Creighton Prep boys, Omaha Westside girls back to defend state titles
By Steve Beideck – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Only two of the Nebraska School Activities Association’s championship events – swimming and track and field – can offer fans races that add an exciting team element to sports that are primarily focused on individual achievements.
Relays.
The first of those meets are being contested this weekend as the 89th boys and 52nd girls NSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships are set to be contested at the Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Beginning with the 1-meter diving competition on Thursday, the three-day meet features prelim swims on Friday prior to the championship and consolation finals that begin Saturday at 11:00 am. The girls prelims begin at 10:00 am Friday, followed by the boys at 3:00 pm.
Championship finals will be broadcast live via Nebraska Public Media.
Even in the prelims, it’s the relays that make one of the smallest championship venues – the natatorium only has room for 1,100 fans in the stands – one of the loudest.
When it’s time for eight quartets to line up behind the blocks, the anticipation builds there is more at stake than just a set of medals. The points awarded for each team that places in Saturday’s championship and consolation races are worth double the points earned in individual events.
Relays play a big part in determining which teams will finish the day as boys and girls team champions. Omaha Creighton Prep is the defending boys champion while Omaha Westside is the reigning girls champs.
Each session will begin – and end – with a relay event. The 200-yard medley relay is the first event, and each session will close with the 400 freestyle relay. Near the midway point of the meet is the 200 freestyle relay.
Prep will face a strong challenge from both Lincoln East and Omaha Westside in its pursuit of the boys team title while Omaha Marian is looking to trade places with Westside after finishing as the runner-up in the girls meet a season ago.
Below is a quick preview of each event. More than 25 swimmers entered in the meet this weekend have committed to swim at the collegiate level. You can follow all of the state swimming and diving championship action at the following links.
Schedule | Thursday and Friday Live Stream (NFHS Network)
Saturday Championship Finals (Nebraska Public Media) | College Commitment List
Boys
Diving: The boys diving competition will have five top divers with a seed score over 400 battling for the top spot on Thursday. Top-seeded Collin Farr of Lincoln High is followed closely by Elkhorn junior Enzo Morello and Skutt-Mount Michael senior Easton Crouse.
200 medley relay: Less than one second separates the top three teams with Lincoln East as the top seed, just 0.31 seconds ahead of Prep’s season best. The Warriors are less than a half-second behind Prep.
200 freestyle: Only 0.16 seconds separate top seed Austin Lewis of Prep and Westside’s Jack Boerner. Defending champion Jadeon Carter of East is seeded third.
200 individual medley: Ryan Mendlick of Prep has a time – 1:51.65 – that is 4.22 seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
50 freestyle: Mason Zadina of Millard South and Evan Niemeyer of Prep are the only two this season to post a time under 21 seconds.
100 butterfly: Zadina and Niemeyer are also 1-2 in this event. East has a pair of seniors with the same last name – Reid and Braxton Frederick – seeded third and fourth, respectively.
100 freestyle: Prep’s Ryan Mendlick, at 45.25, is 2.02 seconds faster than anyone else.
500 freestyle: Carter is also the defending champion in this event, but he’s seeded second behind Austin Lewis of Prep, and they are the only two with sub-4:42 performances this season.
200 freestyle relay: Prep’s seed time of 1:24.37 is nearly 2.5 seconds ahead of East; Westside checks in third with Kearney and Elkhorn not far off the pace.
100 backstroke: East sophomore Eje Kim is the lone swimmer to have a time this season under 51 seconds.
100 breaststroke: East’s Carson Agnew and Bennett Bacon are seeded 1-2 in this event.
400 freestyle relay: Prep and Westside are 1-2 in this event, with Millard North checking in more than two seconds faster than fourth place East.
Girls
Diving: Duchesne seniors Sydney McCoy and Jackie Johnson are the top seeds in the girls diving competition which will open the meet on Thursday morning. Lily Sherman (Papillion-La Vista-Papillion-La Vista South), Leila Steinhoff (Marian) and Celia Hodge (Millard West) round out the top-five seeds.
200 medley relay: Marian leads the field with the 1:45.21 posted at the Metro Conference meet; Elkhorn and Millard South are the other two teams with a seed time under 1:47.
200 freestyle: The Crusaders have the top two seeds in this race with junior Meredith Peyton and senior Alaira Hadford.
200 individual medley: Like Mendlick in the boys 200 IM, Marian’s Easton Glandt is just over four seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
50 freestyle: Millard North freshman Leah Inman is the only swimmer to have a sub-24-second time (23.73); Hastings senior Abbey Fish not only has a great name for a swimmer but is seeded second at 24.10.
100 butterfly: Peyton is the top seed at 55.40 with Elkhorn freshman Alice Ogura and Patriots senior Parker Schmieding separated by just 0.02 seconds behind her.
100 freestyle: Inman is the top seed in this event at 51.42; Fish again is second at 52.19.
500 freestyle: Hadford and Westside’s Piper Hagen are separated by just 0.35 seconds and also are 10 seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
200 freestyle relay: Less than one second separates the top three quartets – Marian, Elkhorn and Lincoln East.
100 backstroke: Millard South’s Kindsey Joyce and Schmieding are seeded first and third, respectively, with Ogura between them as the two seed.
100 breaststroke: Glandt became just the fourth swimmer in state history to go under 1:03, doing so at the Metro meet and is more than two seconds faster than her two closest rivals.
400 freestyle relay: The Crusaders are the top seed at 3:31.41 with Elkhorn and Westside within striking distance.
Steven Beideck is a freelance writer based in Omaha. He has been the main source for Nebraska prep swimming news for many years with his writing for the Omaha World-Herald.
Editor Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.