HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Buhler made the most of its home meet Tuesday, pulling away for the team championship at the Buhler Girls Swimming Invitational held at the Hutchinson YMCA. The meet also marked senior night for Payton Ball, Avery Schrader and Payton Thompson.
The Crusaders piled up 463 points to finish comfortably ahead of Andover Central (404), while Maize South was third at 267. McPherson placed fourth with 265 points in a tight battle near the top of the standings.
Buhler used its depth throughout the meet to secure the title, posting top-three relay finishes and multiple strong individual swims. The Crusaders finished second in the 200-yard medley relay in 2 minutes, 11.40 seconds and added runner-up points in the 400 freestyle relay at 4:30.89.
Buhler also got a win from Reyne Kaufman in the 500 freestyle, where she touched first in 6:36.49.
Other top finishes for the Crusaders included Hannah Swain taking second in the 100 backstroke (1:06.42), Avery Schrader placing fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:19.32), and the 200 freestyle relay team of Swain, Evey Brooks, Harper Kendrick and Addyson Tech finishing third in 2:01.82.
Buhler also got fourth-place points from Reyne Kaufman in the 200 freestyle (2:26.47), sixth-place finishes from Brooks in the 100 breaststroke (1:26.04) and Regan Walle in the 100 freestyle (1:04.74), plus seventh-place swims from Walle in the 100 breaststroke (1:28.61) and Madlyn Moore in the 500 freestyle (9:13.28).
McPherson was led by Ella Schrag, who captured the 100 butterfly title in 1:10.11, edging a strong field for one of the Bullpups’ top performances of the day.
Adyson Wiens added a pair of standout swims for McPherson, placing second in the 100 freestyle in 58.96 and fourth in the 100 backstroke in 1:09.77. Her backstroke time also met state consideration.
McPherson also showed strength in distance events, sweeping two of the top three spots behind Buhler’s Kaufman in the 500 freestyle. Zoe Busenitz was runner-up in 6:58.47, Kennedy Hecker placed third in 7:29.26 and McKenzie Dammann was fifth in 7:41.45.
Kaylee Frank added a fifth-place finish in the 200 individual medley (3:01.88) and later took ninth in the 100 breaststroke (1:30.78), while Josie Charvat placed ninth in the 100 butterfly (1:32.21) and 12th in the 100 backstroke (1:25.96).
McPherson’s top relay finish came in the 400 freestyle relay, where Schrag, Brinnley Robinson, Frank and Wiens placed fourth in 4:34.62. The Bullpups also took fourth in the 200 medley relay (2:18.75) and eighth in the 200 freestyle relay (2:13.50).