Kiwanis Swim Team Comes Out In Force

The most complete Glasgow Kiwanis Swim Team yet mustered enough strength for second place in Plentywood over the weekend.

The two-day meet saw 34 Glasgow swimmers compete, the most the team has had so far this season. The results were immediate as Glasgow only fell to Sidney despite the long practices during the week.

“They’re really tired right now so we were really happy with how well they swam despite the fact that they were broken down,” said Alex Leuchars, co-head coach. “Right now they’re not at a place in their training where we expect them to be going best times. But a lot of them are still pulling that off.”

That includes three swimmers who took high point for Glasgow in Plentywood, Ike Braaten, Khloe Krumwiede and Katie Kaiser. The latter two also broke pool records.

Braaten took the top spot in all three events he competed in the boys’ 9-10 division, the 100-meter Individual Medley (IM), the 50 free and the 100 free.

Kaiser broke a pool record in the 50 backstroke for the girls’ 11-12 class, finishing in 40.25 seconds to take first in Plentywood. She also was first in the 50 butterfly and the 50 free. Meanwhile, in the girls’ 13-14 class, Krumwiede broke her own pool record in the 50 free, finishing in 29.24 for first place. She then broke another pool record, again her own, to take the top spot with a time of 1:07.97 in the 100 free. She wasn’t able to break a pool record in her third event, the 200 IM, but still took first.

Also in the girls’ 13-14 was DJ Rasmusan, who took second in the 100 backstroke and third in the 50 free, Cara Goeke, who was first in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 50 butterfly, and Andrea Hanson, who finished in third in the 100 backstroke. The 200 free relay also performed well, finishing in first.

Joining Braaten in the top three spots of a boys’ 9-10 event were Trevor Johnson, who brought home golds in the 50 backstroke and the 50 butterfly, and a silver in the 100 IM, and Tristin Vandall, who was third in the 50 backstroke. The 100 free relay team brought home the gold.

Alongside Kaiser in the girls’ 11-12 class were Rachel Billingsley with a third in the 200 IM and Natosha Sand and Aleah Goeke with a silver and bronze in the 50 breaststroke, respectively. The 200 free relay finished in second.

In the 8 and under classes, Colter Barnett was first in the 50 free and second in both the 25 free and the 25 backstroke and Noah Lippert finished in third in the 25 free on the boys’ side. For the girls, Iris McKean took home bronze in the 50 free.

Nicole Lippert was the girls’ 9-10 Glasgow representative, placing first in the 50 butterfly and bringing home a pair of silvers in the 50 breaststroke and the 100 IM. However, the 100 free relay team earned their way onto the podium with a third.

In the boys’ 11-12 class, Taylor Johnson led the way, scoring a swimming hat trick, placing first in the 200 IM, second in the 50 breaststroke and third in the 50 butterfly. Joining him were Nathanael Lippert, who finished in second in the 100 free, and Jordan Billingsley, who was third in the 50 backstroke. The 200 free relay team also brought home a silver.

In the boys’ 13-14 class, Logan Gunderson and Tony Kaiser teamed up for four top-three finishes. Gunderson scored a pair of bronzes in the 50 free and 100 backstroke and finished just in front of Kaiser in the 100 free to take second. Kaiser was third.

Rounding out the top-three placements at the meet was Rachael Zeiger, who grabbed second in the girls’ 15-19 100 backstroke, and third in the 50 butterfly.

“Everyone did really well,” said Matt Dangleis, co-head coach. “This was a good meet to see where we’re at.”

But the hard part is just now coming, according to Dangleis.

“Right now, we’re just going to keep pushing,” he said. “We’re just about two weeks out until hell week.”

“Hell week” is a week of training that is designed to break down a swimmer’s body to complete endurance buildup in preparation for “tapering,” or the process of cutting back distance swam in an attempt to facilitate a big drop in time at the right time. For Glasgow, that means the divisional meet at home on July 27-28.

First though, Glasgow still has a two-day meet in Glendive on the schedule this weekend.