When high school student-athletes arrive for their senior and final year of competition, the goal is to make the most of memorable moments. Goals set, goals reached, or even exceeded. Go out with no regrets.
That was what Great Bend’s Brody Feist had in mind when he began preparing for his final season of swimming for the Panthers.
Like many other athletes who prepare for the school year by doing summer workouts, Feist did the same thing in the pool with daily practices, summer competitive meets and following a regimen to help both his speed and endurance.
The results paid off in dividends as he was recently named Western Athletic Conference Boys Swimmer of the Year. And what were those results?
Feist was a double-gold individual winner at the WAC Championships in early February, capturing the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events and then serving as the anchor on two conference-record setting relay teams – the 200-yard medley and the 200-yard freestyle squads.
Those four wins were critical in catapulting the Panthers to the WAC team championship, a prize that Feist and his teammates had missed out on in 2021 when Garden City won the team title.
“This is something that I’ve wanted to achieve for my four years,” Feist said in a telephone interview.
“Getting WAC Swimmer of the Year is a team award because we won as a team.”
For much of his competitive high school career, Feist had been swimming the sprints of the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, but his coach, Kari Carper, convinced him to make the switch to the middle distance races of the 200- and 500-yard free events.
“If you look at my times in the 50 and 100, they are good but just above average for state times,” Feist said.
“Coach thought I’d have better chances at the longer distances, and I think that has been proven this year.”
In swimming, competitors qualify for the state by meeting certain time standards for each event rather than going through regional qualifying as done in other sports.
Feist built on his successes at the WAC Championship when he and his teammates headed to Topeka in mid-February to compete in the Class 5-4-3-2-1A state meet.
Rather than swim his normal 200- and 500-yard free events, Feist was switched to the 50-free and 100-butterfly individual events and remained on the two relay teams.
That move also paid off as he placed 10th overall in the 50-yard, taking second in the B Final (22.87) and in an event with little experience, placed 16th in the 100-yard butterfly (58.12). It was the relays where the Panthers and Feist shined most, with the 200-yard medley unit taking fourth in the A Final with a time of 1:41.40. Feist had his usual teammates in front of him in the persons of Tyler Stein, Ellis Long and Kasey Kennedy.
The 200-yard free relay team finished in ninth place, winning the B Final in a time of 1:32.68, a mark that was actually faster than two of the teams in the A final.
“During the season, I’d say the 500 was more of my favorite because it is just a little easier to pace each lap,” Feist said. “It’s my favorite and also my best event.”
Feist said the longer race becomes more of a mental test than anything.
“You get to the last 200 yards and it is just a sprint from there,” he said. “It’s kind of the opposite of cruise control. It’s exciting to sprint and you just have to tell yourself you’re almost done with the race.”
Feist’s future plans include enrolling at Barton Community College in his hometown of Great Bend and swim his freshman season for the Cougars. He said he’s got one year of pre-college class credits already completed, so his time at BCC will just be for one season.
“After that, I’ll plan to transfer to Kansas State,” he said. “I’d like to be on the rowing team, but I’ve got to see what that is like.”
What will be some of the memories he will carry forward with him after graduation?
“I think a lot will be just the different people I’ve met,” Feist said. “I have a lot of friends elsewhere and not just my teammates. But my teammates have been amazing to be with. I love them all.”
Feist plans to study athletic training and then pursue a medical degree in physical therapy.
In addition to his exploits in swimming, Feist had also previously competed in cross country and plans to compete for the GBHS boys golf team in the spring season.
“I’m looking forward to the golf,” he said. “It will be a weird change, but I think it will be fun.”
One thing is for sure, his senior year in the pool will be remembered as the year he accomplished most of the goals he had set when he first made a splash in his freshman season.
All-WAC 2022 Boys Swimming – First Team
| Event | Winners | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Medley Relay | Tyler Stein, Ellis Long Kasey Kennedy, Brody Feist | Great Bend | 1:41.51 |
| 200 Free | Brody Feist | Great Bend | 2:00.27 |
| 200 IM | Alec Erskin | Garden City | 2:11.18 |
| 50 Free | Tyler Stein Radek Ruzicka | Great Bend Garden City | 22.72 |
| 100 Fly | Alec Erskin | Garden City | 57.26 |
| 100 Free | Ellis Long | Great Bend | 52.52 |
| 500 Free | Brody Feist | Great Bend | 5:29.93 |
| 200 Free Relay | Tyler Stein, Kasey Kennedy Ellis Long, Brody Feist | Great Bend | 1:34.16 |
| 100 Back | Tyler Stein | Great Bend | 58.76 |
| 100 Breast | Radek Ruzicka | Garden City | 1:00.79 |
| 100 Free Relay | Ignacio Bellido Pazos, Samuele Riefoli Colin Richter, Xavier Hiemstra | Dodge City | 3:54.94 |
