The Great Bend High School girls’ swim team hosted a swim meet on Thursday at Kirkman Activity Center.
The Lady Panthers finished first in 10 events to top Hays and Campus. Great Bend finished with 257 points, beating Hays’ second-place total of 124.
It was the first meet back for some of Great Bend’s veteran swimmers, who missed out on early weeks of practice due to the postseason run of the girls’ basketball team.
“Right now, all of our veterans and most of them are basketball kids, they’ve only had nine days of practice,” GBHS head coach Steve Beaumont said. “I was surprised the times that they were able to swim today considering they’ve only been in the water less than 10 days.
“All things considered, I was really pleased with all the times those girls swam. There are some cases where they beat their time from last year or are close to it. I think that was a pleasant surprise.”
While Beaumont said he’s still trying to move swimmers around to find the right fit, the early success is a good indicator for the rest of the season.
“I try the first three meets to move people around, try people in different places,” Beaumont said. “Every year is different. We have to find some kids to fill some spots, and we’ve already had some pleasant surprises with some kids doing some events for the first time and found out they do it well.”
Freshman Kira Cook won a pair of individual events and was part of two winning relay teams.
Cook won the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:15.78, and the 100 butterfly at 1:10.06.
“In two meets now, she has swam four different events,” Beaumont said. “We knew what kind of ability she had coming in, but she’s definitely stepped it up a notch.
“I told her today, ‘I knew you’d be fast. I didn’t know you’d be quite that fast.’ That’s Kira’s nature. She works extremely hard and she’s very competitive. She gets her eye on that state qualifying time and she wants to go after it every race.”
Cook joined Katy Jerke, Kaylyn Blessing and Michaela Cape to win the 200 freestyle relay (1:56.33).
Along with Kylee Spray, Brenna Haines and Hannah Hildebrand, Cook helped win the 400 freestyle relay (4:16.91), as well.
Hildebrand won the 200 individual medley (2:30.73) and the 100 backstroke (1:06.27).
Cape won the 50 freestyle (28.62) and the 100 freestyle (1:04.62).
Blessing captured first place in the 100 breaststroke (1:23.08).
Cape, Brianna Schartz, Hildebrand and Spray combined to win the 200 medley relay (2:07.84).

HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING
Great Bend meet

GIRLS

Thursday

At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center

Team scores
1. Great Bend, 257; 2. Hays, 124; 3. Campus, 112

Great Bend results
200-meter medley relay — 1. GBHS “A” relay (Michaela Cape, Brianna Schartz, Hannah Hildebrand, Kylee Spray), 2:07.84; 2. GBHS “B” relay (Katy Jerky, Brenna Haines, Jessica Freund, Hadley Murphy), 2:19.42; 5. GBHS “C” relay (Sarah Mauler, Taylor Huslig, Rachel Keenan, Anna Frizzell), 2:35.94
200 freestyle — 1. Kira Cook, 2:15.78; 2. Madeline Vesta, 2:31.31; 3. Murphy, 2:33.18; Huslig, 3:10.13; Michala Bieker, 3:16.92
200 individual medley — 1. Hildebrand, 2:30.73; 4. Spray, 2:48.91; 5. Kalyn Blessing, 2:52.39
50 freestyle — 1. Cape, 28.62; 2. Jerke, 29.17; 3. Emma Williams, 29.87; Carly Boyd, 31.91; Rachel Bussen, 32.53; Mauler, 32.92; Karah Stewart, 34.43; Morgan Harwood, 35.13; Magdiel Rodriguez, 38.16
100 butterfly — 1. Cook, 1:10.06; 2. Vesta, 1:13.25; 3. Freund, 1:24.89
100 freestyle — 1. Cape, 1:04.62; 2. Spray, 1:05.17; 4. Schartz, 1:12.12; Keenan 1:21.17; Bieker, 1:27.72; Rodriguez, 1:27.83
500 freestyle — 2. Haines, 6:50.95; 3. Williams, 7:01.60; 4. Frizell, 7:13.28; Bussen, 8:21.48
200 freestyle relay — 1. GBHS “A” relay (Cook, Jerke, Blessing, Cape), 1:56.33; 2. GBHS “B” relay (Murphy, Schartz, Boyd, Williams), 2:07.15; 5. GBHS “C” relay (Freund, Harwood, Stewart, Bussen), 2:13.67
100 backstroke — 1. Hildebrand, 1:06.27; 3. Jerke, 1:15.36; 4. Stewart, 1:25.66
100 breaststroke — 1. Blessing, 1:23.08; 2. Schartz, 1:27.31; 5. Murphy, 1:34.01; Huslig, 1:29.15
400 freestyle relay — 1. GBHS “A” relay (Cook, Spray, Haines, Hildebrand), 4:16.91; 3. GBHS “C” relay (Frizell, Harwood, Boyd, Bussen), 5:04.40