The Lander Valley High School (LVHS) Boys Swim & Dive Team began their season with back to back meets on Friday in Buffalo and Saturday in Rawlins. They are fielding their largest team ever with 33 swimmers and divers. The boys got off to a strong start at the dual meet on Friday despite Buffalo being one of their toughest competitors. Going into the last relay race, the meet was tied at 46 points apiece. Lander won the race and the meet.
On Saturday in Rawlins, eight teams participated in the Dale Ross Pentathlon, in which all swimmers compete in five events. LVHS swam and dove strong and won the meet convincingly, and Lander senior Finn Richards won the overall individual pentathlon. It was a great start to the season, with 18 total Lander swimmers and divers qualifying for the state swim meet over the weekend.
The LVHS boys are the defending state 3A champions and have held that crown for 28 years. Yes, you read that right. The current streak began in the last century when Bill Clinton was president. This kind of success is not an accident. It is a program built on hard work, discipline, dedication, and family and community support.
The boys work very hard. In order to be on the team, they have to maintain good grades and abide by the Code of Conduct. They commit to two practices a day, the first before school at 6:15 am and the other after school. Getting up so early in the dead of winter to get in the pool is no small feat. Practices are hard, the boys will tell you, but the hard work is rewarding and pays off. They support and look out for each other. For instance, the juniors and seniors provide rides for the freshman and sophomore swimmers for morning practice and then make sure they get to school after practice.
The swim coaches, Shawna Morgan, Tim Hester, Greg Anderson and diving coach, Faith Hamilton, are devoted to the team and are fixtures at every practice. They have vast experience between them and use it to train and prep the boys for the meets and to be good team members. They have a plan and proven methods that push the boys to peak performance.
The parents work in many ways to support the team. They take turns providing a hot breakfast after every morning practice so the boys go to school with a full stomach. They provide a team dinner after practice every Wednesday. Parents also volunteer to help run the home meets and concession stand while also organizing fundraisers.
The community and local businesses support the team in the form of sponsorships and donations. All of these components play an important role in the swim team’s success. It may be cliche to say that this is a family but in this case it’s true and it’s about so much more than just swimming.
The boys learn so many valuable life skills that they will carry with them into adulthood.
The next two swim meets are Friday in Lander and Saturday in Riverton. If you’ve never attended one you should give it a try. They are raucous and exciting events with cheering, yelling, and above all, great swimming competition.
Over the next week the swim team will be conducting their biggest fundraiser, selling the team calendar/meet schedule with chances to win great prizes. So if a swimmer knocks on your door soon consider purchasing one and supporting Lander’s winning team.
Ride the wave with the LVHS Swim & Dive Team!
The above information was provided to County 10 by Earl Gatlin.