PINEDALE – The Sublette County combined girls’ swim team posted strong performances and new PRs at the Pinedale Invite hosted by the Pinedale Aquatic Center on Saturday, October 4.
The meet consisted of nine teams from across western Wyoming. Sublette County finished sixth as a team with 109 points, beating Worland (99 points), Rock Springs (83) and Lyman (59).
Sophomore Maggie Williams qualified for state in both the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle at the Pinedale Invite. Williams can now count all eight individual events to choose from at the state championships later this month – an achievement reached by only a handful of athletes in program history.
Williams finished eighth in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in at 6 minutes, 23.55 seconds. The sophomore clinched ninth place in the 200-freestyle with a time of 2:22.53.
Junior Eva Scherbel posted a qualifying time in her third event on Saturday, the 500-freestyle. Scherbel took 12th place in the event with a time of 6:33.85 seconds.
Three swimmers can now be added to the state roster after qualifying in their first events over the weekend.
Senior Claire Thonhoff led the Sublette County pack in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing fourth with a state-qualifying time of 1:23.78. Only a few hundredths of a second later, freshman Arabella DeWitt crossed the finish line in the event at 1:23.83 to punch her ticket to state.
Freshman Landee Biffle came in 11th place in the 200-yard freestyle with a state-qualifying time of 2:23.95.
DeWitt was selected by her peers for the Swimmer of the Week Award.
“Arabella is an extremely coachable, kind, wonderful addition to the team,” coach Kursty Day wrote. “She had been working hard in practice and she has shown great improvement in her 100-breaststroke. As a freshman, she qualified in the event. Arabella has enjoyed coming into a team full of girls who love having her.”
PHS Invite top 10
Freshman Tea Telfer snagged sixth place in the 200-yard individual medley (IM), posting a time of 2:43.34.
Senior Shelby Scott timed the 100-yard backstroke in at 1:20.26 to capture ninth place. Fellow senior Libby Olson took 10th place in the event with a time of 1:20.88.
In addition to the two state qualifiers, two swimmers made the top 10 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Biffle collected eighth place, clocking in at 1:24.94, while senior Evalyn Smith finished ninth with a time of 1:26.22.
Three relay teams broke into the top 10 in the 400-yard freestyle event. Williams, Olson, sophomore Mesa Landers and Scherbel garnered fifth place, reaching the finish line in 4:42.91.
Sophomore Aylen Mills, Smith, senior Clairee Bingham and senior Kamia Runyan took sixth place in the 400-free relay at 4:48.87. Senior Bryne Arne, freshman Kylie Bohnet, senior Mariaha Morgan and DeWitt pulled into eighth place in the event, timing in at 5:08.12.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Landers, Runyan, Olson and Biffle hit the finish line in 10th place with a time of 2:03.56.
Additional results
• 200-medley relay: Scott, Telfer, Bohnet and Bingham 13th at 2:22.00 and Morgan, Thonhoff, Hadlee Francis and Arne 21st at 2:48.01.
• 200-free: Runyan 14th at 2:25.92, Mills 16th at 2:27.89, Landers 17th at 2:32.46, Olson 21st at 2:35.98, Arne 22nd at 2:36.19, Smith 31st at 2:45.43, Bohnet 34th at 2:48.10, Francis 36th at 2:59.18 and Morgan 37th at 3:04.76.
• 200-IM: Scherbel 15th at 2:54.08.
• 50-free: Scott 20th at 30.70 seconds, Bingham 31st at 33.21 and Lacey Lyons 44th at 41.41.
• 100-butterfly: Telfer 11th at 1:19.83 and Bohnet 20th at 1:34.42.
• 100-free: Landers 20th at 1:08.97, DeWitt 21st at 1:10.15, Bingham 23rd at 1:11.87 and Morgan 32nd at 1:22.18.
• 500-free: Runyan 18th at 7:14.33 and Arne 22nd at 7:21.71.
• 200-free relay: Smith, DeWitt, Thonhoff and Mills 16th at 2:09.90.
• 100-backstroke: Francis 17th at 1:36.26 and Lyons 20th at 2:00.88.
• 100-breaststroke: Mills 11th at 1:27.47.
