Brueggen hoping for a medal in her first state swim meet

Louisburg freshman Sabra Brueggen will compete in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke at the Class 5-1A state swim meet this weekend in Lenexa.

Sabra Brueggen made a name for herself this season in the high school swim world as she became the first Louisburg swimmer to qualify for state in all eight individual events.

Brueggen will compete against the best the state has to offer beginning Friday at the Class 5-1A Kansas State Swim Championships.

She will also do it as a freshman, but big meets are nothing to new to Brueggen. She has swam competitively for much of her young life and has faced some big challenges along the way.

The state meet is just another one of those stops for Brueggen.

“I have swam against older swimmers my whole life, and this is no exception,” Brueggen said. “I’m a little bit nervous, because it’s important in how I represent myself with all the expectations that have been set on me. However I’m confident in my training and I will trust in myself for rising to the occasion.”

Preliminaries for the 5-1A state meet begin at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center in Lenexa. The top 16 in each race will compete in the finals beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Swimmers are only allowed to compete in two individual events at state, so Brueggen went with the ones that are most familiar to her — the 50-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke.

Going into the competition, Brueggen currently has the fifth fastest time in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.47 and is currently a favorite to get a medal in the event.

Brueggen is currently sitting 11th in the 50 freestyle in 25.86 seconds. The top eight in each event receive a state medal.

“I have always dreamed of this moment, since I was a little girl swimming for the (Louisburg) Barracudas, and now that it is here, I have a lot of expectations for myself,” Brueggen said. “My goal is to place top eight in both my events, more specifically I want to place top three in my 100 back. The first step is believing in myself, and with all the support I have around me, I know I will have a successful weekend.”

Although the state meet is quickly approaching, she knows it can’t get here fast enough and Brueggen is thankful for all the support and help she received this season competing for the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg swim team.

“Representing Louisburg at the state meet as a freshman has been a dream of mine since I was young,” she said. “It means the world to me to have this opportunity, and I couldn’t have done it without all of the people that have helped me along the way.”