Excluding the state meet, Olathe holds one of the most competitive meets of the year. This year proved no different, although it did welcome improvement for Manhattan High.

Due to the high level of competition in the meet, only the top 10 swimmers in each event are able to go. Because of this, there isn’t as much of an opportunity to score points for the overall tally.

“The Olathe meet is always super competitive and we always do bad but it all went better than we thought it would,” senior Grace Walker said. “We only take top 10 to the Olathe meet, so not everyone got to go.”

MHS took 12th place out of the 18 teams that attended the meet and had few opportunities to break into the top 15 of any events. Sophomore Blaise Hayden placed 10th in the 200 and the 500-meter freestyle; senior Kelly Wichmann finished in third place for the 100-meter breaststroke and ninth in the 500-meter freestyle; freshman Holly Randall ended in 11th place for the 100-yard backstroke and 13th in the 50-meter freestyle; sophomore Lauren Cassou finished 11th in the 100-meter freestyle and the 400-meter relay comprised of Randall, Wichmann, Hayden and Cassou.

“There wasn’t as many people to score points and this meet was a lot more competitive than other ones we went to,” Hayden said, “so it was kind of nice because … you could race more people and there were closer matches.”

The complexity and level of competition of the meet provided a different atmosphere than most of the other meets that occur throughout the season.

“I just knew that it was going to be a different type of meet,” freshman Anna Poggi-Corradini said. “There were a lot of schools there so it was a pretty crowded meet and there were a lot of people there who were trying to get times to qualify for state.”

Despite not earning a high overall placing, the girls were satisfied with their performance.

“Considering the circumstance on Friday, I think we all worked really well together as a team and not only as individuals,” Walker said, “but I think we all tried our hardest and everyone just swam really well on Friday.”

The diving team competed last week at Salina South. Sophomores Josie and Jill Broxtermann placed third and fourth respectively.

The next meet for both the swim and the dive team will be hosted by MHS at the K-State Natatorium at 3:30 p.m. on April 12.