By Susan Gray Gose
The Lander Valley High girls swim team faced its toughest competition yet in Cody and Powell over the weekend but still eked out victories.
On Friday, the Lady Tigers traveled to Cody to compete against Cody, Jackson and Riverton in a quad meet and defeated each team, despite Jackson claiming half of the first place finishes. LVHS Junior Olivia Fowler shone with wins in the 200-yard I.M. and 100-yard backstroke. Fowler’s foreign exchange “sister” Anastasia Cornale, of Italy, matched her with a pair of wins in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle events. The relay squad of Cornale, senior Molly Fehringer, junior McKenzie Lilygren, and freshman Ashlon Koch also won the 200-yard freestyle relay, while Fowler, Cornale, Koch, and junior Lily Gose took first in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
On Saturday, the Tigers travelled up the road to Powell to compete in the Gene Dozah Invitational against six 3A rivals. Lander showed some fatigue from escalating workouts but still won narrowly over the host team. Heading into the final 400-yard-freestyle relay event, the Tigers were ahead of Powell by only two points. The win by the foursome of Cornale, Fowler, Koch, and Lilygren secured the victory, putting Lander 10 points ahead of Powell and 28 points ahead of third-place Buffalo.
“The Gene Dozah is always a great meet,” said Head Coach Shawna Morgan. “The competition is great, and there are always some really fast times swum. It’s the first time we get to see Buffalo. It was a great test for our girls who had to swim harder for points for us to get the win.”
Morgan noted that Lander was handicapped without any divers. “We didn’t bring any divers to the meet, and Powell had five who all performed well,” said Morgan. “As small as the Powell team is, they are mighty. Buffalo is looking more than amazing this year. They have three really, really good relays, which is going to make things fun at state. We need to keep concentrating on our goals and working hard in practice.”
Only two Tigers secured wins in Powell beyond the relay: Koch in the 200-yard freestyle and Cornale in the 100-yard fly. The Tigers instead relied on the depth of swimmers in the top-point scoring positions.
Several LVHS swimmers added new state Q times: Cornale, Fowler, and junior Lily Gose in the 200-yard I.M.; Cornale, Koch, and junior Makayla McPherson in the 500-yard freestyle, and senior Molly Fehringer in the 100-yard freestyle. The reigning 3A state championship Tigers have a dozen swimmers qualified for the state meet.
RESULTS: Cody Quad Sept. 7, 2017
Team Scores: 1. Lander, 2. Jackson, 3. Cody, 4. Riverton
200 Yard Medley Relay: 1. Jackson 2:09.83, 2. Lander 2:11.39 (Brown, Fowler, Fehringer, Lilygren)
200 Yard Freestyle: 1. Anastasia1 Cornale LAN 2:08.18, 3. Ashlon Koch LAN 2:14.15, 7. Makayla McPherson LAN 2:29.40, 10. Sierra Firth LAN 2:40.10, 13. Leah Brown LAN 2:50.18
200 Yard IM: 1. Olivia Fowler LAN 2:31.82, 2. Molly Fehringer LAN 2:44.28, 4. Anja Harms LAN 2:52.87, 5. Li Platz LAN 2:53.68, 10. Jessica Baron LAN 3:21.08
Girls 50 Yard Free: 1. Kahlan Wilson JAC 28.06, 10. Noelle Harris, LAN 30.73, 14. Jenny Bautz LAN 33.27, 17. Shaylissa Bald Eagle LAN 34.27, 18. Anne Baron LAN 34.42, 19. Madeline Logan LAN 35.77, tie-21. Trinity Laird LAN 36.71
1 mtr Diving: 31. Olivia Roberts JAC 172.70
100 Yard Fly: 1. Andrea Zarate JAC 1:08.56, 2. Lily Gose LAN 1:16.30, 3. Molly Fehringer LAN1:17.86, 6. Anne Baron LAN 1:38.63
100 Yard Free: 1. Tayleigh Hopkin JAC 1:02.13, 2. McKenzie Lilygren LAN 1:02.44, 4. Anja Harms LAN 1:04.67, 5. Leah Brown LAN 1:04.71, 8. Makayla McPherson LAN 1:08.80, 9. McKella Stigers LAN 1:08.83, 21. Jessica Baron LAN 1:22.25, 22. Katrina Winn LAN 1:22.84, 27. Trinity Laird LAN 1:35.71 28. Karah Ratliff LAN 1:35.83
500 Yard Free: 1. Anastasia Cornale LAN 5:46.17, 2. Ashlon Koch LAN 6:00.63, 5. Noelle Harris LAN 6:46.83, 6. Kristen McPherson LAN 6:53.24, 9. Shaylissa Bald Ea gle LAN 7:49.47
200 Yard Free Relay: 1. Lander ‘A’ (Lilygren, Fehringer, Cornale, Koch) 1:51.24
100 Yard Back 1. Olivia Fowler LAN 1:06.00, 2. McKenzie Lilygren LAN 1:08.57, 6. Lily Gose LAN 1:18.30, 7. Li Platz LAN 1:18.71, 13. Madeline Logan LAN 1:32.98
100 Yard Breast 1. Ashley Brimeyer JAC 1:22.57, 3. McKella Stigers LAN 1:24.82, 5. Jenny Bautz LAN 1:29.64, 6. Sierra Firth LAN 1:33.86
400 Yard Free Relay: 1. Lander ‘A’ (Fowler, Gose, Cornale, Koch) 4:06.64
Gene Dozah Invitational Sept. 8, 2018
Team Scores: 1. Lander 268, 2. Powell 258, 3. Buffalo 240, 4. Worland 154, 5. Jackson 153 6. Cody 151, 7. Riverton 78
200 Yard Medley Relay: 1. Buffalo ‘A’ (Norman, Lambert, Riddle, Wagner) 2:05.32, 2. Lander ‘A’ (Fowler, Lilygren, Platz, Fehringer) 2:05.70
200 Yard Freestyle: 1. Ashlon Koch LAN 2:11.82, 7. Noelle Harris 2:24.80, 12. Li Platz LAN 2:38.28, 15. Shaylissa Bald Eagle LAN 2:50.89, 24. Karah Ratliff LAN 3:33.75
200 Yard IM: 1. Julie Warren WOR 2:20.27, 3. Anastasia Cornale LAN 2:27.67, 10. Lily Gose 2:42.65, 14. Sierra Firth LAN 3:02.92
50 Yard Freestyle: 1. Emi Wagner 25.84, 2. Olivia Fowler LAN 27.00, 9. Anja Harms LAN 28.33, 10. Leah Brown LAN 28.34, 16. McKella Stigers LAN 31.21, 33. Katrina Winn LAN 39.78, 36.Trinity Laird LAN 42.31
1 mtr Diving: 1. Kyra Klinghagen WOR 186.80
100 Yard Butterfly: 1. Anastasia Cornale LAN 1:02.98. 2. McKenzie Lilygren LAN 1:10.69, 5. Noelle Harris LAN 1:14.19, 6. Li Platz LAN 1:15.31, 16. Jenny Bautz LAN 1:33.90, 21. Jessica Baron LAN 1:49.41
100 Yard Freestyle: 1. Caitlyn Miner POW 56.05, 2. Olivia Fowler LAN 59.25, 9. Molly Fehringer 1:03.62, 10. Anja Harms LAN 1:03.63, 12. Leah Brown LAN 1:04.79, 19. Kristen McPherson LAN 1:09.46, 22. Shaylissa Bald Eagle LAN 1:15.12, 32. Madeline Logan LAN 1:20.23, 38. Katrina Winn LAN 1:26.29
500 Yard Freestyle: 1. Juli Warren WOR 5:52.13, 7. Lily Gose LAN 6:24.26, 9. Makayla McPherson LAN 6:37.05, 13. Sierra Firth LAN 7:01.80, 16. Anne Baron LAN 7:23.39
200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Buffalo ‘A’ (Wagner, Johnson, Kennedy, Riddle) 1:50.80, 2. Lander ‘A’ (Fehringer, Brown, Cornale, Koch) 1:52.06
100 Yard Backstroke: 1. Megan Boysen COD 1:05.84, 2. Ashlon Koch LAN 1:06.09, 3. Kristen McPherson LAN 1:11.15, 10. Molly Fehringer LAN 1:18.74, 20. Madeline Logan LAN 1:30.96, 27. Karah Ratliff LAN 1:54.63
100 Yard Breaststroke: 1. Emi Wagner BUF 1:13.83, 2. McKenzie Lilygren LAN 1:15.33, 9. McKella Stigers LAN 1:23.80, 13. Jenny Bautz LAN 1:28.15. 20. Jessica Baron LAN 1:39.12, 22. Anne Baron LAN 1:40.52
400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Lander ‘A’ (Fowler, Koch, Cornale, Lilygren)