DeYoung Leads Laramie to 3-Peat as 4A Boys State Swim Champs [VIDEOS]
Behind senior Max DeYoung, the Laramie Plainsmen won their third straight Class 4A Boys State Swimming and Diving Championship on Saturday.
DeYoung won the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke, plus led off the victorious 200 medley relay. He capped the Plainsmen win with an anchor leg on the 400 freestyle relay.
Laramie scored 255.5 points and held off challenges from Cheyenne Central and Kelly Walsh in their latest title. The Indians finished second with 239 team points, while the Trojans came in third with 232.
DeYoung was named Athlete of the Meet and Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive year. He captured the 50 free in 20.64 seconds. That was good enough for a pool record. Later on, DeYoung set a new State Record in the 100 backstroke. He touched the wall in 49.16 seconds, which eclipsed the old mark of 49.24 set by Colin Baldacci in 2013. DeYoung won the race by nearly six seconds.
That might have been the expected part, but Laramie pulled a couple of surprises that propelled them to first place. They won the 200 medley relay in 1:37.40. That was a nearly three-second turnover from a second-place showing in the prelims behind Kelly Walsh. DeYoung set the pace with the leadoff leg in that victory. The fourth win for LHS and other surprise came from sophomore Mace Spiker-Miller, won captured the 100 butterfly in 53.21 seconds.
Plainsmen head coach Tom Hudson spoke to WyoPreps about Laramie's latest boys' team title and the keys to their victory.
Kelly Walsh came away with five wins. Senior Kellen Chadderdon took first place in the 200 freestyle (1:44.07) and 100 breaststroke (59.58). Senior teammate Ian Pfaff won the 100 freestyle in 47.05. The Trojans won both freestyle relays. They touched the wall in 1:28.73 for first place in the 200 free relay, and then later finished first in 3:14.12 in the 400 free relay.
The other victories were by Green River’s Jason Richmond in the 200 individual medley race (2:01.54), Cheyenne South’s Jared Price in the 500 freestyle (4:56.05), and Thunder Basin’s Isaiah Haliburton in diving (444.30).
Laramie’s latest crown is their 11th with Hudson as head coach. It’s also the third time in his tenure that the Plainsmen have won three straight 4A titles.
WyoPreps will have more from the state swimming and diving championship meet including feature interviews and the sights and sounds of the finals.