First meet, first state qualifiers

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
There may be a sense of urgency in this unprecedented 2020 fall sports season, and the seniors on the Lady Dogie Swim team have established that they are ready to finish their final season strong. 
Hannah Gross swam her way to state qualification in two events while Becca Henkle wasted no time hitting the state qualifying mark in diving in the Lady Dogies’ debut meet of the year in Buffalo last Friday.
“Becca has been diving really well in practice and we were hoping she would qualify in her first meet, and she didn’t disappoint,” head coach Doug Scribner smiled. “I went over and took a sneak peak at the scores and I saw that she had 133 points so I was bummed that she missed the mark. However, when I got home and saw her final score of 155, I realized that when I saw her mark at the meet that was only for five dives.”
Last season, Henkle qualified for the state meet in the 11th hour competing in an 11 dive format at the conference meet, so in addition to clenching her spot right out of the gate, she also set a personal best score in a six dive format.
Gross is the reigning state champion in the 200 Free, holding pool and conference records in the race, so she is no stranger to success. On Friday, she added the 200 IM and the 500 Free to her state slate finishing well under the 4A qualifying time.  
The 500 Free is a long and grueling race which involves swimming 20 laps in a 25 yard pool, however the finish was a nail biter as Gross just out-touched the current state champion in the 500 by .18 seconds. 
“One of the things we worked on in that race was the walls. She was seeded 16 seconds slower than Ashlon [Koch of Lander], but that means she only had to make up 16 seconds over 20 lengths and that was totally doable for Hannah,” Scribner began. “I told her that if she was going to beat her it was going to be on the walls, just stay with her and that’s exactly what she did. Ashlon only beat her on one wall in the whole race.”
Scribner knew that if Gross was able to be in the race, that she’s competitive enough to find a little extra to make it a race at the end, and she proved him right. It is Gross’ goal to swim the 200 Free in the state meet and not only take the title, but also set a new record, so Scribner and she have determined to work the 500 a few times throughout the season, making the 200 a piece of cake in the long run.
In the 200 IM, Gross is strong in every stroke but Scribner admits that the breaststroke is her weakest. That leg gave her competitors the opportunity to cut her lead, however she made up for lost time in the final freestyle leg of the race. She ended up second behind a Buffalo swimmer, however she cut her time by .65 of a second. 
Though sophomore Raeleigh Shipp didn’t punch her state ticket, she started off the season strong in the 100 Breaststroke, taking off right where she left off at the end of the 2019 season.
“Raeleigh swam well and she is wanting to qualify in the breaststroke or at least drop some time,” Scribner began. “It took her a length to get into the race, but there was a girl next to her who was matching her stroke for stroke, and once she got warmed up she really started racing.”
The freshmen are also showing promise in their debut in varsity swimming. Though Brooklyn Schmidt disqualified in the 50 Free due to a slight movement on the start, Scribner felt she swam well in her first meet, and that Rebekah Olson also performed well in her races.
Early in the season, Scribner likes to mix things up regarding the relay lineups in order to give his swimmers the opportunity to try everything out and see what the best combinations are for each race. 
This week the team has a long road trip to Cody on Thursday where they will compete in a triangular with Worland and Riverton.