Warriors give it their all at 3A State meet

WORLAND - The highly competitive 3A State boys swimming and diving meet was as billed, and while the Worland Warriors didn't bring home hardware or an individual champion. They competed has they only know how to, by giving it their absolute all.

"I was 99% happy with how state went," said WHS boys swimming and diving coach Justin Howe. "We came up short on a couple of races, but like I told the boys, that's life sometimes."

Competing at the 3A State Meet in Gillette on Feb. 16-17, the Warriors finished sixth with 88 points.

Lander Valley won their 27th consecutive 3A state championship with 326 points. Buffalo was second with 220 points, Green River third with 177.5 points and Riverton fourth with 112 points.

Among the Warriors highlights at state was Gage Stanek finishing fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, swimming a 54.69, narrowly missing the school record. Wyatt Whitlock finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke, touching the wall at 1:03.17.

The Warriors 200-yard medley relay (Gage Stanek, Trae Bennett, Wyatt Whitlock, Walker Cooper) finished third with a time of 1:43.41.

Class 3A boys swimming has been putting up fast times all season long, and state was no different. Class 3A was so fast this year that some of the times the swimmers had at state could have earned them a higher place at the 4A state meet.

"The one thing that stood out was Gage was going for the record in the 100 back, and he just barely missed it again. Afterward, he told me, 'That's all I could do, coach.' And that was all I could ask of him. That made my year right there. He put it all out there and just came up short. That's all you ask for as a coach," said Howe. "If you compare it to 4A, 3A is faster across the board this year. For those kids to place in 3A when they could have placed about the same or better in 4A tells you how competitive everyone was."

The state meet was a bittersweet moment for Howe. After years and all those practices, he got to see his seniors reach their peak. Unfortunately, that also meant his time with them had come to an end.

"They were just a complete team. I've never had a team this close. They were always supporting each other and cheering each other on. I told them not to talk to me after the 400 free relay. I look forward to seeing those final times at the end of the four years, but then I didn't want that end to come either. That all happened within the hour and was a roller coaster for me. I knew that day was coming but just didn't want it to get here," said Howe.

The state meet was the final swim for Trae Bennett, Walker Cooper, Melvin Croft, Canton Green, Tobias Driver, Gage Stanek, Ethan Warren, Wyatt Whitlock and James Williams in their Warrior careers.

Determination and toughness have been defining traits for these Warrior seniors. They have faced plenty of adversity throughout their four seasons, including competing against a fast era of 3A boys swimming.

Nonetheless, the Warrior seniors were dedicated to maximizing their potential and did just that. Driver is one of many examples of how hard these seniors worked during their time in the program. He had to learn to swim when he first joined the program but worked tirelessly to qualify for state his senior season.

"We had record board swims, but they're a great group of young men. We haven't had to deal with any out-of-the-water problems. This team has dealt with a lot, from suicide to a coach quitting in the middle of the season, but they're a resilient group. They always gave it their best in practice and at meets. They just kept going and found ways to get back up throughout their four years.

"They kept going in life and stayed in the pool. Nobody gave up, and they stuck it out. I thought all year Gage would be swimming for a state championship. When you see it on paper that he finished fourth, it seems like he missed that, but if you look at the times, he didn't miss it by that much. It was so close," said Howe.

Graduating such a large class, the Warriors will be a smaller team next season, with Joey Durrant, Noah Mitchell and Scottie Thomas among those returning.

The mission for those returning Warrior swimmers and diver is to take advantage of the offseason by finding ways to improve any way they can.

"We want them in the water as much as they can. Worland has a great USA swimming program, and there are tons of camps they can do. They can also get in the weight room and lift. If you look at our seniors, they're big kids and built compared to those who didn't lift. Really anything that keeps them off the couch is good.

Howe also thanked his assistant coach Danielle Warren for all the help she provided to the program this season.

"A huge shoutout to Danielle Warren. She's listed as an assistant coach but is every bit of a head coach as I am. She does so much for us with coaching, paperwork, entries and making sure things are done. She was awesome. Everyone needs a Danielle Warren on their team," said Howe.