Kelly Walsh Girls Swimming and Diving Rises to the Top of 4A [VIDEOS]

Friday was a history-making day for the Kelly Walsh Trojans’ girls swimming and diving team. They are 2023 Class 4A State Champions.

The Trojans pulled out a tight race among five teams to win the program’s first title. Kelly Walsh won three of the 12 events and finished with 211 team points.

Chayse Schierkolk led the way with victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle races. The senior repeated as the 50-free winner at 23.99 seconds. She won her third consecutive state championship at 52.01 seconds in the 100-free. Schierkolk also swam the first leg of the winning 200-freestyle relay that set a school record at 1:39.36. She was named the Athlete of the Meet and Athlete of the Year by the coaches.

Schierkolk wasn’t interested in the individual accolades. She was more focused on the team's success after the championship.

Head coach Nick Hopson also wasn’t sure what to say about how they accomplished what they did, but he was so proud of his squad.

The Trojans added nine more top-six placings that helped them grab the title by ten points.

Jackson came in second place with 201 team points. Campbell County took third place at 199 points. Only 13 points separated the top four.

The Broncs won the most events, five, in the finals. Sophomore Amaya Olivieri touched the wall first in the 100-butterfly race (57.51) and 100-backstroke (58.76). Jackson also won the 200-medley relay (1:50.01) and 400-freestyle relay (3:37.68). Their final victory was by sophomore Maren Tattersall in the 200-freestyle race (1:57.49).

Campbell County earned a pair of victories. Senior Hailey Creary captured the 200 IM at 2:08.47, and senior Zoe Gallion came from behind for a win in the 500-freestyle race at 5:16.66.

Cheyenne Central senior repeated as the state champion in the 100-breaststroke race. She finished at 1:05.72.

The 2023 diving state champion came from Laramie. Junior Maggie Turpin scored 427.60 points on the board for her first career title.

Other special awards went to Campbell County head coach Phil Rehard, who was named the Coach of the Year. The Assistant Coach of the Year was Ben Herdt, the Laramie Diving Coach.