By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural junior swimming standout Daniel Allen had a valid reason for sitting out the 2024-2025 high school season.
After a season away from high school swimming, Washburn Rural junior Daniel Allen was a part of three wins in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Allen is happy to be back with his Rural teammates this winter, and the Junior Blues are certainly happy to have him.
"I decided to focus on the club career last year to try to get to sectionals and futures, which I made this last summer and just see how far I could get my sophomore year,'' Allen said. "And then this year I'm just doing it (high school) for the guys. This is a lot more fun than club swim and there's a lot more camaraderie on the team since we're all about the same age, and I think that's a good aspect of it.
"We're able to have more fun at the meets. It's not as high intensity (as club), it's more relaxed and there's not as much expectation from you until you get closer to state and league, so I think it's just a good experience overall. I would say all club swimmers should try high school just to feel the different atmosphere.''
Allen made his season debut in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational at the Capitol Federal Natatorium with a pair of individual victories while also helping Rural post a relay victory and a runnerup finish.
Allen won the 200-yard freestyle by more than nine seconds in 1:50.28 and he took a five-second win in the 100 butterfly in 52.82.
Allen also teamed with Castle Wallace, Hunter Kennedy and Joseph Jensen to win the 200 freestyle relay in 136.77 and teamed with Quenten Jessop, Braeden Montgomery and Thomas Appuhn to finish second in the 400 free relay in 3:34.33.
Washburn Rural's Thomas Appuhn was a double individual winner in Wednesday's season-opening Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural's Castle Wallace (top) and Seaman's Kinser Barbosa finished one-three in the 100-yard breaststroke in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Appuhn and Wallace also had three wins on the day, with Appuhn winning the 200 individual medley (2:07.93) and the 100 backstroke (57.15) and teaming with Wallace, Andres Morao-Jaspe and Quenten Jessop to win the 200 medley relay (1:38.95) while Wallace won the 100 breaststroke (1:07.86) and swam on Rural's winning 200 medley and 200 free relays.
Washburn Rural coach Bob Burdick was thrilled with the Junior Blues' opening day performance as Rural won a meet-best seven events and posted five runnerup finishes and a third on the way to a second-place team finish behind Olathe Northwest (514-501).
"We had a lot of surprises with a lot of younger guys who had really great times and we've got to keep building to the future and not just looking at the present,'' Burdick said. "We had nine young guys who had never swam in a meet and suprised us beyond expectations and our top swimmers did great, even dropped time from where they ended last year, so that is fantastic.
"We had a good solid meet and now we can just keep working and building the team.''
Seaman finished fifth with 157 points, led by a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.03) by Kinser Barbosa.
Topeka High's Will Stewart posted third-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (23.52) and the 100 free (53.35).
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
At Capitol Federal Natatorium
Team scores
Olathe Northwest 514, Washburn Rural 501, Manhattan 329, Lansing 191, Seaman 157, Basehor-Linwood 150, Hayden 109, Topeka High 102, Junction City 96, KC-Turner 29, Topeka West 27, Shawnee Heights 4.
Individual results
200 medley relay -- 1. Washburn Rural (Appuhn, Wallace, Morao-Jaspe, Quenten Jessop), 1:38.95; 2. Olathe Northwest, 1:44.02; 3. Manhattan, 149.83.
200 freestyle -- 1. D. Allen, Washburn Rural, 1:50.28; 2. Montgomery, Washburn Rural, 1:59.68; 3. Bond, Olathe Northwest, 207.40.
200 individual medley -- 1. Appuhn, Washburn Rural, 2:07.93; 2. Morao-Jaspe, Washburn Rural, 2:11.44; 3. Mapes, Olathe Northwest, 2:11.86.
50 freestyle -- 1. Branstrom, Olathe Northwest, 22.09; 2. King, Manhattan, 23.17; 3. Stewart, Topeka High, 23.52.
One meter diving -- 1. Wallace, Olathe Northwest, 156.25; 2. Potts, Washburn Rural, 146.80; 3. Arndt, Olathe North, 144.70.
100 butterfly -- 1. D. Allen, Washburn Rural, 52.82; 2. Dunn, Manhattan, 57.82; 3. Morao-Jaspe, Washburn Rural, 1:00.06.
100 freestyle -- 1. Branstrom, Olathe Northwest, 49.75; 2. Spencer, Olathe Northwest, 52.44; 3. Stewart, Topeka High, 53.35.
500 freestyle -- 1. Dunn, Manhattan, 5:15.54; 2. Montgomery, Washburn Rural, 5:16.21; 3. Force, Olathe Northwest, 5:18.01.
200 free relay -- 1. Washburn Rural (Wallace, Kennedy, Jensen, D. Allen), 136.77; 2. Manhattan, 1:37.40; 3. Olathe Northwest, 1:40.13.
100 backstroke -- 1. Appuhn, Washburn Rural, 57.15; 2. Spencer, Olathe Northwest, 58,23; 3. Mapes, Olathe Northwest, 58.77.
100 breastroke -- 1. Wallace, Washburn Rural, 1:07.86; 2. Caelum Theno, Basehor-Linwood, 1:08.87; 3. Barbosa, Seaman, 1:09.03.
400 free relay -- 1. Olathe Northwest, 3:30.08; 2. Washburn Rural (Jessop, Montgomery, Appuhn, D. Allen), 334.33; 3. Manhattan, 3:51.77.
