Laramie Wins its 5th Straight 4A Girls Swim Championship [VIDEOS]

With victories in four events and thanks to their depth, the Laramie Lady Plainsmen are the Class 4A Girls’ Swimming & Diving State Champions for the fifth straight year.

Seniors Anna Roesler and Mallorie Hamel and junior Ashlyn Mathes won individual events, and LHS won the 400 freestyle relay to cap their most recent title.

Laramie scored 325 points as a team to easily out-distance runner-up Cheyenne Central, who finished with 222. Campbell County placed third with 215.5 team points.

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For Tom Hudson, this marks the 20 state title he’s won as Laramie’s head coach. It finished a perfect season, in which the Lady Plainsmen didn’t lose a meet. Hudson was named the 4A Coach of the Year.

Roesler won the 200 freestyle race with a time of 1:55.64. The senior added a runner-up in the 100 butterfly race. Mathes defended her title in the 500 freestyle in 5:19.80. She won by over five seconds. Both were happy to cap this 2021 season with another team crown and success as a swimmer.

In a mild upset, Hamel beat her teammate, Natalie Six, for the diving championship. Hamel set a new state record with 464.25 points through 11 dives. That broke the old record of 463.70 by Brittany Wainwright of Evanston from 2002. Six had not lost a meet she competed at this year. Hamel was excited about her win and so was her teammate, Six.

Laramie Diving Coach Ben Herdt won the 4A Assistant Coach of the Year honor thanks to four divers in the top nine.

The 4A Athlete of the Meet was Campbell County’s, Berkeley Christensen. She won the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly races. Christensen was just off a state mark in the IM with a time of 2:07.56. She set a new state record in her butterfly victory. Christensen swam 55.62 seconds to surpass the previous time of 56.01 seconds from 2010.

The Camels also won the 200 medley relay in 1:47.94 and 200 freestyle relay in 1:38.35. Junior Skye Rehard defended her crown in the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.95.

Cheyenne Central’s Kira Brownell was named the 4A Athlete of the Year. She capped her prep career with wins in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Her time in the 50 free was 23.67 seconds. She just missed a state record in the backstroke. Brownell touched the wall in 56.00 seconds, which was .04 off the mark.

Kelly Walsh sophomore Chayse Schierkolk was the only swimmer not from the top three teams to win an event. She captured the 100 freestyle in 53.25 seconds.

Laramie won their 17th girls’ swimming and diving championship in school history.