Unbeatable Lady Wolves are State Champions!

By JACKIE FINCH

General Manager

It was the perfect ending to the perfect season for the Green River Lady Wolves Swimming and Diving team! They definitely worked hard all season, through pain and tears, and earned the 3A Swimming and Diving State Championship title. Their determination and dedication was incredible and if there was ever a team that deserved this recognition, it is this group of ladies.

Tavia Arnell was awarded Athlete of the Year and Tanith Smith and Tavia Arnell tied for Athlete of the Meet while Head Coach Colleen Seiloff was awarded Coach of the Year. After they were announced the winners, the ladies jumped into the pool as "We are the Champions" played over the speakers at the Aquatic Center in Gillette.

The celebration continued when the Lady Wolves returned to Green River and were escorted into town by the Green River Fire Department, the Green River Police Department and the Castle Rock Ambulance Service. All of the proud and supportive parents and friends followed the bus to the Green River High School parking lot where the athletes were met with a crowd of people including the Green River High School Band, welcoming home the State Champions!

The first event at the State meet on Saturday was the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. Green River swam away with the gold with a time of 1:52.32, beating Lander who came in second and Douglas in third. The State Champions on the relay team are Ivory Neher, Brianna Uhrig, Tavia Arnell and Tanith Smith.

In the 200 Yard Freestyle event, Haley Clevenger came in second place along with Emilee Barnes in sixth. Clevenger swam with determination and earned All-State honors. During the Prelims on Friday, Peyton Murray finished in 15th place, Katelyn Maez in 20th and Dalynn Graves in 24th.

In the 200 Yard IM event, Tavia Arnell's extremely fast-paced strokes kept her in the lead. She won the race to become the State Champion in the event for the second year in a row with a time of 2:10.08, beating Lander's Emily Anderson. Green River's Courtney Clark came in third place along with Brianna Uhrig in sixth. During the Prelims, Kaylin Uhrig finished in 24th place.

Tanith Smith's lightning speed claimed her first place in the 50 Yard Freestyle. She is the State Champion for the second year in row with a time of 24.72, beating Kemmerer's Kylie Price. Green River's Alayna Kellhofer placed seventh and is competing strong as a freshman. During the Prelims, Avah Kellhofer took 15th and Madison Moffat took 17th.

In the One-Meter Diving event, Kaili Wadsworth was the only diver from Green River that competed. She improved 90.5 points and ended the meet with 300.15 points, claiming ninth place.

In the 100 Yard Butterfly, Tavia Arnell's high-speed skills helped her dominate the race. She is the State Champion again with a time of 57.61, beating Lander's Katy Anderson. Arnell claimed a new State Record in the Butterfly during the Prelims on Friday with a time of 56.39. Green River's Ivory Neher had a great finish in ninth place. During the Prelims, Madison Moffat took 13th place, Breanna Van Etten took 18th and Ellie Mandros took 24th.

The seventh event was the 100 Yard Freestyle event. Returning Champion Tanith Smith won the event again with a time of 53.23, beating Kemmerer's Kylie Price. Green River's Alayna Kellhofer came in sixth place along with Hailey Luth in ninth. During the Prelims, Peyton Murray took 16th place and Katelyn Maez took 20th.

In the 500 Yard Freestyle event, there were several top 12 swimmers from Green River, and all of the ladies did an excellent job. Haley Clevenger came in second place along with Courtney Clark in third, Emilee Barnes in fifth and Breanna Van Etten in eighth. During the Prelims, Dalynn Graves took 21st place along with Linkin Lucero taking 22nd.

The next event was the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. Green River snagged the gold again with a time of 1:41.24, beating Lander and Douglas again. The State Champions are Tanith Smith, Courtney Clark, Haley Clevenger and Tavia Arnell.

In the 100 Yard Backstroke, Hailey Luth made the top 12 and swam a strong race, placing sixth for Green River. During the Prelims, Ivory Neher came in 13th place.

In the 100 Yard Breaststroke, Brianna Uhrig was seeded first but had a heartbreaking race and finished in fourth place. Kaylin Uhrig, swimming her first year in high school, claimed an impressive third-place finish. During the Prelims, Avah Kellhofer came in 18th place and Mallery Lyon in 22nd.

The final event of the day was the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. Green River claimed second place with a time of 3:49.10, while Lander came in first with a time of 3:46.25. The swimmers receiving All-State honors were Alayna Kellhofer, Courtney Clark, Hailey Luth and Haley Clevenger.

While this victory will be remembered by these ladies, it's also a tearful reminder that they will be saying goodbye to their senior swimmers and divers. Emilee Barnes, Courtney Clark, Avah Kellhofer, Madison Moffat, Ivory Neher, Brianna Uhrig, Kaili Wadsworth and Natalie Walgren have been a huge part of the Lady Wolves' success and they will be missed by the coaches and their teammates.

"I was so excited for them and I could just see how excited they were, there were all kinds of emotions," said Coach Seiloff about winning the Championships. She is very proud of them because they worked really hard this season and she said it was so nice to see their hard work pay off.

Another proud moment for Seiloff was the awards for Arnell and Smith.

"I love watching that girl compete, she's amazing in the water and she's an amazing girl out of the water," said Coach Seiloff about Arnell. "Both of them are."

Both of the swimmers work hard and have great work ethic, according to Seiloff, and the awards were well-deserved.

"I think the other coaches from around the state notice what great athletes they are," Seiloff added of Arnell and Smith. "They are humble when they win, always cheering on the other teams and never acting like they are better than anyone else. They just love swimming. It's in their blood and they love getting the chance to go out and compete. It's nice to have good athletes on your team that are good people and those two young ladies are very good people."

Smith also had a hard season after coming back from shoulder surgery, so it was nice to see her smiling and competing again.

When asked about receiving the Coach of the Year award, Coach Seiloff gave the credit to her fellow coaches and the team members.

"It's a pretty cool thing to get and I'm honored," she said. "But this award doesn't belong to just me, it belongs to the team, it belongs to my coaching staff Coach Rick Barker, Coach Katie Rider and Coach Al Clark. I wouldn't be able to get an award like this if it wasn't for the girls I have on the team and the hard work they put in. I share this award with all of them."

3A State Championship Results

1. Green River: 296

2. Lander: 260

3. Powell: 185

4. Cody: 135

5. Douglas: 131

6. Kemmerer: 90

7. Worland: 62

8. Evanston: 50

9. Buffalo: 46

10. Riverton: 41

11. Rawlins: 40

12. Lyman: 34

13. Sublette Co.: 6

14. Newcastle: 1