Valley, Liberty Common Tri proves challenging but rewarding for swim team

Some swimmers were competing in their first ever high school swim meet, and others were posting state-qualifying times. However, all across the experience spectrum, Holyoke High School swimmers were putting forth a commendable effort this past week.

On Dec. 8, the high school competed in the Valley and Liberty Common Tri in Gilcrest, Colorado. Tyala Martin had another successful meet, finishing first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:00.6 and second in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:26.81. Both were state-qualifying times. Aly Lock placed third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:20.20 and fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 0:31.19.

Alexa Sampson and Grace Bahnsen made their high school swimming debut in Gilcrest. Sampson placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:27.77 and sixth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 0:34.38. Bahnsen also swam in the 50 free, clocking a time of 0:49.13.

Coach Emily Krogmeier said that she was proud of the new swimmers for stepping up in a new situation, and she is likewise proud of the veteran teammates for encouraging them and cheering them on.

The four also performed well in their relays at the tri. They placed third in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:03.15 and fourth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:28.68.

Team scores were tallied as duals. Liberty Common beat Valley 195-35, Valley beat Holyoke 66-62 and Liberty Common beat Holyoke 195-36.

“I am proud of these girls for their effort at this meet. It was a challenging meet because it was so small and it was done in an hour,” Krogmeier concluded. “They kept it going, so some of our girls were swimming back-to-back events. It was tough physically for them, but I could see their perseverance and drive to not give up.”