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Lancer dynasty continues as Shawnee Mission East earns 3rd straight swim and dive title, amassing most points in school history

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Shawnee Mission East's boys swim team celebrated the school's third consecutive state title in Topeka Saturday. Photo via SME Athletics on Twitter.
Shawnee Mission East’s boys swim team celebrated the school’s third consecutive state title in Topeka Saturday. Photo via SME Athletics on Twitter.

Even by the program’s lofty standards, 2017 was an exceptional year for the Shawnee Mission East boys swim team.

With a balanced attack that featured 19 performances that earned Lancer swimmers top-three event finishes, SM East cruised to a third straight state 6A boys swim and dive championship. The Lancers finished with 394.5 team points at the state meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium in Topeka, easily outpacing second-place finisher Blue Valley North, which had 282.

Though the Lancers had only one swimmer take first place in an individual event with Ian Longan winning the 100-yard backstroke, their championship run over the weekend did feature the foursome of Longan, Aidan Holbrook, Hayden Linscott and Evan Root putting in a 400 freestyle relay performance that set a new state record at 3:08.04.

The title is the 15th in school history, a current Kansas record, and the 11th since head coach Wiley Wright took the helm from Jerry Sprague in 1985. It was also the most points an SM East team has amassed in the state meet.

About the author

Jay Senter
Jay Senter

Jay Senter is the founder and publisher of the Post.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he worked as a reporter and editor at The Badger Herald.

He went on to receive a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, where he earned the Calder Pickett Award. While he was in graduate school, he also worked as a reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World.

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