Swimmers do well at state meet

Hannah Gross 
NLJ Correspondent 
 
On July 19-21, the Newcastle Stingrays swim team competed at the state level in Rapid City, South Dakota, placing in the top eight in several events.  
According to head coach Teresa Gross, 22 kids swam on the team this summer, which is more than double the size of last year’s team, with 16 competing in meets. Out of those 16, nine qualified for state and several more came close, even though they recently “aged-up,” which means they were moved into an age category with harder qualification times.  
Seven of the nine were under age 11, according to Gross. They were Shelby and Nathan Smith, Gabe and Eli Hoover, Macy Steber, Liliana Cunningham and Breeklee Loebs. 
“Four of them were brand new swimmers this fall,” Gross said. “Not only did they qualify for state, many were in the top eight.” 
“Athlete of the meet (for Newcastle) was Shelby Smith,” Gross said. She said that Smith was in the top eight in every event, scored second place in overall points for the Girls 8 and Under category and was state champ in two events: the 50-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley.  
Smith wasn’t the only one to compete in the 200 IM. Cunningham also qualified in that event, and even though she was disqualified for stroke mechanics, she swam it faster than her previous time, which is a noteworthy accomplishment, according to Gross.  
“It’s very rare that first-year swimmers will swim in an individual medley event, which is a race that includes all four strokes,” Gross said.  
Cunningham qualified in the 50-meter breaststroke as well as in the IM, and to top it off, she finished third in that event. According to Gross, it’s hard to master the technique for breaststroke, but Cunningham picked it up quickly. 
“It came to her naturally,” Gross said.  
Loebs, the second-youngest member of the team, also had her share of accomplishments. She qualified for state in multiple events, including the 200-meter freestyle. While her peers will age up into the harder category, Loebs still has one more opportunity this winter with the 8 and Unders.  
“She did very well and still has another season,” Gross said. Now that Loebs has competed in the 200-meter freestyle, Gross said she hopes to also see her compete in the 200 IM.  
Last but not least for the 8 and Under girls this summer is Macy Steber. While some kids are very competitive, Steber plays a different but equally important role on the team.  
“She’s what keeps practice fun for the rest of us,” Gross said. “Her early morning commentary keeps us all laughing.” 
Gross said Steber swims more for the social aspect than anything else, yet she still managed to pull off qualifying for state and swimming in the relay.  
“She’s just hilarious. She cracks me up,” Gross said.  
With four girls of the same age qualifying for state this year, Gross was able to compile a relay team. She said it was significant because only one other Wyoming team had a relay for the Girls 8 and Under class at state.  
For the boys, three 10 and Unders qualified for state. Gabe Hoover, who has been swimming the longest out of the three, had a goal in mind and reached it.  
“He set a goal to get first in the 200 individual medley,” Gross said. Although he was behind in the first half, he caught up and won the race. Gross said that he has been consistently in the top eight in all his events at state every season, but this year he added state champion to his pile, which is a really hard accomplishment, she said. 
“He really works hard in practice, and it paid off,” Gross said, adding that he’s already qualified for the next age category.  
His younger brother Eli also competed at the state level. As a 6-year-old, this is huge, according to Gross. Not many 6-year-olds can swim, let alone qualify for state, she said.  
“Our youngest swimmer, Eli Hoover, looks like he may be following in his brother’s footsteps,” Gross noted.  
Shelby’s brother Nathan also swam, and although he’s not as strong as his sister, he showed great improvement.  
“Nathan Smith improved dramatically from the beginning of the season,” Gross said. She foresees him as being a distance swimmer because of his desire to always swim more.  
“If I don’t tell him to stop, he just keeps going,” Gross said.  
There’s more to a swim meet, however, than just swimming. A lot of volunteer work goes into putting on a meet, especially a high-caliber meet such as state — especially this year.  
Every summer, the Wyoming Swimming Summer State Championships is held in Gillette. However, due to complications with pool maintenance, Gillette couldn’t host the meet, so a new location was needed.  
A mere three weeks before the meet, Wyoming Swimming Inc. voted to host the state meet in Rapid City. Coaches and parents from around the state stepped up to put on a successful meet despite the setbacks, and Newcastle was no exception.  
Newcastle’s swim parents volunteered to run concessions and hospitality at the meet, in addition to transporting their kids 80 miles for the competition.  
“This is by far the most engaged parents I’ve had since coaching, and this is one of the reasons why I think our kids did so well,” Gross said. “I think there is a correlation between success of swimmers and parental involvement.” 
The 2018-19 season ended well, and swimmers will enjoy a small break before starting back up again in November.  
“I’m excited about the young talent we have and hope to see them continue this in high school,” Gross said.