LYMAN – Postseason is underway for swimmers across Wyoming, and the combined Sublette County team competed at the 3A West Conference Meet in Lyman on Feb. 6.

Due to public health restrictions this year, the conference meets on both sides of the state were split between two locations to reduce the number of athletes present at one event.

In the western conference, four teams, including Sublette County, hit the pool in Lyman on Saturday. Three other teams raced in Lander. The team faced stiff competition this year, including defending 2020 3A State Champion Lander and runner-up Powell. Green River joined the 3A division from 4A the previous year.

Keeping tabs on overall performance during Conference proved difficult with teams in the same events swimming halfway across the state, said coaches Ron Ruckman and Kursty Day in an email. Sublette County finished in seventh place overall with 110 points.

“It kind of seemed like the stars were aligned against us,” said Day and Ruckman. Two “devastating disqualifications” pushed Sublette County back in the rankings. Illness also struck athletes expected to place in the top five, further hindering the team’s standing.

Despite the challenges, Sublette swimmers added several new qualifying races in the run up to the State Meet.

Sophomore Max Shaw became the latest swimmer on the team to qualify for State in the 50 freestyle, beating the time by two-hundredths of a second. Sophomore Cade Covill added two additional events at Lyman, the 100 freestyle and the 200 freestyle.

“We are very proud of how our boys swam as a whole this weekend,” Day and Ruckman wrote. “Most everyone dropped significant time in at least one event. The boys will have one more chance to qualify at the meet in Pinedale this Thursday.”

Big Piney individual results

• 200-yard freestyle: Brayden Hymas in 19th place at 2 minutes, 15.84 seconds and Owen Nielson in 20th at 2:16.35.
• 200-yard individual medley: Ryen Hacklin in 12th place at 2:34.70, J.T. Day in 14th at 2:36.89 and Conner King in 18th at 2:47.53.
• 50-yard freestyle: Hymas in 19th place at 26.74 seconds.
• 1-meter diving: Day in seventh place with 258.70 points and Hampton Jones in 13th at 216.65.
• 100-yard freestyle: Nielson in 22nd place at 1:02.05.
• 100-yard backstroke: King in 13th place at 1:12.21.
• 100-yard breaststroke: Hacklin in 17th place at 1:19.73 and John Ruby in 20th at 1:43.25.