2019 Wyoming High School Girls’ State Championships – 4A
- November 8th-9th, 2019
- Gillette, Wyoming
- 4A State Championship (bigger schools)
- SCY, prelims/finals, 6-per-final format
- Meet Results
The Laramie High school girls swimming and diving team won the Wyoming 4A State Championship meet this weekend in Gillette, giving them 3 consecutive titles in girls’ swimming. The Lady Plainsmen outpaced runners-up Green River High School by 140 points, and their 348-point outburst is the most they’ve scored in their 3-year run as champions.
The team was led by a pair of new state records from outgoing seniors and cornerstones of their state championship run. The first came in Friday’s preliminary session, where Sage Morton swam a 5:03.01. That was a lifetime best for her by more than 4 seconds and broke the old record of 5:07.71 that was set by Sani Carsrud in 2017 (also in prelims).
In finals, Morton cruised to a 5:04.17, which was part of a 1-2-3 finish for Laramie with senior Madie Jablin taking 2nd and freshman Ashlyn Mathes taking 3rd.
Morton had room to spare on that 500 free final, and so a little bit of cruise control in finals allowed her to save some speed for the next event, the 200 free relay, where Laramie won another title in 1:37.23 along with Olivia McPherson, Heidi Schroeder, and Katie McPherson.
The school’s other record-breaker was Olivia McPherson, older sister of Katie, who won the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.65. That broke her own record of 1:03.31 which was set at a pre-state last-chance meet in 2018.
Olivia McPherson, a South Carolina commit, also won the 50 free in 23.29 with her younger sister, Katie, finishing 2nd in 23.90. Katie later won the 100 free by more than a second in 52.97.
For the 2nd-straight year, Olivia McPherson was named ‘Athlete of the Meet,’ while Laramie coach Tom Hudson was named 4A Coach of the Year. This was Hudson’s 6th state title as the head coach of the Laramie team.
Olivia McPherson and Morton are part of a high-flying senior class that graduates at the end of this year for Laramie High. There is still a good core returning, including 3 legs of the team’s medley relay and the aforementioned Katie McPherson, but with Green Valley graduating only 2 scoring swimmers (Sydni Sanders and Kaycee Olsen), next year’s state championship meet should be a lot more interesting. Laramie will still have a big advantage in that they have very good divers and Green Valley had none at the state meet, but Green Valley’s swimming depth should tighten things up considerably in 2020.
Other Event Winners:
- The Laramie Girls swept the relays. In addition to the above-mentioned 200 free relay, they also won the 200 medley relay in 1:49.53 with a team of Katie McPherson, Olivia McPherson, Therese Richardson, and Anna Roseler; as well as the 400 free relay in 3:38.13 with a team of Roseler, Schroeder, Mathes, and Morton.
- Campbell County sophomore Berkley Christensen won the girls’ 200 free in 1:54.64, almost 3 seconds ahead of the 500 free record-breaker Morton.
- Rock Springs sophomore Abi Robinson-Kim won the girls’ 200 IM in 2:08.72. That cuts more than 2 seconds off her previous lifetime best in the event, which was set at this meet last season. Robinson-Kim later won the 100 back in 58.70, just out-racing fellow sophomore Kira Brownell of Cheyenne Central, who took 2nd in 59.02. Robinson-Kim was the runner-up in both of those events last year.
- Campbell County sophomore Berkeley Christensen won the girls’ 100 fly in 56.87, which put her within a second of the state (and school) record in the event that was set in 2010. Christensen defended her state titles in both the 200 free and 100 fly on Saturday, giving her a chance at a double 4-peat in both (she was well ahead of the field in both races).
- Natrona County high junior Gabriella Haigler won the women’s 1-meter diving event with a score of 387.20. That’s a 2nd-straight title for her.
- Sheridan High School’s Zoe Robinson was the winner of the 4A Sportsmanship Award.
Final Standings
1. Laramie High School-348
2. Green River High School-208
3. Cheyenne Central High School-191
4. Campbell County High School-172
5. Sheridan High School-98
6. Cheyenne South High School-82
T7. Kelly Walsh High School-69
T7. Rock Springs High School-69
9. Jackson Hole High School-43
10. Thunder Basin High School-39
11. Cheyenne East High School-37
12. Natrona County High School-25
13. Evanston High School-13.