State Championship competitions are the ultimate experiences for high school athletes, and this year’s State Swim and Dive Championships in Cheyenne were no exception. The beautiful new pool complex was filled with athletes and fans.
The team cheers were loud (L-A-N-D-E-R LANDER LANDER LANDER). The quiet came before each starting buzzer. Athletes left all their effort in the pool as they fought to make it past the prelims.
The final heats on the second day saw the athletes march to the blocks to their favorite tunes while their names were individually announced. The butterflies in stomachs were evident as divers tried to execute their most demanding flips and twists. Swimmers suffered when their legs were giving out and there was still a lap to go. Teammates knelt at the end of the lanes encouraging their friends to go faster. Coaches paced the side of the pool trying to signal reminders to kick or to pick up the pace.
At the finish, competitors stretched and reached for the wall, trying to out-touch the other swimmers. The crowd screamed for each time drop, each victory, each new record.
And when your team wins it all? Pure joy!
Suddenly, all of those early morning practices, all those repetitive trips up and down the pool, all of the effort to push to exhaustion during workouts—it all seems worth it.
When Lander was announced as this year’s champion, the girls gave one more cheer before jumping in for some celebratory splashing (including pulling the fully-clothed coaches—Erik DeClue, Lindsay Alcaraz, and Greg Anderson— into the pool with them).
Lander’s Swim and Dive team posted a dominant victory in the 3A State Championships on November 7th and 8th. Lander’s strong and deep team included 19 qualifiers.
The team won eleven of twelve events, scoring 431 points. The next closest team, Cody, scored 199 points. Lander also set school records in three individual events and two relay events.
In the preliminary rounds on Thursday, Lander’s magical taper became evident in the first individual event, the 200 Yard Freestyle. Shyrone AnesiShoyo and Ruby Johnson dropped 6.94 and 7.58 seconds respectively to become the third and fourth Lander swimmers to qualify for finals in that event (Vayda Havens and Lara Robertson were the top qualifiers—more on them later).
This would become a trend throughout the day, with many events having three or four Lander swimmers making it through. In the 100 Backstroke event, the top four preliminary times were turned in by Lander swimmers.
The twelve fastest times in the swimming events advanced to the final rounds on the second day where points were awarded.
It was not an easy task, however. Lander swimmer, Eden Kemp, dropped 2.25 seconds from her personal best and placed 14th in the 100 Butterfly, ending up as the second-alternate for finals. But any experience swimming at state is something to build on for next year.
In diving, Lander had two first-year divers qualify for the state meet. Brooklyn White stood in fourth place after the semi-final round. Adlyn Even did not quite make it into the finals, but still turned in a respectable 8-dive score of 176.45. Even will also build on this experience for next year.
On day two of competition, Lander was ready to roll. The first event was the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Lander broke out to an early lead that continued to grow with each leg of the relay. The last Lander swimmer touched the wall over 11 seconds ahead of the second-place Cody relay.
The team of Emma Jones, Emily Plaisted, Katy Anderson, and Sara Kearns broke Lander’s school record with a time of 1:50.43. The previous record was 1:51.00 set in 2018.
Next up was the 200 Yard Freestyle. This was one of the closest competitions of the day, with Vayda Havens of Lander just out-touching her teammate Lara Robertson. Both swimmers broke the previous school record of 1:58.70 set in 2014. Havens now holds the record with her swim of 1:57.12. Also placing for Lander were Shyrone AnesiShoyo in fourth and Ruby Johnson in 12th.
In the 200 Yard IM race, Lander had four swimmers in the 6-person A finals. Emily Plaisted took the top spot with a swim of 2:19.37. Cira Hampton took third, followed by Daegan Reinhardt in fourth, and Iris Woltman in sixth.
The 50 Yard Freestyle finals featured three Lander swimmers. Sara Kearns took first in 24.93 seconds, while Chayse Denton placed second, and Ella Giesmann ninth.
In the Diving finals, Lander’s Brooklyn White hung on to her place from prelims, earning 298.05 points across her 12 dives. Horizon Hanson of Buffalo won the event with a score of 365.55.
Swimming resumed with the 100 Yard Butterfly. Lander’s Katy Anderson couldn’t best her prelims time of 59.82, but still took first place. Lander’s Emma Jones placed third, Shyrone AnesiShoyo fourth, and Iris Woltman 9th.
In the 100 Yard Freestyle, Sara Kearns became the first of Lander’s multi-event champions at the meet, winning her second event with a time of 56.00. Chayse Denton placed second in 56.93, Ang Rudd placed 5th, and Ella Giesmann 9th.
The 500 Yard Freestyle was next. Vayda Havens became another two-event champion and set another school record with her swim of 5:20.59. Lara Robertson placed second and Liv Ooten just out-touched a Worland swimmer to place 7th.
The 200 Yard Freestyle Relay was next. Lander’s team of Chayse Denton, Daegan Reinhardt, Lara Robertson, and Vayda Havens won with a time of 1:42.69, over seven seconds ahead of second-place Worland.
In the 100 Yard Backstroke, Lander claimed five of the finals places, including the top four. Katy Anderson won the event with a time of 58.75. Anderson has now won the 3A Backstroke title three years in a row. Emma Jones took second, Daegan Reinhardt third, Cira Hampton fourth and Brinlee Heller 11th.
The 100 Yard Breaststroke race resulted in yet another school record. Emily Plaisted set the new mark with a swim of 1:08.33, becoming Lander’s fourth two-event champion of the meet. Lander also placed Ang Rudd in sixth and Ruby Johnson tenth.
And just to put an exclamation point onto the team’s performance, Lander’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay group won the final event by more than 18 seconds. The team of Sara Kearns, Lara Robertson, Katy Anderson, and Vayda Havens set a new school record for this event with their swim of 3:40.98. This easily broke the 2018 record of 3:43.69 and was just 0.75 seconds off the state record.
Head Coach Erik DeClue commented, “It was amazing to see all the hard work they put into the season pay off at state. This was an awesome season. I’m so proud of the kids and the way they stepped up at State.” DeClue was honored as the 3A Swim Coach of the Year following the meet.
Vayda Havens was named Athlete of the Meet and Lara Robertson was named Athlete of the Year.
3A Wyoming High School Girls State
November 7-8, 2024
(Top Three and Lander Finishers Only)
Team Scores: Lander 431, Cody 199, Kemmerer 118, Buffalo 118, Worland 106, Douglas 104, Powell 82, Rawlins 58, Lyman 58, Sublette 54, Newcastle 53
200 Yard Medley Relay
Prelims: Lander 1:51.36, Cody 2:02.96, Worland 2:03.96
Finals: 1. Lander 1:50.43, 2. Cody 2:01.78, 3. Worland 2:03.60
200 Yard Freestyle
Prelims: 1. Havens 2:00.77, 2. Robertson 2:04.60, 3. AnesiShoyo 2:07.80, 2:15.13, 11. Johnson 2:15.13, 13. Ooten 2:18.70
Finals: 1. Havens 1:57.12, 2. Robertson 1:57.41, 3. Christensen POW 2:07.39, 4. AnesiShoyo 2:09.02, 12. Johnson 2:18.91
200 Yard IM
Prelims: 1. Reinhardt 2:21.47, 2. Plaisted 2:22.07, 3. Hampton 2:23.34, 6. Woltman 2:31.26
Finals: 1. Plaisted 2:19.37, 2. Whitlock WOR 2:23.00, 3. Hampton 2:24.31, 4. Reinhardt 2:26.85, 6. Woltman 2:31.54
50 Yard Freestyle
Prelims: 1. Kearns 25.40, 2. Denton 25.73, 3. Chavez RAW 26.12, 10. Giesmann 27.54
Finals: 1. Kearns 24.93, 2. Denton 25.74, 3. LaVigne COD 26.18, 9. Giesmann 27.34
Diving
Prelims/Semifinals: 1. Hanson BUF 262.20, 2. Walker KEM 258.70, 3. Cornell COD 228.20, 4. White LAN 225.05, 14. Even 176.45
Finals: 1. Hanson BUF 365.55, 2. Walker KEM 352.45, 3. Cornell COD 328.90, 4. White 298.05
100 Yard Butterfly
Prelims: 1. Anderson 59.82, 2. Jones 1:03.76, 3. Cornell COD 1:04.20, 4. AnesiShoyo 1:05.02, 9. Woltman 1:09.38, 14. Kemp 1:13.61
Finals: 1. Anderson 1:00.01, 2. Cornell COD 1:04.38, 3. Jones 1:04.71, 4. AnesiShoyo 1:05.85, 9. Woltman 1:08.03
100 Yard Freestyle
Prelims: 1. Kearns 55.80, 2. Denton 57.38, 3. LaVigne COD 57.47, 4. Rudd 58.22, 9. Giesmann 1:00.94
Finals: 1. Kearns 56.00, 2. Denton 56.93, 3. LaVigne COD 56.97, 5. Rudd 58.50, 9. Giesmann 1:01.35
500 Yard Freestyle
Prelims: 1. Havens 5:27.59, 2. Robertson 5:41.38, 3. Diver POW 5:53.52, 8. Ooten 6:24.40
Finals: 1. Havens 5:20.59, 2. Robertson 5:32.45, 3. Diver POW 5:42.33, 7. Ooten 6:17.06
200 Yard Freestyle Relay
Prelims: Lander 1:43.21, Worland 1:51.94, Buffalo 1:52.26
Finals: 1. Lander 1:42.69, 2. Worland 1:49.82, 3. Buffalo 1:50.70
100 Yard Backstroke
Prelims: 1. Anderson 59.17, 2. Jones 1:02.70, 3. Reinhardt 1:03.24, 4. Hampton 1:03.45, 11. Heller 1:11.73
Finals: 1. Anderson 58.75, 2. Jones 1:02.05, 3. Reinhardt 1:02.84, 4. Hampton 1:03.36, 11. Heller 1:12.69
100 Yard Breaststroke
Prelims: 1. Plaisted 1:10.84, 2. Williams SUB 1:10.92, 3. Warren WOR 1:14.01, 6. Rudd 1:16.05, 7. Johnson 1:17.67, 16. Heller 1:24.54
Finals: 1. Plaisted 1:08.33, 2. Williams SUB 1:11.23, 3. Warren WOR 1:14.10, 6. Rudd 1:17.90, 10. Johnson 1:20.20
400 Yard Freestyle
Prelims: Lander 3:43.71, Kemmerer 4:01.85, Cody 4:02.71
Finals: 1. Lander 3:40.98, 2. Cody 3:59.52, 3. Buffalo 4:03.80
The above write-up and scoring breakdown was provided to County 10 by Tamara Anderson and the LVHS Girls Swim and Dive Team.