LANDER – The 2022 fall season commenced for the Sublette County girls’ swim team at the Bruce Gresly Pentathlon in Lander on Aug. 27.

Sublette County faced tough competition from schools across the region, including returning 2021 State Champion Lander, along with teams from the eastern portion of the state like Buffalo. More than a hundred athletes entered each event.

At a pentathlon, each swimmer competes in five individual events ­– the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle.

“This allows us as coaches to see where we stand after two weeks of practice,” said Co-Head Coach Kursty Day.

The meet also featured diving. Senior Rhonda Auradou punched her ticket to State in the event, placing fourth with 275.30 points following 11 dives.

Senior Morgan Grossman earned the Sportsmanship Award.

Coach Day noted marked improvement in times by returning upperclassman and a strong performance from the large group of freshmen at their first meet.

“It was good to see our upperclassmen compete again, most finishing as fast, if not faster, than last year’s fastest times,” she said. “We have 14 new freshmen this year that we are very excited to have on the team. They also had the opportunity to compete in all five individual events, which can be a little overwhelming for a freshman’s first meet. They did very well and I am excited to see what their season has in store for them.”

Sublette County’s upbeat attitude and hunger to compete made a mark at the meet, said Co-Head Coach Ambr Seemann.

“The enthusiasm of our ladies encouraged other teams to enjoy interacting with opponents,” she added. “At one point, the Powell team joined the Sublette team in the Macarena while waiting for the meet to start. A positive, enthusiastic attitude prevailed throughout the competition, and our large group of freshmen commented that it was the most fun they’d ever had at a swim meet. I am very proud of the effort put forth by all of our athletes and am anticipating great success this season.”

Results

• 100-yard butterfly: Grossman led the Sublette County pack, finishing in 39th place at 1 minute, 22.57 seconds. Jolynn Jones took 48th place at 1:25.56. Rayne Wheeler placed 50th, clocking in at 1:26.86.

Alexis Thompson came in 64th at 1:33.84, followed several tenths of a second later by Maggie Walker in 65th place at 1:34.28.

The race between KaLee Bohnet and Addy Levitt was also close. Bohnet finished 71st at 1:35.45 with Levitt in 72nd at 1:35.49.

Emma York snagged 76th place at 1:39.72. Bryn Arne took 84th place at 1:56.48, with Kamia Runyan in 86th at 1:59.18 and Hadlee Francis in 87th at 2:00.54.

• 100-yard backstroke: Wheeler captured 35th place, timing in at 1:17.37. Grossman scooped up 39th place at 1:20.33. Walker placed 43rd, finishing the event in 1:21.76.

Thompson came in 54th place at 1:25.08. Levitt placed 62nd at 1:26.75. Jones took 73rd place with a time of 1:29.75. York placed 78th, clocking in at 1:31.78.

Bohnet came in 84th place at 1:36.41, followed by Libby Olson in 85th at 1:38.69, Runyan in 88th at 1:42.65, Francis in 89th at 1:49.80, Alyce Hayward in 90th at 1:50.56 and Arne in 92nd at 2:10.53.

• 50-yard freestyle: Wheeler led the team in the sprinting event, capturing 25th place at 29.13 seconds. Grossman came in 31st at 29.45 seconds. Walker picked up 51st place with a time of 31.42 seconds. Thompson finished in 58th place, clocking in at 31.87 seconds.

Levitt took 64th place at 32.47 seconds. Jones picked up 68th with a time of 32.88 seconds. York placed 73rd, finishing the event in 33.42 seconds.

Olson swam into 79th place at 34.84 seconds, with Bohnet in 80th at 34.97 seconds, Arne in 87th at 39.04 seconds, Francis in 88th at 39.39 seconds and Hayward in 90th at 39.85 seconds.

• 100-yard breaststroke: Wheeler snagged 26th place, timing in at 1:25.92. Walker placed 43rd with a time of 1:33.29. Grossman took 50th place at 1:35.81.

Thompson came in 61st place at 1:40.57. Jones took 64th place, clocking in at 1:41.91. Levitt placed 65th at 1:42.41. York finished in 67th place at 1:43.07. Runyan picked up 79th place at 1:49.21.

Arne placed 83rd at 2:02.73, followed by Olson in 84th at 2:03.23, Francis in 86th at 2:05.85 and Bohnet in 87th at 2:20.55.

• 100-yard freestyle: Grossman led the Sublette County pack with a 26th place finish at 1:04.84. Wheeler took 29th place, timing in at 1:05.46. Thompson came in 57th place with a time of 1:12.84.

York placed 63rd, completing the event in 1:14.92. Jones came in 66th place at 1:15.22, with Walker finishing five-hundredths of a second later in 68th place at 1:15.27.

Levitt took 73rd place, timing in at 1:18.01. Bohnet placed 84th at 1:22.04. Olson picked up 86th place at 1:25.07.

Runyan came in 87th place at 1:27.38, with Arne in 88th at 1:30.01, Hayward in 89th at 1:31.28 and Francis in 90th at 1:33.42.

Next up for the Sublette County girls’ swim team is the Green River Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.