(Laramie, WY) – It was a bit blustery outside in Laramie, but that didn’t stop the swimming competition inside from heating up for the 2025 Girls 3A State Swim Meet. The defending champs from Lander were challenged by up-and-coming teams from Buffalo and Kemmerer but pulled off a sizable win with strong performances from athletes up and down their roster.
Lander qualified 20 athletes for the meet, more than any other 3A team. Each athlete can be entered in up to four events, with a maximum of two individual events in which they must have qualifying times. At the two-day state competition, athletes compete in preliminary rounds the first day and the top 12 placers move to finals the second day. The top six swimming finalists in each event compete in the A finals heat, and the next six are in the B heat. Athletes in the B heat cannot move higher than seventh place. Athletes must reach finals to score points. Fifteen different individuals scored points for Lander’s team.
Lander started their scoring in the first event, the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Although Buffalo came into the meet seeded first due to an excellent showing at their conference meet, they could not match Lander’s speed on Friday. Lander’s foursome of Cira Hampton, Emily Plaisted, Katy Anderson, and Chayse Denton dropped more time on Saturday, finishing with a time of 1:50.29, setting a new school record in the process.
The next event was the 200 Yard Freestyle. All four of Lander’s entries in this event made finals. Vayda Havens set a new school record with a time of 1:55.84 as she won the event. Cadence Hamilton dropped an incredible seven seconds off her seed time to make B finals and swam to a twelfth-place finish. Daegan Reinhardt finished third and Brinlee Heller seventh for the Tigers.
The 200 Yard IM was up next. A tough freshman from Buffalo, Milan Monterastelli, had the fastest time in prelims on Friday. But on Saturday, Lander’s defending champ Emily Plaisted dug deep and touched the wall first as the crowd roared. Lander’s Cira Hampton finished fifth with her best time of the season and Iris Woltman held on to finish seventh. Eden Kemp finished just out of scoring in 15th place.
Another great matchup was the 50 Yard Freestyle. Lander’s sprinters Chayse Denton and Sara Kearns faced off with freshman Logan Rogers from Kemmerer. Both Kearns and Denton had season-best times, but Rogers was able to out-touch them at the end, just one tenth ahead of Kearns. Liv Ooten dropped over a second during prelims to earn a place in A finals and swam to a strong sixth-place finish. Brianna Else finished in 14th place.
Lander sent five divers to state. Adlyn Even, Lyla Rounds, Alaina Russell, and Jojo Olssen performed admirably but did not score quite enough to enter finals on Saturday. Brooklyn White had three strong dives on Saturday to earn sixth place. Hanna Walker of Kemmerer took first with consistently excellent dives.
The next race, the 100 Yard Butterfly, featured four Lander swimmers who all put in their best times of the season for this event on Friday and then dropped more time on Saturday. Katy Anderson finished first, Chayse Denton third, Iris Woltman sixth, and Eden Kemp seventh. Anderson finished almost six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
The 100 Yard Freestyle followed with Kemmerer’s Rogers again taking on Lander’s Kearns. Kearns made it close, but Rogers was able to hold on for the win with Kearns finishing second. Lander’s Ang Rudd finished fifth and Liv Ooten finished sixth, both having excellent time drops during the preliminary race to earn their spots.
The 500 Yard Freestyle is the longest race of the Wyoming high school events. To excel, you must not just have endurance, but also the ability to internally pace yourself. Lander’s Ruby Johnson had an amazing race, finishing ninth and dropping time in both prelims and finals for a total time drop of 13.95 seconds from her previous best in-season effort. Vayda Havens had her best swims of the season also, defending her title in the event and finishing more than twenty seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer.
The 200 Yard Freestyle Relay provided more excitement, with Buffalo needing a win to try to hold onto second place in the overall team scoring. They weren’t able to hang on with the Lander group of Sara Kearns, Emily Plaisted, Daegan Reinhardt, and Vayda Havens each swimming legs in under 26 seconds and placing first.
Next up was the 100 Yard Backstroke. Lander again had four swimmers qualify for finals in this event. Cira Hampton finished second, Daegan Reinhardt third, and Brinlee Heller eighth. Katy Anderson took the race, making her a four-time champion in this event and breaking her school record by a full second with a time of 57.71 in prelims.
The 100 Yard Breaststroke again featured Lander’s Emily Plaisted against Buffalo’s Milan Monterastelli. This time Monterastelli was able to hang on for the win over Plaisted. Lander’s Ang Rudd finished sixth and Ruby Johnson eighth in finals. Brooklyn White had by far her best swim of the season, dropping over five seconds and finishing 17th.
The last race was the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. Lander’s foursome of Sara Kearns, Daegan Reinhardt, Katy Anderson, and Vayda Havens went all out in prelims and set a new school and state record time of 3:39.58. Their time was slightly slower in finals but still plenty fast enough to earn first place. Seniors Anderson and Reinhardt finished with their fastest 100 splits of their careers to end their school swimming chapters on a high note.
Following the meet, Havens and Anderson were recognized as athletes of the meet along with Logan Rogers of Kemmerer and Milan Monterastelli of Buffalo. Anderson was recognized as 3A Swim and Dive Athlete of the Year for her work all season.
Head Coach Erik DeClue wrapped it up by saying, “This was an amazing season. The girls worked hard all year and it was awesome to see it pay off at State.” DeClue is assisted by diving coach Lyndsay Alcaraz and assistant swim coach Greg Anderson.
- Tamara Anderson
Photo Gallery:
The girlsheld up their hands and cheered as they were annoucned the 2025 3A state champions. h/t Carl Cote The 2025 Lander girls swim team posed with their 3A state championship trophy Saturday in Laramie. h/t Carl Cote The Lander girls celebrated in the warmup pool after they were given the state champioonship trophy Saturday in Laramie. h/t Carl Cote
h/t Carl Cote, County 10 (Photos)
RESULTS: Wyoming Girls 3A State
Top three plus Lander finishers listed; *=new LVHS school record; +=new state record
Prelims (Friday)
200 Yard Medley Relay
1 LAN (Hampton, Plaisted, Anderson, Denton) 1:51.79, 2. BUF 1:53.84, 3. KEM 1:57.85
200 Yard Freestyle
1 Havens LAN 1:57.43, 2. Lavigne COD 2:04.18, 3. Reinhardt LAN 2:04.48, 5. Heller LAN 2:10.85, 12. Hamilton LAN 2:17.37
200 Yard IM
1 Monterastelli BUF 2:15.91, 2. Plaisted LAN 2:17.00, 3. Roberson DOU 2:19.05, 5. Hampton LAN 2:25.10, 7. Woltman LAN 2:33.36, 15. Kemp LAN 2:43.27
50 Yard Freestyle
1 Rogers KEM 24.33, 2. Kearns LAN 24.92, 3. Denton LAN 25.87, 6. Ooten LAN 26.87, 14. Else LAN 29.57
Diving
1 Walker KEM 301.30, 2. Berglund BUF 238.00, 3. Hanson BUF 234.55, 6. White LAN 211.40, 13. Even LAN 175.20, 15. Rounds LAN 171.35, 16. Russell LAN 156.00, 18. Olssen LAN 105.25
100 Yard Butterfly
1 Anderson LAN 59.53, 2. Diver POW 1:04.15, 3. Denton LAN 1:07.49, 6. Woltman LAN 1:09.41, 7. Kemp LAN 1:10.34
100 Yard Freestyle
1 Rogers KEM 53.91, 2. Kearns LAN 54.26, 3. LaVigne COD 56.84, 4. Rudd LAN 57.05, 6. Ooten LAN 59.03
500 Yard Freestyle
1 Havens LAN 5:24.32, 2. Diver POW 5:48.10, 3. Roberson DOU 5:51.57, 10. Johnson LAN 6:16.84
200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1 Lander (Kearns, Plaisted, Reinhardt, Havens) 1:41.46, 2. Buffalo 1:43.65, 3. Cody 1:44.63
100 Yard Backstroke
1 Anderson LAN 57.71*, 2. Hampton LAN 1:02.10, 3. Reinhardt LAN 1:03.21, 7. Heller LAN 1:06.80
100 Yard Breaststroke
1 Monterastelli BUF 1:05.49, 2. Plaisted LAN 1:09.84, 3. Williams SUB 1:10.96, 6. Rudd LAN 1:16.08, 8. Johnson LAN 1:18.68, 17. White LAN 1:23.10
400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1 Lander (Kearns, Reinhardt, Anderson, Havens) 3:39.58*+, 2. Kemmerer 3:52.82, 3. Douglas 4:03.31
Finals (Saturday)
Final Team Scores
Lander 377, Kemmerer 200, Buffalo 196, Cody 145, Douglas 111, Powell 105, Lyman 70, Sublette 60, Worland 50, Newcastle 29, Rawlins 14
200 Yard Medley Relay
1 Lander (Hampton, Plaisted, Anderson, Denton) 1:50.29*, 2. Buffalo 1:53.41, 3. Kemmerer 1:57.93
200 Yard Freestyle
1 Havens LAN 1:55.84*, 2. LaVigne COD 2:03.74, 3. Reinhardt LAN 2:05.57, 12. Hamilton LAN 2:23.32
200 Yard IM
1 Plaisted LAN 2:18.81, 2. Monterastelli BUF 2:19.49, 3. Roberson DOU 2:21.45, 5. Hampton LAN 2:24.06, 7. Woltman LAN 2:33.33
50 Yard Freestyle
1 Rogers KEM 24.52, 2. Kearns LAN 24.62, 3. Denton LAN 25.58, 6. Ooten LAN 27.00
Diving
1 Walker KEM 410.95, 2. Hanson BUF 335.10, 3. Lockwood KEM 329.25, 6. White LAN 302.25
100 Yard Butterfly
1 Anderson LAN 59.36, 2. Diver POW 1:05.01, 3. Denton LAN 1:06.24, 6. Woltman LAN 1:08.41, 7. Kemp LAN 1:10.04
100 Yard Freestyle
1 Rogers KEM 54.16, 2. Kearns LAN 54.70, 3. LaVigne COD 57.13, 5. Rudd LAN 57.97, 6. Ooten LAN 1:01.00
500 Yard Freestyle
1 Havens LAN 5:22.32, 2. Roberson DOU 5:44.52, 3. Diver POW 5:47.56, 9. Johnson LAN 6:12.67
200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1 Lander (Kearns, Plaisted, Reinhardt, Havens) 1:41.02, 2. Buffalo 1:43.99, 3. Cody 1:46.46
100 Yard Backstroke
1 Anderson LAN 58.33, 2. Hampton LAN 1:01.52, 3. Reinhardt LAN 1:03.88, 8. Heller LAN 1:07.21
100 Yard Breaststroke
1 Monterastelli BUF 1:04.83, 2. Plaisted LAN 1:09.26, 6. Rudd LAN 1:16.04, 8. Johnson LAN 1:17.41
400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1 Lander (Kearns, Reinhardt, Anderson, Havens) 3:40.36, 2. Kemmerer 3:52.20, 3. Douglas
The above information was provided to County 10 by Tamara Anderson and the LVHS Girls Swim and Dive Team. Photos by Carl Cote, County 10.