.08; 8. Maria Juarez, BS, 2:10.65; 9. Maddie Ultican, BSS, 2:10.44; 11. Karlee Benefiel, LSN, 2:11.94; 12. Natalie Holder, LS, 2:16.09; 13. Payton Branch, BSS, 2:16.61; 14. Taylor Johnson, LSN, 2:17.01.
200 individual medley: 1. Ibby Simcox, BS, 2:12.78; 4. Hanna Kleiboeker, LSN, 2:20.70; 5. Bryonna Lewis, BS, 2:21.04; 6. Rachel Reynolds, LS, 2:21.64; 7. Marin Durkin, BSS, 2:23.75; 8. Sarah Grace Miller, LS, 2:36.13; 9. Felicia Bender, LSN, 2:25.22; 11. Rachel Embree, BS, 2:30.39; 12. Anna Lee, LSN, 2:30.42; 13. Ashlyn Black, LS, 2:34.55; 14. Julie Shalley, BS, 2:36.94; 16. Alexis Kulash, BSS, 2:38.85.
50 freestyle: 1. Shannon Myer, SJC, 24.87; 2. Ashley Nolan, LS, 25.07; 3. Rachel Honig, BSS, 26.09; 4. Kylie Cates, LSN, 26.21; 5. Megan Wright, BS, 26.52; 6. Alex Wilson, BS, 26.55; 7. Claire Bohlman, LS, 26.88; 8. Anna Lajoie, BSS, 27.25; 9. Bailey Mullins, BS, 27.27; 10. Laura Green, BSS, 27.41; 16. Jordan Sievers, BSS, 28.59.
One-meter diving (11 dives): 1. Tamesha Peterson, Liberty, 390.05; 2. Breanne Schlenger, BSS, 346.20; 3. McCall Christopher, LSN, 345.95; 5. Meryll Pampolina, BS, 329.05; 6. Patty Pampolina, BS, 317.65; 8. Maesyn Umstattd, BSS, 287.40; 9. Paige Helling, LSN, 284.20; 10. Kennedy Swanson, BS, 281.75; 11. Kristin Rodriguez, BS, 240.65; 12. Britney Machin, BSS, 224.35.
100 butterfly: 1. Anna Juarez, BS, 1:03.43; 3. Felicia Bender, LSN, 1:04.42; 4. Abby Stanley, BS, 1:04.43; 5. Anna Lee, LSN, 1:05.14; 6. Julie Shalley, BS, 1:06.14; 7. Anna Lajoie, BSS, 1:06.71; 9. Katie Buckner, BS, 1:07.77; 10. Karlee Benefiel, LSN, 1:08.84; 11. Claire Bohlman, LS, 1:08.97; 13. Taylor Johnson, LSN, 1:11.41; 14. Holly Hepting, BSS, 1:12.77; 16. Julia Clem, LS, 1:15.90.
100 freestyle: 1. Shannon Myer, SJC, 54.10; 2. Lisa Menne, LSN, 54.34; 3. Ashley Nolan, LS, 56.01; 5. Kristen Parsons, BS, 56.91; 7. Morgan Connors, BSS, 57.27; 8. Rachel Honig, BSS, 57.61; 9. Alex Wilson, BS, 57.79; 10. Megan Wright, BS, 58.21; 11. Kylie Cates, LSN, 58.57; 12. Haley Sparks, BSS, 59.81; 13. Katey Carlton, LSN, 59.92; 14. Allyssa Kays, BSS, 1:00.11; 16. Natalie Holder, LS, 1:02.08.
500 freestyle: 1. Ibby Simcox, BS, 5:18.42; 2. Bryonna Lewis, BS, 5:32.75; 3. Hanna Kleiboeker, LSN, 5:32.99; 4. Rachel Reynolds, LS, 5:42.01; 6. Maddie Ultican, BSS, 5:50.53; 8. Rachel Embree, BS, 6:09.75; 9. Jenny Hayden, LSN, 5:58.58; 10. Ashlyn Black, LS, 6:04.63; 11. Ellie Sennef, LSN, 6:09.28; 13. Halle Cooley, LSN, 6:22.03.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Liberty, 1:43.95; 2. Lee’s Summit North (Kylie Cates, Hanna Kleiboeker, Jenny Hayden, Lisa Menne), 1:44.87; 3. Blue Springs (Alex Wilson, Kristen Parsons, Megan Wright, Kristen Parsons, Shelby Bolin), 1:44.93; 4. Blue Springs South (Rachel Honig, Marin Durkin, Morgan Connors, Anna Lajoie), 1:45.85; 6. Lee’s Summit (Claire Bohlman, Natalie Holder, Ashlyn Black, Sarah Grace Miller), 1:48.02.
100 backstroke: 1. Shelby Bolin, BS, 59.43; 2. Abby Stanley, BS, 1:01.98; 5. Liz Oles, BS, 1:06.08; 6. Katey Carlton, LSN, 1:07.20; 7. Haley Sparks, BSS, 1:08.18; 8. Emma Wheat, LSN, 1:09.38; 10. Payton Branch, BSS, 1:10.09; 11. Marin Durkin, BSS, 1:10.16; 12. Sarah Grace Miller, LS, 1:10.18; 14. Allyssa Kays, BSS, 1:11.79; 16. Katie Buckner, BS, 1:12.71.
100 breaststroke: 1. Maria Backs, Liberty, 1:09.94; 2. Maria Juarez, BS, 1:13.52; 3. Kristen Parsons, BS, 1:17.19; 5. Chloe Moore, BSS, 1:17.37; 6. Alexis Kulash, BSS, 1:17.67; 7. Bailey Mullins, BS, 1:17.76; 8. Rebecca Foley, 1:18.82; 9. Sarah Bohlman, LS, 1:19.34; 10. Anna Brooks, BS, 1:19.69; 15. Lois Miller, LS, 1:22.03.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Blue Springs (Anna Juarez, Ibby Simcox, Shelby Bolin, Kristen Parsons), 3:43.13; 2. Lee’s Summit (Ashley Nolan, Rachel Reynolds, Ashlyn Black, Sarah Grace Miller), 3:50.53; 3. Blue Springs South (Rachel Honig, Haley Sparks, Marin Durkin, Morgan Connors), 3:50.78; 4. Lee’s Summit North (Lisa Menne, Katey Carlton, Hanna Kleiboeker, Kylie Cates), 3:51.37.
SUBURBAN BIG SIX CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday’s Finals
At Gladstone Community Center
Team scores: 1. Park Hill South, 627; 2. Park Hill, 485; 3. Winnetonka, 331; 4. Truman, 174; 5. Oak Park, 156; 6. William Chrisman, 112.
Winners and area finishers (top 8 are finals and first-team all-conference, Nos. 9-16 are consolation finals and honorable mention all-conference):
200-yard medley relay: 1. Park Hill South, 1:56.55; 4. Truman (Kelsey Whittle, Taylor Williams, Kara Schoneboom, Sarah Franklin), 2:15.38; 5. William Chrisman (Natalie Bang, Michelle Cupp, Kasey Dickerson, Paige McCane), 2:38.34.
200 freestyle: 1. Brynn Guardado, PH, 1:56.32; 2. Kara Schoneboom, T, 2:01.90; 11. Kasey Dickerson, WC, 2:26.77; 13. Paige McCane, 2:29.66; 15. Allison Wright, T, 2:41.16; 16. Cary Hotson, T, 2:42.61.
200 IM: 1. Rachel Norfleet, PHS, 2:21.86.
50 freestyle: 1. Mariah Bryant, PHS, 26.13; 12. Sarah Franklin, T, 30.97; 15. Liz Miller, T, 32.88.
One-meter diving (11 dives): 1. Laurel Bartholomew, OP, 334.55; 6. Jane Truster, T, 301.50.
100 butterfly: 1. Kara Schoneboom, T, 1:02.17; 12. Allison Wright, T, 1:29.67; 13. Krishonya Greer, WC, 1:35.85.
100 freestyle: 1. Regan Branchick, PHS, 57.79; 11. Kasey Dickerson, WC, 1:05.20; 13. Sarah Franklin, T, 1:08.81; 14. Paige McCane, WC, 1:10.11.
500 freestyle: 1. Brynn Guardado, PH, 5:15.16.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Park Hill South, 1:43.04; 5. Truman (Kara Schoneboom, Kaylee Miller, Sarah Franklin, Liz Miller), 2:00.56; 6. William Chrisman (Natalie Bang, Michelle Cupp, Paige McCane, Kasey Dickerson), 2:10.76.
100 backstroke: 1. Mariah Bryant, PHS, 1:05.37; 11. Ellie Esry, T, 1:24.34; 12. Cary Hotson, T, 1:26.08; 13. Jessica Ruff, WC, 1:35.11; 14. Natalie Bang, WC, 1:36.23; 15. Hannah Mehner, WC, 1:37.51.
100 breaststroke: 1. Rachael Norfleet, PHS, 1:11.42; 12. Taylor Williams, T, 1:25.43; 14. Bailey Mill, T, 1:29.36.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Park Hill South, 3:47.53; 5. Truman (Ellie Esry, Liz Miller, Kaylee Miller, Allison Wright), 4:52.17; 6. William Chrisman (Krishonya Greer, Julie Hankins, Hannah Mehner, Jessica Ruff), 5:37.77.
