BY Emporia Gazette

Emporia High sophomore diver Derek Krause has found the secret to breaking a school record.

Pink rainbows and unicorns.

That’s what Krause said he thought about Saturday during the diving competition of the Emporia High Swimming and Diving Invitational. It must have worked, because Krause broke the school record for his 11-dive performance, scoring a 390 to break Matt Paul’s record of 384.20, set in 2006.

“It pretty much feels amazing,” Krause said. “I knew the guy that had the record, and I knew he’d be pretty mad that I broke it. I’ve been working pretty hard, and I’m real excited to get the record.”

Along with happy thoughts about pink rainbows and unicorns, Krause said having music playing during the diving competition also helped him prepare mentally.

Whatever the reason, Krause was dominant on his way to setting the new school record and earning the diving title, as he beat Campus’ Jake Allen (273.75) by more than 100 points.

“By far the best I’ve seen him look,” EHS coach Bob Yevak said. “Records are usually broken by a point or two, not six. His potential is unbelievable, the things he could do.”

Sam Nolan finished third and Alex Neises came in fifth in the diving event, helping to lead the way for the Spartans, who finished second as a team with 331.5 points, just 1 1/2 points behind the winner, Olathe Northwest (333).

“We scored a ton of points diving today,” Yevak said. “I thought we swam pretty well. Overall, I’m pretty pleased.”

In the swimming events, the Spartans were led by senior Aaron Clark, who returned to competition two weeks after receiving a cortisone shot in his shoulder to help with intense pain he was experiencing.

Clark won both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events and swam the anchor leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay to help the Spartans come from behind to take first in the event.

He matched his career-best time in the 100 free, finishing in a time of 49.93 seconds, which he also swam at State last year.

“I didn’t feel that great, which is good,” Clark said. “Who knows how fast I’ll be able to go when I feel good.

“My shoulder feels good, and the shot I got should last me through League. I may get another one before State.”

In the 200 free relay, the team of Sergio Segura, Dillon Suprian, Cord Stanley and Clark took first in a time of 1:37.90, with Clark making up a 2-second difference on the last leg to help the EHS beat a squad from El Dorado.

EHS also got a pair of fast individual swims from Segura, as the senior placed second in the 50 free in a time of 24.18 seconds and followed that with a third-place finish in the 100 free (53.97 seconds).

Segura, Adam Coburn, Stanley and Clark team up to take second in the 400 freestyle relay (3:41.85), nearly 10 seconds behind the winner, Olathe Northwest.

With the Spartans in the midst of tapering their workouts for the end of the season, Yevak said some of the swimmers were not as sharp at the end of the meet.

“You’re either on or off right now,” Yevak said.

The other top-5 finishes for the Spartans were: Adam Coburn, third in the 500 free (5:55.35); Cody Yevak, fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:05.92); Scott Peterson, fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.20); Michael Stauffer, fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.41); Andrew Wayman, fifth in the 500 free (6:11.71); the 200 medley relay team of Suprian, Michael Stauffer, Cody Yevak and Tommy Hudson in fifth (2:01.31); and Suprian fifth in the 50 free (24.81).

The Spartans are back in action on Friday and Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational. The diving competition will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday while the swimming events will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

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