Wyoming Girls 3A State Championships

By Lauren Sampl, Swimming World intern

GILLETTE, Wyoming, November 3. FOR the fourth year in a row, the ladies of Jackson Hole High School were crowned state champions at the annual 3A State Championships held in Gillette from October 28-30th. The Broncs tallied 318 points en route to victory, followed by the teams from Lander (257 points) and Buffalo (182 points).

Jackson got the meet started in record-setting fashion, just clipping Newcastle's state record of 1:54.27 from 2003 with a final time of 1:53.80 in the 200 medley relay. Emily Smith, Jesse Mayers, Becca Hamilton, and Maddy Wigg added their names to the history books for Jackson, while the squads from Buffalo (1:56.25) and Lander (2:00.71) finished in second and third place.

Freshman Connor Tarver, riding her team's win in the opening relay, swam to an impressive victory herself, taking the 200 free title in 1:59.07. Tarver was the only swimmer under 2:00 in the event, as Michelle Reutter of Worman grabbed second place honors in 2:02.25, and Jaclyn Knori of Jackson claimed third in 2:04.13.

Jackson kept the ball rolling as Maddy Wigg raced to a win in the 200 IM in a quick time of 2:14.50. She was followed closely by Mara vonHolst of Buffalo, who clocked in at 2:15.78, and Jamie Forton of Lander, who finished in 2:16.72. The three swimmers were the only ones under the 2:20 mark, but did so in convincing fashion.

The 50 free saw another Jackson Hole swimmer, Emily Smith, crowned state champion, as the senior stopped the clock in 24.31 seconds. Korrine Sorensen of Lyman was right on her heels, touching in 24.72. Michelle Fenn of Sublette County rounded out the top three with her time of 25.07.

Not only did Jackson Hole's swimmers rule the pool, but they also dominated the diving well, placing two divers in the top three. Becky Griest of Jackson Hole pulled out a narrow 4.8-point win over Jamie Johnson of Lyman, 354.75 points to 349.95 points. Griest's teammate, Maryelizabeth Pistono, stole the final podium spot with 329.75 points.

Following the diving break, Mara vonHolst of Buffalo flew to a win in the 100 fly, chopping four seconds off her fourth place finish in the event last year. vonHolst nearly broke the 1:00 barrier, finishing in 1:00.43. Joining her on the podium were Jesse Mayers of Jackson Hole (1:01.55) and Naomi Harris-Holden of Douglas (1:02.05).

In what was the closest race of the meet, Korrine Sorensen of Lyman touched out Connor Tarver of Jackson Hole by three one-hundredths of a second to claim victory in the 100 free. The two finished in times of 54.56 and 54.59, respectively. Jamie Forton of Lander added to her third place finish in the 200 IM with a third place showing of 56.11.

In the 500 free, junior Jessi Anderson of Rawlins knocked nearly 16 seconds off her preliminary time to take the title in 5:22.84. Second place went to Jaclyn Knori of Jackson Hole in 5:27.74, while Michelle Reutter of Worman took third in 5:39.03.

Lander and Jackson Hole battled it out in the 200 free relay, with the Lander quartet of Sammy Crawford, Onnah Howdyshell, Mara Gans, and Jamie Forton emerging victorious, 1:42.25 to 1:42.56 over Jackson Hole. The squad from Lyman finished more than five seconds back at 1:47.90.

Jackson Hole returned to the top of the podium when Emily Smith cruised to a state title in the 100 back, clocking a time of 1:00.91. It was Smith's second individual title of the meet, as she also sprinted to a win in the 50 free earlier in the meet. Teammates Mara Gans and Sammy Crawford of Lander grabbed a chunk of points with their second and third place times of 1:03.15 and 1:04.22.

Jesse Mayers of Jackson Hole rocketed to a title in the 100 breast, stopping the clock in 1:09.51. She was the only swimmer under 1:10 in the event. Gwenaedd Howdyshell earned second place in 1:10.96, while Michelle Fenn of Sublette County added to her third place effort in the 50 free with another third place finish in 1:11.99.

The 3A state meet ended much how it began, with another state record taken down by Jackson Hole. Connor Tarver, Jaclyn Knori, Emily Smith and Maddy Wigg teamed up for the Broncs to crush the former state record of 3:45.43 set by Lander last year, with a smoking time of 3:41.53. Lander also went under the previous record, finishing in second in 3:45.40. Buffalo garnered third place honors in 3:54.75.

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