One last swim for Rohn
By RANDY GONZALES
It will be hard for Hays High School girls' swim coach Chris Channell to let this senior class go.
They've meant so much to the program, the Indian coach said.
"It's going to be hard to replace this group of seniors this year," Channell said.
Perhaps the toughest to replace will be the lone HHS swimmer to make this weekend's state meet in Topeka. Hollie Rohn, who will swim in the 100 butterfly, has made it to state all four years.
The preliminaries in each event are held on Friday, with the top 16 of the 32 swimmers in each event advancing to Saturday's finals.
Rohn made it to the finals as a sophomore, where she finished 16th, and is looking to return.
But it won't be easy, Channell said.
"It'll be tough for us," he said. "She'll have to swim her best time to make it to the last day."
Rohn's qualifying time of 1:04.18 is 30th out of 32 swimmers. The 16th-best time -- the cutoff for making the finals -- is 1:02.00 by Kathyrne Munsch of Shawnee Mission East. The best time entering the meet is 56.09 by Bailey Beins of Wichita East.
Make the finals or not, Channell will remember this team -- and Rohn.
"She's been a great base to work with, so much experience," Channell said.
"She gives other girls an idea what they can accomplish if they work hard."
This year, the Indians won their home meet, the first team title in the Channell era. The seniors played a big role in the team's success.
"It's the fifth year I've coached," at Hays High, Channell said. "I got this group my second year of coaching.
"It's going to be tough to replace these seniors," he added. "I'm proud of them, they've accomplished a lot."
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