KSHSAA 6A Boy’s State Championships
- Lenexa School District Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center
- February 16th, 17th, & 18th
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Full Results
Looking at relay results alone, the Kansas High School Athletics Association (KSHSAA) Boy’s 6A State Championships reveals a combative struggle between three teams: Overland Park-Blue Valley Northwest, Olathe East High School, and Overland Park-Blue Valley North.
Overland Park-Blue Valley Northwest won the 200 medley relay (135.37); Olathe East won the 200 freestyle relay (1:27.65); and Overland Park-Blue Valley North won the 400 freestyle relay (3:14.20). Despite not winning a single relay, Shawnee Mission East High School placed 2nd overall in the team standings, recording a 5th-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:38.20), a 3rd-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay (1:28.10), and a 4th-place finish in the 400 free relay (3:17.47).
Shawnee Mission South Junior Grady O’Connor picked up a pair of victories in the 100 and 200 freestyles, claiming the 100 in 46.29 and the 200 in 1:41.80. O’Connor was slightly faster at his high school conference championships one week earlier, the 2023 Boy’s Sunflower League Championships, where he notched a 46.27 and 1:40.89, respectively, which stand as his current lifetime best times.
Overland Park-Blue Valley Northwest’s Micah Churchill dominated the 100 butterfly, hitting the 50-yard wall in 22.58 seconds, right on state record pace. Churchill continued to pull away on the back end of the race, though he fell off record pace, hitting the wall in 49.21. Churchill won by a full 3 seconds and was the only swimmer in either meet, 1-5A and 6A, to crack the 50-second barrier. Churchill also placed 2nd in the 200 IM earlier in the meet, clocking a 1:55.79, a new lifetime best by about 1.5 seconds. Churchill was also a part of Overland Park BVNW’s champion 200 medley relay, where he split a 22.36 to contribute to a total time of 1:36.04. Churchill capped off his meet with a 3rd-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay where he contributed a 47.38 lead-off split, the fastest flat-start in the field.
Overland Park-Blue Valley Northwest’s Will Christie won the 500 freestyle in 4:51.89, about two seconds off his prelims time. Shawnee Mission East’s Jack McClelland posted a 4:53.37 for 2nd. This is the first time in the history of the KSHSAA 6A meet (inception 2010) that no swimmer in the A final has broken the 4 minutes and 50 seconds barrier in the boy’s 500 freestyle.
Wichita Northwest’s Brock Wallace won both the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke, claiming the former in a 1:54.95 and the latter in a 51.51. Wallace had the fastest backstroke split in the championship final of the 200 IM, as well as the fastest closing 50 in the 100 backstroke. Of the 63 points scored by Wichita Northwest, Wallace was responsible for 40 of them.
Olathe East’s Kobe Otero claimed the 50 freestyle in 21.35, a new lifetime best by 0.31. Otero also placed 4th in the 100 freestyle in 47.87. Otero anchored Olathe East’s 200 freestyle relay to victory with a 20.97 split, and also contributed a 24.93-second backstroke split to Olathe East’s 200 medley relay which placed 2nd behind Overland Park-Blue Valley Northwest.
Olathe East’s Charlie Matthews narrowly won the 1-meter diving competition, beating Lawrence Free State’s Elliot Ahlvers 491.50 to 483.00, respectively. The overall team champion, Overland Park-Blue Valley North, only had one diver score points, while Shawnee Mission East had four divers score points. In total, Blue Valley North came away with 9 points from diving while Shawnee Mission East earned 48 points, giving Shawnee Mission East a 39-point edge on the boards.
- Overland Park-Blue Valley North HS 268
- Shawnee Mission East HS 252
- Overland Park-Blue Valley Northwest HS 225
- Olathe East High School 218
- OP Blue Valley West HS 193
- Olathe Northwest HS 188
- Shawnee Mission North HS 118
- Lawrence High School 111
- Lawrence-Free State HS 98
- Shawnee Mission South HS 95
