Work ethic, intelligence and race strategy have South's Caleb Brewer dominating in the pool

Jan. 17—CHEYENNE — Early morning practices are rarely enjoyable for athletes and coaches alike.

Add in the facts that there was no school because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that the temperature was 15 degrees below zero, and it's clear why Cheyenne South swimming coach Jason Garman nearly canceled a practice that only three athletes attended Monday morning.

"I don't now if he'll admit to it, but I think (Caleb Brewer) would have been disappointed if we didn't have practice today," Garman said with a chuckle.

Brewer has no trouble owning up to that assertion.

"Definitely," he said with a wide smile. "I really don't like missing practice or meets. A couple weeks ago, I had to miss a meet because I was sick. I was very close to coming in and swimming, but my parents told me not to.

"I really don't like missing swimming. I feel like it takes a while for me to catch back up to where I was after I miss time. Especially during the season, I don't want to lose any progress. I want to keep improving the whole time."

That fanatical work ethic — combined with a mind that not only understands what Garman is asking the Bison to do during training, but why he's asking them to do it — has helped Brewer go from an athlete who barely qualified for the Class 4A state meet as a freshman to one of the state's most dominant and best all-around swimmers as a senior.

Last week, Brewer won all six individual events he competed in. That included Cheyenne East Natatorium records in the 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 49.15 seconds) and 100 butterfly (54.14 seconds) at the Cheyenne Invitational.

Those efforts earned Brewer Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports' Cheyenne staff.

Brewer didn't best the state qualifying standard for the 100 butterfly — which is his best event — during his freshman season until a last-chance qualifying meet.

"He had to taper and everything to get it done, and you could tell he was really frustrated," Garman said.

Brewer recalled a bus ride back from a meet in Laramie where he sat silently and stewed about missing the mark by a fraction of a second.

"It was good and bad, but I probably took it a little too far," said Brewer, who ended up placing 10th in the 100 fly at the state meet that season. "It was probably stressing me out more than it should have, but it also forced me to keep pushing myself in practice."

It also motivated him to commit himself to his training like never before. He abandoned other sports and martial arts he had practiced since elementary school in order to focus on swimming.

"I really enjoyed those other things, but I loved swimming," he said. "I've made a lot of good friends in swimming, and I've had some really great coaches. I was only practicing a couple of times per week before, but I really focused on it after my freshman year."

Brewer's passion for swimming stems from its objectivity. You're faster than the other athletes in the pool or you're not. You're fast enough to meet a qualifying standard for state, sectionals and zone meets or you're not. There are no subjective judgments from tryouts, practices or game performances like in other sports. Swimming is black and white.

Brewer saw his efforts pay dividends the very next season, as he placed second at state in both the 200 individual medley and 100 fly. Last winter, Brewer won the 100 fly and placed second in the 200 IM.

This season, he's posting practice times that are faster than anything he swam his freshman year. He's qualified for state in every individual event. He knows he'll defend his butterfly title, but is choosing from three other events for his second individual race.

"Breaststroke is still my weakest event, but it's still better than my butterfly was back then," he said.

Brewer's dedication and hard work have certainly played a role in his success, but so has his mental approach to swimming.

"He's extremely intelligent and thinks about everything he's doing and why he's doing it," Garman said. "He's not just doing this at the physical level, he's doing it on a cognitive level.

"He goes through the training in his head so he understands why we're doing what we're doing. But he also comes in here and busts his butt."

Brewer knew he could be faster in all of his events — especially the 100 butterfly — by spending more time kicking underwater after starts and turns. He worked to develop the aerobic capacity to help him push to the 15-meter mark, where he's required to surface and start his stroke.

"Underwater is probably my biggest strength," Brewer said. "It's hard because you want to come up and get a breath, but you know you really have to push it. I've actually had problems going past the limit."

All of South's swimmers practice their underwaters. Only one doesn't have swim fins strapped to his feet during the drills. Handicapping Brewer is just about the only way Garman can level the playing field.

"It's still a close race, even though everyone else has fins," Garman said. "He's that much faster. Underwaters are his weapon in every race. To be able to have it on the second, third and fourth (race leg) is what really separates him."

Others recognized for their efforts include:

n Trona Bates, Abby Vroman and Kaiana Garlough, girls wrestling, Cheyenne Central: Bates, a senior, was 3-1 with three pins to finished second in the 110-pound weight class at the Gering Invitational.

Vroman, a junior 120-pounder, also was 3-1 with three pins en route to a runner-up finish.

Garlough, a senior, was 4-1 to place second at 125.

n Isael Beal, Thomas Berta, Andrew Gonzales, Ryan Gonzales, Aiden Herget, Davin Mattimoe, Lucas Medina, Michael Rodriguez and Campbell Smith, boys wrestling, Central: Beal, a junior, was 4-0 with three pins and a major decision to win the 120-pound championship at the Golden Eagle Invitational in Frederick, Colorado.

Berta, a senior, went 3-0 to win at 190 pounds.

Andrew Gonzales, a junior 132-pounder, won his title by going 4-0 with two pins and a technical fall.

Ryan Gonzales, a junior, was runner-up at 144 pounds by going 3-1.

Herget, a junior 150-pounder, was 3-1 and took second.

Mattimoe, a senior, went 3-0 with three pins to win the 215-pound division.

Medina, a junior, dropped his first match in the 138-pound bracket, but rallied to win the next five to take third. He won three matches by pin.

Rodriguez, a junior, was 3-1 and placed second at 165 pounds.

Smith, a sophomore, was 3-1 with three pins to place second in the 132-pound division.

n Brady Benne and Connor Doering, boys swimming and diving, Central: Benne, a freshman, won all three meets he dove at last week. He broke his own school record for 11 dives by scoring 493.14 points Friday.

Doering, a senior, won all four individual races he swam.

n Joci Davis, Gracin Goff, Halley House, Azlyn Silva and Kaelyn Ronnau, girls wrestling, Cheyenne East: Davis, a junior, placed second in the 235-pound bracket at the Tournament of Knights in Severance, Colorado, by going 2-1 with two pins.

Goff, a senior 190-pounder, won her bracket by going 3-0 with two pins.

House, a freshman, was 3-0 to place third at 130 pounds.

Silva, a freshman, went 3-1 and took third at 110 pounds.

Ronnau, a sophomore, posted a 2-1 record and was the runner-up at 155 pounds.

n Carsten Freeburg and Justin Lerwick, boys basketball, Pine Bluffs: The sophomores both scored 15 points to help the Hornets beat Southeast 51-37 on Friday in Yoder. Freeburg also nabbed five steals, while Lerwick hauled in five rebounds and three steals.

n Liam Fox, Charlie Green, Kozad Porter, Hayden Van Dell, Kolby Williams and Jason Zahm, boys wrestling, East: Fox, a junior 150-pounder, was 8-0 on the week. That included a 7-0 mark at the Thoman Memorial Duals in Green River. He won five bouts by pin — including one in Thoman's Best of the Best dual — and another by technical fall.

Green, a senior 285-pounder, went 5-1 with five pins on the week.

Porter, a freshman 132-pounder, was 7-0 with six pins.

Van Dell, a senior, went 6-1 with five pins at 215 pounds.

Williams, a senior 138-pounder, posted a 7-1 record with four pins and a technical fall.

Zahm, a senior, went 6-1 with six points at 175-pounds.

n Cam Hayes, boys basketball, East: The senior averaged 15.5 points to help the Thunderbirds beat Riverton before losing to Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

n Izzy Kelly and Karson Tempel, girls basketball, Central: Kelly, a junior, scored 18 points and hit the game-winning basket during a 61-59 win at Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Tempel, also a junior, scored 16 points in that contest.

n Joe Sawyer and Sammy Shumway, boys basketball, Central: The seniors both averaged 15 points to help the No. 1-ranked Indians finish nonconference play undefeated with wins over Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and Cherokee Trail High from Aurora, Colorado.

n Bradie Schlabs, girls basketball, East: The senior guard averaged 17.5 points to help the Lady Thunderbirds pick up wins over Riverton and Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on X at @jjohnke.