Lady Plainsmen swimmers and divers in optimal position at state
Nov. 6—Longtime Laramie High girls swimming and diving coach Tom Hudson might feel a little more at ease, but that doesn't mean he got any sleep Friday night.
The Lady Plainsmen put themselves in solid position for the final during their quest of a fifth straight state title. Friday's action completed diving through the semifinals and the preliminary swimming heats for today's finals, starting at 10 a.m. at the Campbell County Aquatic Center in Gillette.
The top 12 divers after eight rounds will have three more dives from the 1-meter board. The top six swimmers in each event will be in the championship finals, the next six will be vying for more team points in the consolation finals.
"Going in and on paper, I figured we were 30-40 points favored over Campbell County and maybe 50 points over Cheyenne Central. But if it was over now, we would be 95 ahead of Central and a little more than a 100 over Campbell County.
"So we had a very, very nice day with a lot of girls moving up and swimming best times. We are sitting in pretty good shape for the finals (today)."
"A lot of events raised my eyebrows all across the board, and there are a lot of races that will be super close in the finals."
Laramie senior Anna Roesler in the 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 55.68 seconds) and junior Anna Mathes in the 500 freestyle (5:18.93) topped their respective fields for first during the prelims. Senior teammate Libby Moore also left her mark in those events, finishing runner-up in the 200 free (1:59.32) and 500 free (5:24.47).
Mathes was also second in the 200 individual medley (2:11.79) and Roesler was second in the 100 butterfly (59.28).
Roesler, Moore, junior Therese Richardson and Moore also led the pack in the 400 free relay with a top time in 3:41.01. Richardson was also fifth in the 100 fly (1:00.62) and senior Maya McReynolds is fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.75).
Lady Plainsmen senior teammates Mallorie Hamel and Natalie Six are in a battle in diving with Hamel at the top of the leaderboard with 318.65 points and Six close behind in second at 311.50. Also advancing to the diving finals are freshman Rowyn Birdsley (seventh, 253.45) and senior Katrina Yurista (eighth, 246.40). Yurista is also sixth in the 100 free (56.20).
The 100 backstroke is another strong event for Laramie with three swimmers in the finals. They are junior Maya Peterson (second, 59.21), senior Kayley Yother (third, 59.95) and junior Kenna Davis (fifth, 1:00.63). Davis was also sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:14.50) and Yother was fourth in the 100 free (55.41).
Roesler, senior Mischa Yurista, Richardson and Mathes were second in the 200 free relay (1:42.39) and Peterson, McReynolds, Davis and Mischa Yurista were third in the 200 medley relay (1:53.36).
This is the first time in a while the state meet was in Gillette. For many years the Campbell County Aquatic Center hosted all girls and boys state meets. The state championships then alternated after the new Laramie High Natatorium was built a few years ago, but last year both girls and boys meets were in Laramie for more space to comply with COVID-19 precautions.
"We've had such a tradition of coming to so many state meets here that all those feelings just come back when we come to the same hotel and with the smells of the pool," Hudson said.
