Ladies take their mark

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Eight Lady Dogies are set to dive into the 2020 season, and are hoping to make it to the state meet in November. With fingers crossed, head coach Doug Scribner is looking forward to seeing what his girls can accomplish this year.
Three seniors grace this year’s roster as the team’s top finisher Hannah Gross returns for her final hoorah and she is joined by Becca Henkle, who is returning as the team’s sole diver. Making a comeback this year is Abbey Lacey who took a year off last season.
Autumn Mills is the team’s only junior to return, while sophomores include Lydia Anderson and Raeleigh Shipp, and new to the team as freshmen are Rebekah Olson and Brooklyn Schmitz.
Sophomores Moriahn Kenney and Brylee Toth will also be around the pool this season, however they will each be taking on the role of manager due to medical issues that will keep them out of the water.
Gross is coming off of last season with a state championship title in the 200 Freestyle and was runner up in the 100 Backstroke, which she finished with a lifetime best time. She also set both a conference record and a pool record in the 100 Backstroke at the conference meet in Rawlins.
When COVID-19 hit in the spring, Gross was dry-docked, however Scribner mused that may have been a blessing in disguise for the swimmer.
“I think things actually worked out the way they were supposed to,” he began. “Coming off a full summer of competition, she was motivated, but a little tired beginning her season last fall. She was just about ready to get back in the pool last spring, but in retrospect she appreciated having a little bit of a break.”
After the quarantine shut everything down last spring, plans that were in place for the off-season had to be put on hold. Scribner put together dry-land workouts for his swimmers to try to keep them going and in shape, but when Upton opened back up, his ladies were eager to get back in the water. 
“Right now, Hannah is in a good spot mentally,” Scribner noted. “She was tired of dry-land and was ready to go. She had a pretty good break, and training-wise, she is in a totally different spot because she is rested and ready for the season.”
According to Scribner, Gross is quite a ways ahead of where she began the season last fall regarding her endurance. He continued that the senior has some pretty ambitious goals this season so the forced rest may play out in her favor. 
Gross’ top 3A competitor in the backstroke, who out-touched her at the state meet last year, graduated, however with Green River dropping to 3A this year, they bring with them another strong swimmer in that stroke.
“Hannah has a challenge in her final year,” Scribner smiled. “This year will be business as usual for her. We are just going to practice consistently. We know what time we need to swim and we’re going to practice faster than she does.”
In the 200 Free, Gross finished just three seconds shy of the state record, so Scribner is also excited to see what she can do to shave off a few seconds in the eight lengths of the race. 
Scribner also stated he felt good about his team being competitive in all four strokes, and should have some flexibility when it comes to the Medley Relay as well as having a competitor in each race. 
He noted that Shipp’s strength is the breaststroke, Anderson excels in the freestyle and backstroke, Gross is strong in each but her best is the backstroke. Olson’s strength is the butterfly and freestyle, Mills is good all-around so the goal for her will be to find her niche. Finally, Henkle is strongest in the butterfly and will be representing the team on the diving board as well.
“Talking with diving coach Hannah (Cummings), Becca is looking pretty good,” Scribner nodded. “She qualified for conference last year and had an okay state meet. Her goal this year is to qualify right away and then make it into top 12 at the state meet. It looks like those two goals are completely attainable.”
COVID has also changed things regarding scheduling for swimming this season as meets are now limited to four teams and no more than 80 competitors. As a result, the team will not be kicking off with the Gillette Pentathlon and Relays, but will rather be traveling to Buffalo on Friday, Aug. 28, for a triangular with the Bison and the Rawlins Lady Outlaws.