By Kyle McCaskey

The Derby boys’ swim team gave an up-and-down performance at the 6A state championship meet this past weekend, highlighted by a school record-breaking swim but marred with a few could-have-beens.

Erik Russell finished out his Panther career with two top-five showings.

Russell placed fifth in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke. He was in the running for individual state championships, but a loaded field kept him out of the top spot. He finished a little more than two seconds out of first in both events.

Jimmy Adams, Derby head coach, said there was no doubt Russell gave it his all.

“I don’t ever think Erik could have given any more. That kid always gives 100 percent,” Adams said. “I know he’s going to do his best every time.”

Bryce Hill faced rough waters in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, placing 22nd and 17th, respectively. It marked the second consecutive year Hill has been unable to make it out of preliminaries. 

“I think that he puts so much pressure on himself that by the time he gets there, he hasn’t had good performances,” Adams said. “He practices hard enough. It just hasn’t come out yet.”

Hill rebounded, however, to help Derby’s 400 freestyle relay team shatter the old school record by four seconds. Along with Hill and Russell, Carl Mayou and Jackson Sandstrom brought the team an 11th place finish with a time of 3:23.64.

The quartet also gave Derby a 10th place showing in the 200 medley relay, swimming the event in 1:43.72.

Sandstrom had two close swims, finishing just short of making it out of preliminaries in the 50 and 100 freestyles. 

“It’ll all pay off for him next year,” Adams said. “There are not a whole lot of young kids in the 50 and 100. I think it comes down to being stronger and a little faster.”

Mayou paired with Liam Ormiston, Collin Gosvener and Dalton Kendall to finish 23rd in the 200 freestyle relay.

Derby finished 13th as a team with 54 points. Shawnee Mission East coasted to the team title with 337 points. Among local schools, Wichita East and Maize finished third and fourth, respectively.

The Panthers will graduate a strong supporting cast, as well as its star swimmer in Russell. Russell leaves Derby with four school records. 

“Obviously Erik is the No. 1 guy,” Adams said. “You can’t replace one of the best swimmers to come through Derby. The boys will do it as a collective effort.”

Next year’s squad is expected to be led by seniors Hill and Gosvener. A powerful junior class complements the senior pair, as Sandstrom, Kendall and Mayou have state experience.

6A State Championship - Feb. 16-18 at Topeka

Team results: Shawnee Mission East 337, Blue Valley North 272.5, Wichita East 260, Maize 196, Olathe East 195, Olathe Northwest 169, Lawrence Free State 126, Blue Valley West 110, Shawnee Mission South 101, Washburn Rural 96, Lawrence 84, Topeka 62, Derby 54, Wichita Heights 48, Blue Valley Northwest 47, Olathe South 33.5, Hutchinson 32, Shawnee Mission North 26, Shawnee Mission Northwest 18, Campus 15, Manhattan 10, Wichita Northwest 4, Shawnee Mission West 3

Individual results (Top three finishers and Derby times):

200 medley relay- Maize 1:35.16; Wichita East 1:37.69; Shawnee Mission East 1:39.52; 10. Derby (Erik Russell, Bryce Hill, Carl Mayou, Jackson Sandstrom) 1:43.72

200 free- Sihan Liu, Blue Valley North 1:42.36; Zack Holbrook, Shawnee Mission East 1:44.75; Kyle Cullinan, Wichita Heights 1:45.02

200 IM- Jake Spitz, Wichita East 1:54.01; Troy DeMoss, Shawnee Mission East 1:54.22; Ben Sloan, Lawrence Free State 1:56.03; 22. Bryce Hill, Derby 2:11.03

50 free- Lucas Popp, Maize 21.34; Grant Minick, Shawnee Mission East 21.49; Zach Andregg, Lawrence 21.63; 18. Jackson Sandstrom, Derby 23.02

100 butterfly- Jake Spitz, Wichita East 50.99; Ben Sloan, Lawrence Free State 51.11; Mitchell Wagner, Maize 52.16 

100 free- Lucas Popp, Maize 46.08; Sihan Liu, Blue Valley North 46.70; Grant Minick, Shawnee Mission East 47.62; 5. Erik Russell, Derby 48.31; 17. Jackson Sandstrom, Derby 50.83

500 free- Zach Andregg, Lawrence 4:43.28; Zack Holbrook, Shawnee Mission East 4:46.38; Canaan Campbell, Lawrence Free State 4:46.91

200 free relay- Shawnee Mission East 1:27.46; Blue Valley North 1:28.54; Olathe East 1:28.76; 23. Derby (Liam Ormiston, Collin Gosvener, Dalton Kendall, Carl Mayou) 1:38.22

100 backstroke- Mitchell Wagner, Maize 51.39; Brandon Shinsato, Wichita East 52.91; Mitch Willis, Olathe Northwest 53.04; 5. Erik Russell, Derby 53.61

100 breaststroke- Nate Pirner, Wichita East 59.20; Zach Willis, Olathe Northwest 59.93; Chuck Balkenbusch, Olathe East 59.97; 17. Bryce Hill, Derby 1:05.36

400 free relay- Shawnee Mission East 3:11.08; Maize 3:11.89; Blue Valley North 3:13.81; 11. Derby (Jackson Sandstrom, Carl Mayou, Bryce Hill, Erik Russell) 3:23.64

1 meter diving- Clark Thomas, Olathe Northwest 545.45; Christopher Cusick, Blue Valley North 462.45; Drew Egan, Olathe Northwest 438.15

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