LARAMIE – The 2020-2021 boys’ swim season came to a close at the 3A State Swimming and Diving Championships in Laramie on Feb. 19 and 20.

The weekend featured stiff competition as the fastest swimmers from 13 teams hit the pool. Friday’s action included preliminary rounds and the top 12 in each event advanced to the finals on Saturday.

Sublette County placed ninth with 80 points, beating Riverton, Cody, Douglas and Newcastle.

“We were very close to moving up into seventh place and were only 14 points from getting into the top six,” said coaches Kursty Day and Ron Ruckman in an email. “Our ninth-place finish was a little disappointing, but we are very proud of the boys and all their effort this year. Our seniors will be missed, but we have a great group of younger athletes to continue the growth.”

Twelve athletes from Sublette County made the cut and represented Sublette County at the championships.

“With most of the qualifying standards being dropped to faster times than last year, we still had 12 boys qualify – a major accomplishment for them in and of itself,” said coaches Day and Ruckman. “All of the boys posted lifetime bests in every one of their swims at the state meet.”

Senior John Covill, sophomore Cade Covill, sophomore Dillon Boespflug and junior Jackson Fouras placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle relay finals. The team shaved a second off their preliminary time, clocking in at 1 minute, 36.25 seconds.

Boespflug, Fouras, sophomore Hunter Scott and John Covill came in seventh in the 200-yard medley relay finals at 1:47.46. Scott, freshman Andy DeClue, Cade Covill and junior J.T. Day finished eighth in the 400-yard freestyle relay finals, timing in at 3:40.44, 4 seconds faster than their preliminary run.

Day placed 10th in 1-meter diving, tallying 296.25 points following 11 dives. Boespflug took 11th place in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 1:01.08, shaving two-tenths of a second off his preliminary time.

Jackson Fouras, competing on the team from Jackson, made the All-State roster through the Wyoming Coaches Association and the Wyoming Swim Coaches Association.

Additional preliminary results

• 200-yard freestyle: DeClue in 18th place at 2:05.68, Cade Covill in 26th at 2:09.45 and Owen Nielson in 31st at 2:14.51.
• 200-yard individual medley: Ryen Hacklin in 21st place at 2:30.89.
• 50-yard freestyle: John Covill in 18th place at 24.70 seconds and Max Shaw in 23rd at 25.25 seconds.
• 1-meter diving: Hampton Jones in 25th with 143.45 points following six dives.
• 100-yard freestyle: Day in 15th place at 54.92 seconds, Cade Covill in 17th at 56.99 seconds and John Covill in 18th at 57.14 seconds.
• 500-yard freestyle: Nielson in 25th place at 6:07.27.
• 100-yard backstroke: DeClue in 21st place at 1:05.70 and Conner King in 25th at 1:08.23.
• 100-yard breaststroke: Boespflug in 20th place at 1:11.70 and Hacklin in 23rd at 1:13.51.