The clock. It doesn’t lie to you. It won’t tell you that you’re fast and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It does not care if you shaved, tapered or are in the outside lane. It’s your most worthy opponent day in and day out. It will never let you win and never goes easy on you. It’s the drive that pushes you to pull more, kick faster and breathe less.

The Lady Panther swim team consisting of 12 qualifiers placed second out of 13 teams with 172 points, falling short of Lander’s three-peat with 279 points on Nov. 2-3 in Laramie.

The Lady Panthers experienced many personal hardships throughout the season but continued to stay optimistic.

“I thought after being sick, my season still ended pretty great and [I had] some of my best times,” senior Caitlyn Miner said. “I thought our team was very successful this year and I’m going to miss all of [them].”

Miner, who placed second and third in her individual events, earned the All-State award at the meet.

“Swimming is like most things in life; you get out what you put it, but swimming specifically is worth it,” junior Sidney O’Brien said. “There are definitely those practices where I felt like I might die if I went a little longer or one more 25, but I made it through.”

With the elevation difference, it caused the swimmers to have more difficult time with breathing, a disadvantage many had faced in Laramie.

“State was great and we improved by [one] place from last year,” sophomore Emma Karhu said. “Swimming is a great sport and how all of the teams get along and cheer each other on even if they aren’t from the same town.”

Second-year head coach Robert Smartt has trained the swimmers to the best of their abilities, which led them to many awards and new additions to the Hall of Fame. Not only did swimmers earn awards and their names on the Hall of Fame, but one of the three coaches did as well. Dive Coach Heather Christensen was voted the 3A Assistant Coach of the Year.

“With only two graduating seniors, we can be optimistic about the team’s future,” Coach Smartt said.

Sophomore Elizabeth Liggett swam the 500 free where she earned All-State honors by placing third.

“Our 200 free relay team broke the oldest school record of 1:44.76, which was set by Kristy Johnson, Renee Johnson, Jennie Parsons and Christy Christiansen in 1993,” Coach Smartt said. “Our new record is 1:44.75.”

In preliminaries, Miner broke her school record set last year in the 50 free (25.36) with a 24.92 effort, placing her third on the Hall of Fame.

Miner also swam 55.53 in the 100 freestyle which ranks her third on Powell’s Hall of Fame. She ends her career with school records in the 100 breaststroke, 50 free, and 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. In addition, Miner has Hall Of Fame standings in the 200 free (5th), 200 individual medley (3rd), and 100 backstroke (3rd) events.

Sophomore Madison Lowery swam 26.15 in the 50 free, which puts her in 5th position on the board.

 

State Results: (Final results and fastest times)

200-Yard Medley Relay –

Fourth place: Sidney O’Brien, Anna Fuller, Caitlyn Miner and Madison Lowery – 1:57.99

200-Yard Freestyle –

Fourth place: Elizabeth Liggett – 2:08.09

Tenth place: Addison Moretti – 2:12.25

Twenty-sixth place: Grace Harder – 2:27.15

200-Yard Individual Medley –

Tenth place: Sidney O’Brien – 2:36.33

Eleventh place: Rachel Kuntz – 2:39.94

Fourteenth place: Ashlyn Aguirre – 2:41.17

50-Yard Freestyle –

Second place: Caitlyn Miner – 24.92

Twelfth place: Madison Lowery – 26.15

Thirteenth place: Katrina Twitchell – 26.42

1-Meter Diving –

Fourth place: Emma Karhu – 309.7

Ninth place: Madison Hackenberg – 296.5

100 Yard Butterfly –

Eleventh place: Ashlyn Aguirre – 1:08.89

Fifteenth place: Rachel Kuntz – 1:11.84

100-Yard Freestyle –

Third place: Caitlyn Miner – 55.53

Eighth place: Katrina Twitchell – 57.77

Twenty-seventh place: Madison Lowery – 1:11.5

500-Yard Freestyle –

Third place: Elizabeth Liggett – 5:49.04

Seventh place: Addison Moretti – 5:52.69

Ninth place: Anna Fuller – 5:55.21

Twenty-fifth place: Grace Harder – 6:49.27

200-Yard Freestyle Relay –

Third place: Katrina Twitchell, Madison Lowery, Caitlyn Miner and Elizabeth Liggett – 1:44.75

100-Yard Backstroke –

Sixth place: Sidney O’Brien – 1:06.64

100-Yard Breaststroke –

Seventh place: Anna Fuller – 1:14.79

400-Yard Medley Relay –

Fifth place: Katrina Twitchell, Elizabeth Liggett,Addison Moretti and Anna Fuller – 3:54.87