Blue Valley West High School, located in Overland Park, KS, won the Kansas 6A Girls’ High School State Championships in a commanding 333 points, 44.5 points ahead of runners-up Shawnee Mission East (288.5 points). Blue Valley West’s team and the meet overall were highlighted by strong performances from underclassmen swimmers, particularly freshmen.

Blue Valley West kicked off the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay, winning by over two seconds in 1:47.51. The team of freshman Sasha Weiner (27.09), sophomore Caitlyn Chopra (31.11), sophomore Avery Johnson (26.01), and freshman Anya Pivonka (23.30) was tied with Lawrence Free State at the 150-yard mark, only to see Pivonka pull away and post the fastest freestyle split by a margin of 1.14 seconds. Given the team’s youth, the State Record of 1:45.28, set by Blue Valley North in 2024, will be tested over the next few years.

Shawnee Mission East’s team of CoCo Reiser (25.17), Darcy Kroening (24.30), Georgia Boyd (24.79), and Teni Oyetunji (24.21) won the 200 freestyle relay in a 1:38.47. Blue Valley West’s quartet of sophomore Greta Reardon (25.42), Sophomore Johnson (25.19), freshman Amber Stringer (25.57), and freshman Hayden Benbow (24.21) took third in 1:40.39.

The last race of the day, the 400 freestyle relay, was won by an entirely freshman quartet from Blue Valley West. Stringer (54.49), Weiner (54.80), Pivonka (52.81), and Benbow (52.96) combined for a time of 3:35.06, more than three seconds ahead of runners-up Blue Valley North (3:38.42).

Stringer went on to become Blue Valley West’s only individual champion, winning the 500 freestyle in 5:05.68, recording a 4.32-second margin of victory in the process over fellow freshman Evie Boshart of Shawnee Mission Northwest. Benbow and Johnson placed fourth (5:16.34) and fifth (5:16.36), respectively, in the 500 freestyle, earning Blue Valley West 49 points in a single heat. Stringer also took second in the 200 IM 2:10.14. Both swims were off of Stringer’s lifetime bests of 5:01.54 and 2:09.03, respectively, both recorded in March at the 2026 Speedo Sectionals Region VIII Championships.

Lawrence Free State freshman Ella Marsh won the 200 IM in 2:02.80, shaving 1.40 from her prelims time and winning by 7.34 seconds. In March at the 2026 Speedo Sectionals Region VIII Championships, Marsh posted a 2:04.84 in the 200 IM to place 12th, which itself represented a 2.49-second drop from her previous lifetime best, meaning that Marsh has shaved a total of 4.53 seconds in the event in a 10-week time period. Marsh later recorded a runner-up finish in the 100 butterfly with a 57.23.

Senior Maggie Dahl of Blue Valley Southwest claimed both sprint freestyle titles, first winning the 50 freestyle in 23.14, making her the only swimmer to break the 24-second barrier in the field. Freshmen Anya Pivonka and Sasha Weiner of Blue Valley West placed second and third, respectively, in times of 24.12 and 24.55. Dahl later won the 100 freestyle in a similar fashion, posting a 50.77 to make her the only swimmer sub-53 in the field. Meanwhile, the duo of Pivonka and Weiner would switch places in the 100 backstroke, this time with Weiner placing second in 57.59 and Pivonka placing third in 58.46

Fia Boshart, a junior from Shawnee Mission Northwest, captured two individual state titles. First, in the 100 butterfly, Boshart posted a 55.22, more than two seconds clear of the next-fastest competitor. Later, in the 100 backstroke, Boshart posted a 57.28, still 0.31 clear of the runner-up. Boshart also contributed a 24.68 butterfly split on Shawnee Mission Northwest’s 7th-place 200 medley relay, as well as a 24.85 lead-off split on the 200 freestyle relay to earn fifth. Younger sister Evie Boshart placed second in the 500 freestyle with a 5:09.00 and picked up a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle with a 1:55.64. E. Boshart also contributed a 25.12 split on Shawnee Mission Northwest’s 5th-place 200 freestyle relay, and also led off the 200 medley relay in a 28.35.

Senior Libby Barney of Olathe East achieved victory in the 200 freestyle with a 1:53.11, adding slightly to her time of 1:52.80 from prelims. Barney also placed third in the 500 freestyle with a 5:09.71. Abby Stidham-Ebberts, a junior from Mill Valley, won the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.36, dropping nearly two seconds from her prelims time of 1:06.34. Sophomore Katharine Costello of Olathe East also dipped under the 65-second barrier, posting a 1:04.82 after registering a 1:06.13 to emerge as the top seed in prelims.

Irene Gettya, a junior from Olathe East, won the diving with 409.00 points, with senior Avery Metcalf of Olathe North coming in second with 311.95 points.

Top-10 Team Scores

1. Blue Valley West – 333 points
2. Shawnee Mission East – 288.5 points
3. Olathe East – 245 points
4. Blue Valley North – 209 points
5. Free State – 188 points
6. Wichita-East – 164 points
7. Shawnee Mission Northwest – 148 points
8. Blue Valley Northwest – 122 points
9. Olathe Northwest – 111 points
10. Mill Valley – 83 points