The Laramie Plainsmen swimming and diving team kept up their recent winning ways with a first-place finish last Saturday at the Gillette Invitational.

Laramie topped 19 teams in the field with 428 points. Lander Valley was second with 378.5 team points, while Kelly Walsh took third place with 346.5 points.

Junior Max DeYoung led the Plainsmen with wins in the 200 individual medley race and the 100 backstroke race. DeYoung’s winning time in the IM was 1:58.55, while he dominated the competition in the backstroke and won by over six seconds. His time was 52.38 seconds.

Senior Christopher Bury won diving with 412.00 points, while freshman teammate Dylan Bressler came in third.

LHS also came in third place in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. They did not get any new state qualifiers and remain at 13 on the season.

The Plainsmen head to the 4A West Conference Championships Feb. 1 and 2 in Evanston.

Laramie Indoor Track and Field

Both Laramie teams performed well on the home track last Friday at the Wyoming High School Open in War Memorial Fieldhouse.

No team scores were kept at this event. The Laramie girls won seven events and had 22 top-eight finishes. The Laramie boys won two events and came through with 21 top-eight placings.

Laramie head coach Greg Schabron said you could tell our teams were happy to be in familiar surroundings.

“The kids really came out and were excited to compete on the home track, so I think that did them well.”

The Lady Plainsmen were led by Junior Emmy Johnson, who won a pair of events. She tied for first place in the 55-meter dash in 7.60 seconds, and then followed that with a victory in the 200 meters in 26.89 seconds.

Sophomore Taylor Gardner added a win in the 55-meter hurdles in 9.26 seconds.

The final individual victory was from sophomore Sydney Thorvaldson of Rawlins, who competes for LHS in indoor track. She won the 800 meters in 2:20.69.

Laramie won three relay titles. The 4x200 meter relay captured first-place in 1:50.77. The 4x800 meter relay crossed the finish line first in 10:51.47. The final relay win came in the 1600 Sprint Medley with a time of 4:36.69.

Senior Derk Lyford came through with the lone individual win for the Plainsmen, as he topped the 1600 meters in 4:48.77. The only other title was from the 4x800 meter relay in 8:46.66.

Schabron added, “I think that’s what they need, the fourth week in the season, and the training’s really starting to pay off.”

Senior Jason Upton added an all-around effort with second-place finishes in the 55 meters (6.66), 200 meters (23.54), and triple jump (43-2.25). He was also third in the long jump at 21-10.

Schabron said it was an overall good day.

“They got to get out in front of their parents, which doesn’t happen very often. It was a big group of kids competing. I counted 648 athletes that came to that meet.”

Laramie heads back to Gillette for the Basin Nation Indoor Meet Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the Campbell County Recreation Center.

Plainsmen Wrestling

Senior Zech Aguilar finished runner-up at 195 pounds to highlight Laramie’s performance at the prestigious Ron Thon Memorial Wrestling tournament in Riverton last weekend.

Aguilar scored 22 of the team’s 32 points. LHS came in 27th place out 44 teams at the “best of the best” event. The Plainsmen had only six wrestlers at the Ron Thon.

Laramie coach Stuart Brinkman admitted they held Aguilar out of the championship match as a strategic precaution. Aguilar’s been recovering from injuries during the off-season, and Brinkman says they want him healthy for next month’s state tournament.

Officially, Aguilar lost the title match by medical forfeit.

Brinkman said, “I saw a lot of heart. He beat a couple of good guys, especially 4A guys that’s gonna help him out for seeding in regionals.”

Freshman Clancy Mummert went 3-2 at 106 pounds, but Brinkman was happy with his effort.

“He was a round out from placing. He lost to a returning state champion in overtime, so we see a lot of good things from him. We’re really looking forward to regionals and state (with him).”

The rest of the wrestlers for LHS went 0-2 in wrestled matches.

Brinkman added, “We weren’t really able to bounce back from those first rounds, so hopefully, that can be a learning lesson that we have for regionals and state. No matter what, take one match at a time, even if you lose, being able to come back.”

The Plainsmen have had their dual schedule change this upcoming weekend. Instead of three home duals, Laramie will compete just once at home and three times on the road.

LHS will host the Gillette Camels Friday with JV at 4 p.m., followed by varsity at 5 p.m. Then, it’s on the road Saturday to Rock Springs where Laramie will wrestle Rock Springs, Green River, and Evanston. Action starts at 11 a.m.

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