Team gains experience — Newcastle swimmers Dogies test depth in triangular, prelims meets

Newcastle High School’s boys swimming team continued to build depth and race experience last week while competing in a triangular meet at Douglas and a dual-invite format meet in Gillette.

At the Douglas triangular Thursday, the Dogies were led by a breakout performance from freshman Archer Ohnstad, who competed in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle. Ohnstad posted a time of 29.51 seconds in the 50 free, finishing just four-tenths of a second shy of a state-qualifying mark, and followed with a second-place finish in the 100 free.

Gabe Hoover earned Newcastle’s top finish of the meet by winning the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:10.76. John Sandrini and Nathan Smith both swam the 400-meter freestyle for the first time this season, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively, while posting times comparable to their best performances from last year.

Isaiah Anderson competed in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter breaststroke and was able to hold his season-best times.

Hoover also faced one of the state’s top breaststrokers from Buffalo in the 100-meter breaststroke and responded with a strong swim.

“He admitted he was nervous for the race but would use the opportunity to compete and hopefully drop some time,” coach Doug Scribner said.

Saturday’s meet in Gillette presented a different challenge, as teams competed in a prelims-finals format that Newcastle swimmers typically do not encounter until conference or state competition.

“The swimmers typically do not see this format until conference and state,” Scribner said. “The Gillette teams wanted to try something new, which made for a tough competition.”

All Newcastle swimmers competed in the preliminary session, with only the top eight advancing to finals and scoring points. Hoover qualified for finals in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle.

In the finals, Hoover narrowly missed holding his preliminary position in the 50 free, placing second, before rebounding with a strong swim to win the 100 free. Nathan Smith also advanced to finals in the 500-yard freestyle, swimming a consistent race to finish seventh.

Newcastle also showed improvement in relay events, dropping nearly six seconds in the 200-yard freestyle relay compared to its earlier performance at Douglas.

Despite a demanding stretch of meets, Scribner said the team responded well.

“Despite the swimmers being tired they competed well and held their times,” he said. “This is very encouraging as the team gets ready to taper and have more rest.”

This week the Dogie boys compete Jan. 30-31 in the Buffalo Invitational. 

Newcastle High School boys swimming
Meets at Douglas and Gillette

Douglas triangular team results
Buffalo, first, 181 points
Douglas, second, 87
Newcastle, third, 36

Douglas triangular individual results
200-meter freestyle: Gabe Hoover, 2:10.76, first
50-meter freestyle: Archer Ohnstad, 29.51, fifth
100-meter freestyle: Archer Ohnstad, 1:08.69, second
400-meter freestyle: John Sandrini, 5:58.51, fourth
400-meter freestyle: Nathan Smith, 6:06.91, sixth
100-meter breaststroke: Gabe Hoover, 1:17.46, second
200-meter freestyle relay: Isaiah Anderson, Nathan Smith, Archer Ohnstad, John Sandrini, 2:07.15, third

Gillette dual-invite team results
Laramie, first, 163.5 points
Cheyenne Central, second, 156
Campbell County, third, 77.5
Thunder Basin, fourth, 77
Newcastle, fifth, 28

Gillette individual results
50-yard freestyle: Gabe Hoover, 22.69, second
100-yard freestyle: Gabe Hoover, 50.08, first
500-yard freestyle: Nathan Smith, 6:53.05, seventh
200-yard freestyle relay: John Sandrini, Isaiah Anderson, Gabe Hoover, Archer Ohnstad, 1:46.24, fifth