201 WYOMING HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS’ STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – 3A
- November 8th-9th, 2019
- Gillette, Wyoming
- 3A State Championship (smaller schools)
- SCY, prelims/finals, 6-per-final format
- Meet Results
The Lander Tigers girls swimming & diving team sent their seniors out undefeated on Saturday at the Wyoming 3A State Championship meet. Lander’s 274 points put them 68 clear of runners-up Buffalo and was a 4th-straight title for the Tigers. The dominant program in the state in class 3A, the boys in the spring will be seeking a 24th-straight state title.
The Lander title run included 3 individual event victories, two of which came from sophomore Ashlon Koch. First she won the 100 fly in 1:02.14, and just one event later the 500 free in 5:27.10. Those swims were improvements of 3 and over 15 seconds, respectively, from her previous lifetime bests.
The team’s other win came from one of those undefeated seniors, Olivia Fowler, who won the 100 backstroke in 59.65.
Lander showed big-time depth to win the meet, but ironically they took the title without winning a single relay. Lyman High School won the girls’ 200 medley relay in 1:53.36 with a team of Harper Hewitt, Brynlee Busskohl, Brooklyn Busskohl, and Samantha Weston. Brynlee Busskohl is the only swimmer from that relay who will return next year for 3rd-place Lyman High.
Then, in the 200 free relay, Buffalo High School won in 1:41.97, with a team of Emi Wagner, Grace Wagner, Maddi Johnson, and Luci Riddle.
In the 400 free relay, it was another Buffalo relay of Emi Wagner, Grace Wagner, Johnson, and Makenna Lambert that won running-away in 3:42.73.
The upside of the depth came in that all 3 Lander relays finished in the top 3 at the meet. They’re the only school that can boast that in 3A, where teams can get thin after their nucleus of top performers.
In spite of the 4th-straight team title for Lander, it was Buffalo head coach Ron Chapin that was honored as the Coach of the Year. Koch, Emi Wagner and Brynlee Busskohl shared Athlete of the Meet honors, while Newcastle junior Hannah Gross was named Class 3A Athlete of the Year.
Other Event Winners:
- Hannah Gross, the Athlete of the Year, won the 200 free in 1:57.79, beating her previous best time of 2:02.19 from just 2 weeks ago. She also finished 2nd in the 100 back behind Fowler.
- Buffalo’s Lambert won the 200 IM in 2:16.08, putting 2-and-a-half seconds between her and the field after the butterfly and roaring her way to a win by almost 6 seconds. In her other individual event, she placed 2nd in the 500 free behind Koch.
- Buffalo went on a 2-race streak when Emi Wagner won the 50 free in 24.32, just out-pacing Brynlee Busskohl in 24.44. After the diving break, Wagner then won the 100 free in 54.29, which was a mild upset over fellow senior Josie Dike, who was the defending champion. Freshman Ally Boysen was 3rd in that 100 free in 54.50.
- Brynlee Busskohl won the girls’ 100 breaststroke in 1:05.59, which broke her own 3A State Record of 1:07.36 that was set at last year’s championship. Teryn Thatcher chased her under that record in 1:05.66, and in spite of a hard-charging final 25 for Thatcher, she ran out of room as Busskohl held on for the win.
- Powell’s Emma Karhu won the girls’ 1-meter diving title in 383.85. Karhu is a multi sport athlete who is also the first female wrestler in Powell High School history and is on the track team. Her dad, Roy, is a wrestling coach, and her brother, Brody, is a Wyoming state champion in wrestling.
Final Standings:
- Lander – 274
- Buffalo – 206
- Lyman – 173
- Powell – 162
- Sublette County – 155
- Cody – 118
- Riverton – 83
- Kemmerer – 65
- Douglas – 43
- Worland – 40
- Newcastle – 39
- Rawlins – 17