Lander’s Ashlon Koch Led the Tigers to a Swim Title

Really good depth and a couple of top-end stars pushed the Lander Tigers to another state title at the recent Class 3A Girls State Swim Championships.

Lander won their fourth consecutive team title but won only three of the 12 events.

Two of those were by sophomore Ashlon Koch, who captured the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle races. Koch beat out a teammate in the butterfly event by less than a second and pulled away for a nine-second victory in the distance freestyle race. For her efforts, she was part of the three-way tie for 'Athlete of the Meet' honors at the Class 3A championships.

Koch and Lander head coach Shawna Morgan spoke with WyoPreps after the conclusion of the state meet and some celebrating. Coach Morgan talked about what she saw from her team in winning this state championship, how they weren’t discouraged by not winning the conference meet two weeks earlier, how they won this title with depth, her thoughts on Ashlon’s performance, and more. Koch spoke about her two event wins, the races being so close together, and the team’s effort in the video above.

Koch had the fastest time in the 500 freestyle entering the state meet but was ranked only fourth in the 100 butterfly. She’ll be a favorite in her events in 2020.

The other victory for the Tigers at the state meet was from senior Oliva Fowler in the 100 backstroke.