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Early Practices Resulting in Early Success for Swimmers GVHS’s first Boys Swim Team is reaping the rewards of those 5:00am practices. Head Coach Kara Liddle is pleased with the team’s performance so far this season. “We have had many compliments from officials and other coaches that we don't look like a first-year team. Considering that the majority of our swimmers and divers are brand new to the sport, they have come a long way since those first workouts. Experienced swimmers, like Wyatt Huffman, have really stepped up as leaders to help out
those that are new,” Liddle said. Huffman had a strong showing at the KC Classic Varsity Invitational at the Blue Springs Centennial Pool last weekend, finishing 4th in the 100 Fly with a personal best time of 55.91 and a 4th Place finish in the 100 breast with a personal best time of 1:04.44. Freshman Eli Hendricks qualified for state in diving with a total score of 234.35. “Our 200 Freestyle Relay of Jordon Jarman, Austin Jacoby, Mark Shackles, and Wyatt Huffman continue to drop time each time we swim it. Wyatt
Huffman is very close to making his automatic state qualifying times in the 100 Breast and 100 Fly, so we're hoping to get those before conference. Sophomore Jackson Lane is on track to qualify in diving as well by conference,” Liddle said. Following a 12th place finish at the KC Classic Varsity Invitational, the team traveled October 3rd to Henley Aquatic Center for a meet with William Chrisman. The team will then travel to Missouri Western State University on October 10th to compete against Blue
Springs, St. Joseph Central, Truman, and William Chrisman. “I'm really just so proud of the whole team. Swimming and Diving are really hard sports and all of our boys have done such a great job committing to being there every morning at 5:00am and staying after school at least twice a week for weights and conditioning. I hope that they share with others what a great experience it has been for them and it will help to build our program for the future,” Liddle said.
Cross Country Team On Top At Eagles’ Own Invitational GVHS’s Cross Country Invitational hosted at Grain Valley North Middle School on Saturday, September 29th was an all-around success for the team. Five Grain Valley boys finished in the top 10. Four of the team’s girls finished in the top 10 and both teams claimed team titles at the event. Freshman Ella Casey continues to rack up first place finishes, this time with a 5K finish time of 19:29.50. Alaina Valverde had another strong finish, coming in 6th with a time of 21:15.80. Valerie Holcomb finished in 8th place with a time of 21:33.40 and Kyla Huber rounded out the top 10 with a time of 22:17.50. Royce Fisher finished third for the Boys at 17:16.60. Collin Clemens was
fourth with a time of 17:31.10. Also finishing in the top 10 was Isaac Bird (6th, 17:54.50), Jaxson Jarman (8th, 17:59.50), and Mason McCain (10th, 18:14.80). “It is tough to pick out just one performance that stood out this past weekend. We had so many of our athletes step up and push themselves to places they haven't been yet. Of our 27 athletes that raced on Saturday, 25 of them ran season best times on a course that is known throughout the state to be pretty challenging,” Head Coach Nick Small said. “This speaks to their desire to continue to get better not just on race day but at practice as well. Freshman
Isaac Burd really took this to heart these past few weeks. He went from running Junior Varsity for us a couple of weeks ago to placing 3rd on our varsity team and 6th overall in the race on Saturday. He took over 1 minute off of his already impressive time. This didn't just start on race day, like so many of our athletes, Isaac is an example of how hard work in practice and doing all of the little things from diet and sleep, through practice to meet day can really add up to significant gains,” Small said. Beyond the performance of his team, Small was grateful for the support of the district maintenance department, volunteers, and staff in preparing for the Grain Valley Invitational. The event
included a “Sock It to Cancer” theme, raising funds for and awareness of breast cancer. “Everyone really put their best foot forward in a meet that represents fighting a disease that we have all felt the impact of in some way,” Small said. The team heads to Kearney on October 6th for the Suburban Blue Conference Championships meet. This is the first year the team will compete in this conference. “With a few injuries plaguing our boys side and some key missing pieces on our girls team, our coaching staff is excited to see who will be next to step up for us in this inaugural year in the conference,” Small said.
