Nebraska HS Champ Amato-Hanner and Carmel’s Schlies Commit to Kansas

Kansas has received two more female verbals in the class of 2020. Swim Omaha backstroker/IMer Elizabeth Amato-Hanner and Carmel Swim Club backstroker/freestyler Katy Schlies have pledged their commitment to the Jayhawks.

Amato-Hanner is a winter juniors qualifier in the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM. She is also a solid sprint freestyler, though her backstroke and IM were her best events in the 2014-15 season as she hasn’t had a freestyle best since late winter of 2014. She won the 2015 Nebraska HS State title in the 100 back, and added to that a runner-up finish in the 200 IM for her high school, Westside HS.

Amato-Hanner’s Top Times

  • 100 free – 52.38
  • 200 free – 1:51.57
  • 100 back – 55.70
  • 200 back – 2:00.45
  • 200 IM – 2:02.67
  • 400 IM – 4:25.32
  • 100 fly – 56.51
  • 200 breast – 2:22.20

Times in bold were swum this past 2014-15 season

Amato-Hanner is incredibly versatile, and would’ve been one of Kansas’ top swimmers in multiple events last season. Her bests would’ve ranked her 3rd in both backstrokes and the 200 IM, 4th in the 200 free, and 5th in the 100 free.

The Jayhawks will benefit immediately when Amato-Hanner gets to campus– they graduate 3-time school record holder and 2015 NCAA 400 IM B Finalist Chelsie Miller after this season, and a bulk of their top swimmers will be seniors when Amato-Hanner is a first year.

Amato-Hanner would have made A finals in the 200 IM, 100 back, and 200 back at last season’s Big 12 Championships. She also has the means to score in the B finals of the 200 free, 100 fly, and 400 IM. She will likely be an immediate addition to the Jayhawks’ 800 free relay, and also has potential to get onto a number of their other relays. She’ll be an immediate boost to the Jayhawks’ lineup, and is fast enough to be used on pretty much any relay.


 

Carmel Swim Club’s Katy Schlies is a solid back/free combo specialist who also swims for Carmel High School. She swam on their prelims 400 free relay, splitting a 51.03 as the third leg at last year’s IHSAA State meet. Carmel would go on to win that relay and dominate the team scores, as well.

 

Schlies’ Top Times

  • 50 free – 24.70
  • 100 free – 52.15
  • 200 free – 1:53.13
  • 500 free – 4:57.61
  • 100 back – 57.39
  • 200 IM – 2:06.11

Schlies has what it takes to score at the Big 12 Champs level, where she’d be on the B/C final bubble in the 100 free and 100 back and would’ve easily made it back in the 500 free B final.

With her current best times, Schlies would’ve been tied for 4th in the 100 free, 5th in the 500 free, and 6th in the 100 back/200 IM on last year’s top times list for the Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks will bulk up their free and back cores with these two commitments, with Amato-Hanner looking to be a force in the A final range individually at the conference level. They join Carly Straight and Haley Downey in the class of 2020.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email to [email protected]

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Milo Howser
8 years ago

The most practical training philosophy in the world won’t work, if you don t. You decide attitude, effort and interest.

NE SWIM PERSON
8 years ago

Great article, KU is in good shape to have an outstanding season next year! However, Elizabeth Amato-Hanner now swims for Doug Krecklow and Docker Hartfield on Swim Omaha, not on Greater Omaha.

Jayhawk Swim Fan
8 years ago

Carly Straight from Texas and Haley Downey from Oklahoma also verbally committed. Shaping up to be a really good class for KU!

About Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon studied sociology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in May of 2018. He began swimming on a club team in first grade and swam four years for Wesleyan.

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