Miami County boys swim team takes first on Senior Night

Louisburg’s Bridger Baus swims the butterfly during the home meet for the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg team in Osawatomie.

OSAWATOMIE – With its first home
meet canceled due to weather, it had been a long wait for the Miami County boys
swim team to be able to compete in its home pool.

Last Wednesday, the team comprised
of swimmers from Osawatomie, Paola and Louisburg hosted four other schools at
the Ozone pool in Osawatomie.

It was well worth the wait as the Miami County team took first place with a score of 585 points and blew the competition out of the water. Topeka-Hayden was second with 422 points.

The Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg team also made some noise individually as they earned state consideration times in three events.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team
of Remington Rice, Isaiah Waggerman, Theo Hebert and Justin Bradley finished
second overall in 1 minute and 39.52 seconds to earn their state consideration
time.

Hebert did the same in the 100
butterfly as he took first in 1:00.59. Bradley also won the 200 freestyle in
2:05.28 to earn another state consideration time.

It was also Senior Night as the
program honored six swimmers for their time with the program, including
Louisburg senior Sam Bradley. The other seniors who were recognized were Bailey
Barnes, Justin Bradley, Hebert, Waggerman and Gabriel Talledo.

The Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg seniors are (from left) Bailey Barnes, Justin Bradley, Sam Bradley, Theo Hebert, Isaiah Waggerman and Gabriel Talledo.

“The boys had a great meet,” coach Gerri Hart said. “Everyone
scored points and everyone improved in a least one event. We won the meet,
which the senior boys where very happy about.”

The Miami County team placed high
in several events, including the 400 freestyle relay of Justin Bradley, Rice,
Waggerman and Hebert, who finished first in 3:54. The other 400 team of Cole
Brown, Bridger Baus, Brayton Brueggen and Cooper Hipp took third in 4:04.

The 200 medley relay of Baus,
Brueggen, Brown and Hipp got the meet started with a third place finish in
2:03, while Drake Baus, Sam Bradley, Drake Burdine and Gabriel Talledo was
seventh in 2:16.

In the 200 freestyle, Brueggen was
second, while Drake Baus and Aaron Koechner were sixth and 11th,
respectively.

Braden Branine was second in the 200 individual medley in 2:47 and edged out Rice, who finished right behind him in third. Burdine and Hipp were fifth and sixth in the event.

Louisburg freshman Brayton Brueggen swims to a second place finish in the 200 freestyle.

Branine also went on to take
second in the 100 breaststroke to lead the Miami County team, while Hipp
(fourth), Sam Bradley (7th) and Wyatt Axmann (11th) also
placed.

Hebert placed first in the 100
backstroke. Brueggen placed fourth. Drake Baus was eighth. Drake Burdine placed
ninth.

Justin Bradley placed second in the 500 freestyle. Brown
was third. Bridger Baus placed fourth. Talledo was seventh.

Waggerman placed third in the 100 freestyle. Sam Bradley
placed ninth. Axel
Harrison was 15th. Koechner placed 16th.

Sam Bradley, Drake Baus, Branine and Talledo placed sixth
in the 200 freestyle relay.

Waggerman placed fifth in the 50 freestyle. Talledo was
eighth. Axmann placed 13th. Harrison was 16th.

Miami County team takes fourth at Blue Valley Southwest

The Miami County boys swim team added
more state consideration times to its list Saturday at a meet at Blue Valley
Southwest.

Justin Bradley received a state
consideration time in the 200- and 50-yard freestyle and earned a consideration
time in the 100 freestyle earlier in the year. Theo Hebert earned a state
consideration in the 100 backstroke.

The 200 freestyle relay of
Bradley, Gabriel Talledo, Hebert and Isaiah Waggerman took fourth and had a
state consideration time, as did the 400 freestyle relay of Hebert, Bridger
Baus, Waggerman and Bradley.