Plainsmen 3-Peat in the Pool

The Laramie Plainsmen swim team won their third consecutive 4A State Championship Friday in Gillette. Laramie broke three state records, took two individual titles and accumulated 286 points, which put them 88 points ahead of the second place team."Just a great team victory for these guys. Everybody contributed up and down the line." -Laramie Head Coach Tom Hudson

Senior Rudi Hanekamp became the first Wyoming high school swimmer to break the 50 second mark in the 100 butterfly when he swam a 49.98 to win the event and establish a new state record. He had already broken the state record during the prelims with a time of 50.47 seconds. Hanekamp also finished second in the 200 IM.

The other individual title went to Senior Jake Ekberg in the 100 breaststroke. He clocked a 59.52 effort, after being seeded third going into finals. Ekberg's time set a new school record in the event.

During Thursday's prelims, Laramie's 200 medley relay team set a new state record with a time of 1:37.13. The squad consisted of Rudi Hanekamp, Jake Ekberg, Jackson Colter and Matt Gern. They finished second in the event during finals by a mere 0.05 seconds.

Other top performances came from Colter, who was second behind Hanekamp in the 100 butterfly, and Senior Sven Lundell was second in the 500 freestyle. The 200 freestyle relay team was also second, while the 400 freestyle relay ended up third.

Hudson earned 4A Coach of the Year honors for his teams' effort.

It's the sixth state title in the last nine seasons for the Plainsmen.

Kelly Walsh was second with 198 points, while Gillette ended up third with 184.