All-Metro co-girls swimmers of the year

The continued improvement of a seasoned veteran and the arrival of a seasoned newcomer proved to be the right ingredients this season for the St. Joseph’s swimming and diving team.

Juniors Anna-Grace Guenther and Avery Cunneen each won a pair of Class 1 individual titles, and they were also part of the Angels’ state champion 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays, both of which set new Class 1 records at the state meet.

Those major accomplishments helped the Angels win their second state team championship and first since 1983. They also helped Guenther and Cunneen earn All-Metro co-girls swimmer of the year honors.

“I have a lot of respect for Avery,” Guenther said. “It’s an honor to share this award with her since we are such close friends and she’s such a great teammate.”

“I see her every single day at practice, and I watch her work really, really hard,” Cunneen said. “So, I got to see her hard work pay off and it’s been incredible to celebrate those accomplishments side by side, which has made it even more meaningful.”

St. Joseph’s coach Emma Luem was thrilled to see her two standouts have such a huge impact on her program this season.

“It’s great for them to both get the recognition for all that they did at state, but also throughout the season, too,” Luem said. “It’s got to feel good for them and a great honor to get recognized in this way.”

Guenther broke through to claim the first four golds of her three-year stint with the Angels. In fact, she had two golds to her credit before the Class 1 meet was even 10 minutes old.

She teamed with Cunneen, fellow junior Vienna Schindler and freshman Payton Robic to win the meet-opening 200 medley relay final in a time of 1 minute, 45.78 seconds, which was just off their new Class 1 record time of 1:45.51 in the preliminaries.

Guenther then won the next event, the 200 free, by a little more than two seconds over defending event champion Grace Kraeger of Villa Duchesne.

“Individually, this has been just a completely different season than all my past years,” Guenther said. “And I think this year our team was so much closer. I don’t think people understand how much of a team sport swimming is. Every day, my teammates and coaches push me. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”

Guenther later won the 500 free in dominant fashion with a 4:58.71, which was almost 14 seconds faster than runner-up Lily Kohler of Mehlville.

“I think a lot of it is maturing and really owning what she wants out of being an athlete and being a swimmer specifically,” Luem said. “She had a great club season prior to high school with some personal bests and I think that hard work is really paying off.”

Cunneen had flirted with swimming for the Angels her first two years at St. Joe’s but opted to stick with swimming just for her club team, the CSP Tideriders.

“I think it’s always been something I’ve kind of wanted to do,” she said. “A really big part of it is the team culture. The past years, certain conditions haven’t worked out quite right for me to do it. This year, it just ended up working well with my schedule and everything going on, so I decided to do it. And I’m so grateful I did it. We were obviously very successful, but it was also such a great experience being together with everyone and being a part of the Angels.”

Cunneen matched the two Class 1 titles won by her teammate and Pembroke Hill junior Helena Tietjen (200 individual medley and 100 butterfly) by winning a pair of finals in a three-event span.

First, Cunneen won the 100 free final by just under a second over St. Michael the Archangel sophomore Avery Frick.

Cunneen then took the 100 backstroke title over runner-up Kraeger, who was also the defending champion in that event, and St. Joe’s sophomore Claire Chumley, who was a close third.

Cunneen and Guenther’s final gold came in the final event, the 400 freestyle relay. That duo, along with Robic and senior Eleanor Green, set the Class 1 record with a time of 3:32.07 in the prelims and then reset it again in the finals with a 3:31.16.

Cunneen’s arrival this season was just what the doctor ordered for Luem after she lost to graduation some strong swimmers including Leah Renner and Guenther’s sister, Kate.

“I was like, ‘Man, we’re really gonna have to rework some things. I don’t know what we’re gonna do here,’ ” Luem said. “And Avery had thought about it and even had come out to tryouts for a day or two the past couple years but just couldn’t commit to it. Then when she said she was ready to do it this year, I was like, ‘This is what we need. We need you.’ I think she felt fulfilled, too, in knowing that we needed her.”

Both Guenther and Cunneen also count on a strong sibling support system for their success.

Guenther has two older sisters who swam at St. Joe’s — Kate, a 2024 graduate who is a club swimmer and runner at Arkansas and recently walked on to the Division I rowing team, and Ellie, a 2022 graduate who attends Arkansas.

“The only reason I started swimming is because I saw them and my older cousin swimming,” Guenther said. “I went to all the meets and my mom made me watch the meets. One of the big reasons I wanted to swim is because my mom would buy them a bunch of cool snacks for the meets and I was like, ‘Why do I never get the good snacks?’ ”

Cunneen’s older brother, Trey, was a two-time All-Metro swimmer at Chaminade and is currently a freshman on the Mizzou swim squad. Her younger brother, Colin, is a freshman at Chaminade and earned a pair of top-five finishes at the Class 2 state meet last fall.

“It’s been a really big part of our lives for so long and we love celebrating each other’s achievements and then it’s also to have that sense of competition among siblings,” Cunneen said.

Both Guenther and Cunneen are currently unsure of what their collegiate future holds, but the one thing they do know is they have another shot at high school glory next season.

Of the 15 swimmers on St. Joe’s state team, only three were seniors, so the chance is there to possibly run it back again next winter.

“I think it would be really cool,” Cunneen said. “We’ll probably end up in the other class, which would be like a whole new ballgame with new competition. Hopefully, we can work together to carry our team’s success over into the next season as well.”

“I think all of us are trying to carry our win from this year into next year,” Guenther said. “For myself, this award increases my level of confidence, but I’m definitely not done with my swimming career. I want to get stronger and faster and see where this sport can take me.”