Louisburg freshman Sabra Brueggen recorded four state qualifying times last week at Topeka-Hayden and Blue Valley Southwest.

OVERLAND PARK — Sabra Brueggen already had four state qualifying times going into last week’s competitions at Topeka-Hayden and Blue Valley Southwest.

After it was all over, Brueggen now has double that amount.

The Louisburg freshman qualified for state in four more events — two in each meet — after it was all said and done. Brueggen has now qualified for state in every individual event.

“She will be swimming repeats and trying to post faster personal times from now until the end of the season,” swim coach Mary Argeropoulos said.

On Saturday at the Timberwolf Invitational at Blue Valley Southwest High School, the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg swim team went up against several bigger programs and took sixth with 84. Mill Valley won the meet with 261 points. 

Brueggen qualified for state in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.86 seconds and took second overall. She later qualified in the 100 breaststroke as she was second with a time of 1:13.09.

The 200 medley relay of Cadence Weichert, Bri Shippy, Addie Stuebner and Emma Boehm was seventh in 2:15.

Stuebner also recorded a top 10 finish in the 100 butterfly as she was eighth in 1:20.

Brueggen, Janie Harth, Shippy and Stuebner were 11th in the 200 freestyle relay in 2:13, while Brueggen, Emma Johnson, Harth and Weichert were seventh in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:44.

“This past week was a tough week,” Argeropoulos said. “We had three meets (Tuesday & Wednesday both travel days back to back) and had to deal with missing swimmers and injuries. The girls rose to the challenge and performed well in all three meets stepping in for holes as needed. They continue to shave time off across the board and we are looking forward to pushing hard into the last of our season.”

Last Wednesday, the team traveled to Topeka for the Hayden Invitational and was fourth with 298 points.

Brueggen won the 200-yard freestyle with a state qualifying time of 2:09.91 and teammate Dana Mattison was fifth at 2:36. Brueggen was second in the 100 butterfly with another state qualifying time of 1:05.20.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Brueggen, Harth, Mattison and Stuebner earned a state consideration time in 1:56.99 and took first overall.

The 200 medley relay of Weichert, Stuebner, Mattison and Brueggen finished runner-up in 2:18.

Stuebner went on to take third in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke, while Harth and Weichert were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 50 freestyle. Weichert also took fifth in the 100 freestyle, while Harth was fourth in the 100 breaststroke.

Shippy, Weichert, Ashlynn Willard and Harth ended the meet with a fourth place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.

TOPEKA — The Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg team took its nine swimmers to the Topeka High Invitational last Wednesday to compete against some of the bigger schools in the area.

The Miami County team left with a strong finish as it took fifth overall with 166 points out of 10 teams. Lawrence Free State won with 611 and Washburn Rural was second at 423.

Throw in the fact freshman Sabra Brueggen qualified for state in two more events, and it was a successful outing for the group.

“We are incredibly proud of our girls for posting such a great meet with amazing teamwork and individual efforts,” coach Mary Argeropoulos said. “With 9 swimmers it was quite a feat to represent so well.  Each of the other teams had at least twice as many swimmers. It takes careful planning and spreading out the workload amongst the entire team. 

“Swimmers have to really be willing to ‘take one for the team’ and perhaps swim events that they wouldn’t normally pick to swim in order to earn the most team points possible. Each relay has to step up as well and score well to be competitive. This team is executing everything we are asking of them and more.”

Brueggen finished second in the 500-yard freestyle and qualified for state in the event in 5 minutes and 47.13 seconds. The Louisburg freshman also finished third in the 200 individual medley in a state qualifying time of 2:23.28.

She has now qualified for state in four events after competing in just her third meet.

“It is a privilege to be able to watch an athlete of her caliber in your program,” Argeropoulos said. “We appreciate her fun attitude and joy she brings to the group. She asked to swim the 500 this week and graciously agreed to swim the individual medley to score points for the team. 

“We are proud of her pushing out of her comfort zone in the distance events and are so pleased that she set a new personal record in the 500. She will continue to post qualifying times and we look forward to personal time improvements across the board for Sabra.”

Brueggen, along with Ashley Branine, Dana Mattison and Janie Harth took fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, with a time of 1:58.98, which was close to a state consideration time.

Mattison earned eighth-place finishes in the 200 freestyle and recorded a personal-best time in the 500 freestyle in 6:48.57.

Branine took ninth in the 100 freestyle in 1:08.45 and finished 14th out of 109 swimmers in the 50 freestyle in 30.02. Harth was right behind Branine in 15th in 30.73.

Paola’s Addie Stuebner also had a pair of top 10 finishes as she was seventh in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

The 400 relay team of Stuebner, Emma Boehm, Cadence Weichert and Bri Shippy took ninth, while the medley relay of Boehm, Emma Johnson, Stuebner and Weichert finished 10th overall.

The Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg team is back in action today as it competes at 4 p.m. at Blue Valley Northwest.

Louisburg freshman Sabra Brueggen swims the 100-yard backstroke last Wednesday during the team’s season opener in Osawatomie.

OSAWATOMIE — It didn’t take long for Sabra Brueggen to make a big impact for the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg girls swim team.

Last Wednesday, the Louisburg freshman earned state qualification times in two events during the team’s home opener In Osawatomie.

Brueggen won the 50-yard freestyle in 26.04 seconds and later captured the 100 backstroke in 1:03.82 to qualify for state in both events

“Sabra comes to our OzPaLou team and brings a ton of talent and experience with her,” coach Mary Argeropoulos said. “We are looking forward to seeing her excel in her choice of events this year as she continues to improve her personal best times. She has set a goal to place in the top 5 in the state meet.   Sabra certainly is a boost to our team and will play a big role in inching our relays towards state times as well.”

As a team, the Miami County squad finished second in their home opener by three points to Topeka-Hayden, 481-478.

Although there are only 10 swimmers on the team this year, including five from Louisburg, Argeropoulos is excited to see the girls compete this season.

“We are looking forward to building on traditions from past years,” she said. “We have three strong senior girls leading our team. We have one junior, two sophomores, and four freshmen out this season and each girl is pulling their weight for the team. We expect to see lots of personal records set for the season and are looking to post some qualifying and consideration times for state.”

Junior Dana Mattison returns as the eldest member of the team from Louisburg and is joined by Brueggen, sophomore Ashley Branine and freshmen Cadence Weichart and Janie Harth.

On Wednesday, Brueggen also helped a pair of relays to victories as well. Brueggen, along with Emma Johnson, Addie Stuebner and Branine won the 200-yard medley relay in 2:13.94.

Mattison, Branine, Weichart and Brueggen won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:59.73, while Bri Shippy, Weichart, Harth and Stuebner won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:58.72.

Branine won a pair of individual events as she took first in the 100 freestyle (1:06) and 100 breaststroke (1:29)

Mattison also won two events as she took first in the 500 freestyle in 6:56 and the 200 individual medley in 2:53.

Stuebner and Harth were second and third, respectively, in the 50 freestyle. Shippy was second in the 500 freestyle and Stuebner was runner-up in the 100 backstroke. Johnson took second in the 100 breaststroke.

Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg is back in action today in Topeka.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week two of the spring sports season, sponsored by IronHorse Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.

SABRA BRUEGGEN, FRESHMAN, SOFTBALL/GIRLS SWIM

Louisburg freshman Sabra Brueggen made big contributions to two different teams for the Wildcats last week. It started on the softball field on Mar. 29 as Brueggen collected four hits, including a 2-run double in the first game, to help the Lady Cats to a sweep of Baldwin. She also scored four runs and had two stolen bases.

Last Wednesday, Brueggen hit the waters for the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg girls swim team and qualified for state in two events in her first meet of the season. Brueggen recorded a time of 26.04 seconds to qualify for state and win the 50-yard freestyle. She later went on to win the 100 backstroke and recorded a state qualifying time of 1:03.82.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the spring season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous Winners

Week 1: Lexi Hampton

Louisburg senior Cole Brown finished second in the 200-yard individual medley, and also helped two relays to runner-up finishes, Wednesday at the Independent League Championships in Osawatomie.

OSAWATOMIE — In its final team meet of the season, the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg boys swim team left the waters with a strong performance.

The Miami County team finished second Wednesday at the Independent League Championships that was held at the Ozone in Osawatomie.

OZ-PAO-LOU racked up 388 points to finish runner-up to league champion Piper, which ended with 425 points.

Although they didn’t have any first place finishes, the Miami County crew had several runner-up individual performances and also took second in all three relays.

Brayton Brueggen, Braden Branine, Remington Rice and Cooper Hipp took second in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:57.23, while Rice, Colton Prettyman, Cole Brown and Hipp were second in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:42.65.

Sam Johnson, Luke Hebert, Drake Baus and Brown were runner-up in the 400-yard freestyle relay in time of 3:51.84.

Brueggen, a junior at Louisburg High School, finished second in the 100 backstrokes with a time of 1:06.17, while teammate Baus (1:11) and Evan Retinger were fifth and sixth, respectively. Bruggen also took third in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:11.05 and Hebert was second in 2:09.

Brown, who is a senior at Louisburg, had a strong performance in the 200 individual medley as he was runner-up with a time of 2:24. Branine, a junior, was fourth in 2:38.52.

Branine, another Louisburg swimmer, competed well in the 100 breaststroke as he was second in 1:13.88. Prettyman also took fourth in the event in 1:18.

In the 100 freestyle, Rice, Brown and Hipp were sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the seven.

Paola’s Sam Johnson was second in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 59.86 seconds, while Drake Burdine, another Louisburg senior, was fifth in a season-best time of 1:12.47. Jace Retinger was sixth in 1:17.

Johnson also went on to finish third in the 50 freestyle in 24.84, while Hebert was second in the 500 freestyle in 6:00.39.

The Louisburg 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams will find out soon if they will qualify for the state meet this weekend in Topeka. Both have earned consideration times, as did Paola’s Sam Johnson, during the season.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week six of the winter sports season, sponsored by IronHorse Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.

COLE BROWN, SENIOR, BOYS SWIMMING

Louisburg senior Cole Brown had an impressive outing for the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg boys swim team in his first meet of 2022. Brown helped the Miami County team to a victory in the five team home meet and won three events in the process.

Brown won the 200-yard individual medley and 100 freestyle and set personal best times in both events. He later joined Colton Prettyman, Cooper Hipp and Sam Johnson to win the 200 freestyle relay. Brown also helped 400 freestyle relay team to a second place team finish. Yesterday at Blue Valley Northwest, Brown was a part of the 200 freestyle relay team that earned a state consideration time.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the winter season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Elijah Eslinger

Week 2: Maverick Rockers

Week 3: Aiden Barker

Week 4: Kaven Bartlett

Week 5: Michael Seuferling

Louisburg senior Cooper Hipp swims the freestyle during a meet earlier this season. Hipp, along with seniors Cole Brown, Drake Burdine, Drake Baus and Remington Rice, were honored on Senior Night on Wednesday in Osawatomie.

OSAWATOMIE — In the first time in almost a month, the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg boys swim team was back in action as it had a chance to host a five-team meet. 

At the same time, the Miami County team also had a chance to honor its five seniors — Cooper Hipp, Drake Burdine, Cole Brown, Drake Baus and Remington Rice — for Senior Night.

It turned out to be a memorable night all-around as OZ-PAO-LOU won the meet with 297 points, while Topeka-Hayden was second with 245. Fort Scott, Independence and Coffeyville also competed.

The team racked up seven victories and had several top three finishes in the first process.

Brown won two of those events as he took the 100-yard freestyle in a season-best time of 56.38 seconds. He also had a season-best time in the 200 individual medley as Brown took first in 2:24.45.

Sam Johnson also had a strong performance as he won the 50 freestyle in 24.74 seconds, and the 100-yard butterfly in a personal best of 59.9 seconds.

Junior Braden Branine took the 100 breaststroke in a season-best 1:14.52, while Luke Hebert was first in the 500 freestyle in 6:11 as he knocked nearly 30 seconds off his personal best.

Colton Prettyman, Hipp, Brown and Johnson won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:44.16.

Brayton Brueggen, Branine, Jace Retinger and Hebert took second in the 200 medley relay in 1:59, while Johnson, Brown, Reitinger and Hebert were second in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:01.

Brueggen also went on to finish second in the 200 freestyle as he had a personal-best time of 2:13.88. Brueggen also took second in the 100 backstroke with a season-best 1:05.79.

Hipp finished third in the 50 freestyle in 25.64 and third the 100 freestyle in 1:00. Prettyman later took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:20.

OZ-PAO-LOU is back in action at noon Saturday for a meet at Blue Valley Southwest.

Louisburg senior Cole Brown swims the breaststroke during last Monday’s home meet in Osawatomie. The Miami County finished first out of six teams.

OSAWATOMIE — It was certainly a successful home opener for the Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg boys swim team last Monday in Osawatomie.

The Miami County team finished first in the team standings with 278 points, out of six teams. Topeka-Hayden was second with 205.

In all, the OZ-PAO-LOU team won five events and captured several top five finishes.

“It was extremely satisfying to win at home and put forth a solid team effort,” coach Mary Argeropoulos said.

They started on a strong note with a win in the 200-yard medley relay. Brayton Brueggen, Braden Branine, Remington Rice and Cooper Hipp took first going away in 1 minute and 59.53 seconds.

Brueggen later went on to win the 200 freestyle in 2:14 and Luke Hebert was second. Cole Brown followed it up with a victory in the 200 individual medley in 2:26.

Rice finished runner-up in the 50 freestyle in 25.46, while Hipp and Sam Johnson were fourth and fifth, respectively. 

Johnson went on to win the 100 butterfly in 1:03, Rice was second at 1:08 and Drake Burdine was fourth. Burdine also took second in the 100 backstroke in 1:22.

Brown and Hipp finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 freestyle and Drake Baus took fifth. Branine later took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:14.

In the relays, Johnson, Burdine, Hebert and Rice won the 400 freestyle in 4:03, while the team of Hipp, Brueggen, Hebert and Johnson took second in the 200 freestyle in 1:44. Baus, Colton Prettyman, Evan Retinger and Brown were third in the 200 freestyle.

It has been a successful year so far for the Miami County team as they have three of the top times in the state according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association.

The 400 freestyle relay has the 14th best time in the state, while 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley really are currently 20th in Class 5-1A.

OZ-PAO-LOU are coming off a pair of outings where it had success on the road. 

On Dec. 8, the team traveled to Topeka for the Hayden Invitational and left with a third place team finish with 274 points. Washburn Rural won with 468 and Piper was second with 350.

The 200 freestyle relay highlighted the meet with a second place finish as the team of Rice, Hebert, Hipp and Johnson recorded a time of 1:43.

Brueggen took fourth in the 500-yard freestyle and fifth in the 100 backstroke. Brueggen also helped the 200 medley relay of Brown, Rice and Johnson to a fourth place finish.

Brown also took fifth in the 200 individual medley and helped Baus, Hipp and Brueggen to a fourth place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.

The team is back in action at home on Jan. 19 for its first action in 2022.

LANSING — The Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg boys swim team kicked off its season Saturday for the Lansing Relays.

It certainly had a good start to its season.

The Miami County team finished fifth with 84 points in a meet which were dominated by 6A and 5A schools. Lansing won the meet with 154 points and Manhattan was second with 127.

The team had a pair of relays earn state consideration times in just its first time out.

“We did have a great first outing on Saturday at the Lansing Relays with great showings from all of our freshman swimmers and PR times in almost every event from our returning swimmers,” coach Mary Argeropoulos said. “This is very exciting for our first meet of the year.”

Drake Baus, Braden Branine, Sam Johnson and Remington Rice swam a time of 1 minute and 56.7 seconds in the 200 medley relay to earn the first state consideration time.

Rice, Luke Hebert, Cooper Hipp and Johnson went on to take seventh in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:41.95 for their second state consideration time.

Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg also had a pair of top four finishes.

Rice, Hebert, Brayton Brueggen, Johnson took fourth in the 400 freestyle relay. Brueggen, Baus, Hebert and Hipp also took fourth in the 500 Descendo Relay in 5:17.

Johnson, Colton Prettyman, Hipp and Brueggen also took fifth in the 400 individual medley relay.

Louisburg is back in action today in Topeka.

The Miami County girls swim team poses for a picture following their second place finish at the Independent League Championship last Thursday in Osawatomie. Sophomore Claire Brown will represent Louisburg at the Class 5-1A state meet Saturday in Topeka.

OSAWATOMIE — It was memorable season for the Miami County girls swim team, especially on the Louisburg side of it all.

Louisburg, which joined the Osawatomie-Paola team this season, ended its year with a runner-up finish in the Independent League Championship last Thursday in Osawatomie.

The team finished with 206 points to take second place, while Piper won the league title with 264 points.

Although the season is over for most of the swimmers, there is still one Louisburg athlete going strong.

Sophomore Claire Brown qualified for the Class 5-1A state meet and will compete two events Saturday at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.

Brown becomes the first swimmer in Louisburg history to swim at a state competition and she is looking forward to the challenge.

“Going into season I had a ton of confidence in myself, which help the mindset of working toward that goal,” Brown said. “It is crazy that I am the first girl to qualify for Louisburg swim, and I’m very lucky to have such great support.”

Brown will swim in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard freestyle Saturday. As for how it ends up, she just wants to better herself.

“I’m just hoping to go into state to improve on my personal times, and compete,” Brown said. “Overall I thought for the first year as a small team we did very well. A lot of the girls already had prior experience which helped, and hopefully our team continues to grow. I am very excited to have the opportunity to compete at state as a sophomore. I’ve worked hard and it is paying off.”

Brown provided some memorable moments last last week’s meet, with the help of many of her teammates.

She teamed up with senior Sydney Keaton, sophomore Abby Bradley and freshman Ashley Branine to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a season-best time of 1 minute and 55 seconds.

Brown also went on to finish second in the 100 freestyle with a personal best time of 59.45 seconds. She also took runner-up in the 200 freestyle with a personal best time of 2:13.

The relay team of Keaton, Bradley, Brown and Branine also took third in the 200 medley relay (2:17). Dana Mattison, Libby Barnett, Addie Stuebner and Brianna Shippy finished fourth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:58)

Mattison also went on to take fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:36) and 500 freestyle (7:08).

Other swimmers with top five finishes was Branine as she took fifth in the 50 freestyle (29.15) and 100 freestyle (1:05). Stuebner took fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:16).

The team also had to say goodbye to seniors Sydney Keaton and Libby Barnett as they competed in their final meet.

“Everyone at the meet raced their hardest and we came out as second, which was great for our first year,” Brown said. “It was a great feeling to win the 200 free relay, as it was our last time as a Louisburg group together.”