​Eagles swim team prepares for State meet

by Michael Smith

     Evan Reich and the rest of his relay teammates were close to making it to the Missouri State High School Swimming and Diving Championships the last four years.
     The Grain Valley senior had relay teams finish just outside the top 32 among Class 1 teams during his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons.
     Now, for his senior season, an Eagles relay team has finally broken through. For the first time in the five-year history of the Grain Valley swim team, a relay team will swim at state. The 200 free relay team of Reich, Landon Gilbert, Mason Enlow and Gage Wright achieved a qualifying time of 1:36.66 at the last-chance meet last week to punch their ticket to state.
     Junior Kollin Hansuld and Wright also qualified in the 1-meter diving event last Saturday at districts by finishing in second and third place, respectively, as the Eagles will compete in three events at state.
     The Eagles will compete Friday at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.
     All nine members of the team will travel to St. Peters as Riley Strickland, Matthew Ditzler, Clayton Bivens and Haden Harshman will go as alternates.
     “I couldn’t have been more proud of the boys,” Grain Valley head coach Julie Riley said. “We had some state consideration cuts, too, but we didn’t get in on those. It’s been a great season with a great group of guys.
     “The other day, they all said they didn’t want the season to end. To me, that’s what is successful, that they made it to state.”
     All three relay teams broke school records for Grain Valley this season but it was the 200 free team that pushed through.
     “We have had a lot of development throughout the season,” Reich said. “We’ve been cutting time and setting records the entire season. Going to state is the culmination of our hard work.
     “It’s all in, all the time. That is our team motto. We have gotten closer and we are a family. We are a unit and we work hard together.”
     Wright is a rare athlete who was able to qualify for state in both diving and a swimming event for the Eagles. He provided a small Grain Valley team with some versatility.
     I swam as a kid and one time when I was swimming, a lifeguard told me I should try diving,” Wright said. “I just went and tried it out and kept swimming, too. Swimming and diving just came naturally to me, so now I am doing both.”
    Added Reich: “We’re super glad to have someone like Gage. To be good at swimming and diving shows how good of a natural athlete he is.”
     In the 1-meter diving event, Wright said he is looking to add in more difficult dives before state and said he is looking to have fun at his first state event.
     “I am just glad I made it as a freshman and I am just looking to improve,” Wright said.
     Handsuld is making his second trip to state after taking 20th place in the state diving event last year. This time, his main goal is to make it into the top 16 and make it to the final cut, which would qualify him for an all-state honorable mention award.
     The junior said he’s peaked on the difficulty of his dives for this year and he’s working on making his dives crisp and smooth, especially his reverse 1 ½ pike.
     “I am working with my coach to get it down,” Hansuld said of the reverse 1 ½ pike. “I just need to listen to my coach and do what I have been doing in practice. I think I have a pretty good shot of making it into the top 16.” 

The Grain Valley swim and dive team qualified it's 200 free relay team and two divers for the Missouri State High School Swimming and Diving Championships. The team will compete Friday at the St. Peters Rec-Plex. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley freshman Gage Wright will compete in the 1-meter diving event and the 200 free relay at state. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley junior Kollin Hansuld is making his second trip to state and he said his goal is to make it into the top 16 in the Class 1 driving event. Photo credit: Michael Smith