The Montezuma-Cortez swim team thrived during its home meet on Friday at the Cortez Recreation Center.
And although the Lady Panthers didn’t win the meet overall, they finished in first place in seven of the twelve events.
“I feel really good about it,” said M-CHS head coach Gayle Earley. “We did really well. I’m missing three girls, but they still swam really well.”
Competing against Durango, Delta and Gunnison, Caisey Duran won the 200-yard IM, Sam Bagge took first in the 100-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle, and Bailey Duran was the top finisher in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke, qualifying for state in the 100 breast with a time of 1:18.79.
The Durans, Bagge and Jenna Barner also combined to win both the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays. And Barner placed second in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing less than a second away from a state qualifying time, while Caisey Duran took second in the 100-yard backstroke.
The Lady Panthers were back at it on Saturday in Durango against the same three schools. And although they didn’t rack up as many first-place finishes, they did finish higher in the team standings, placing second behind the host Demons.
Bagge and Bailey Duran brought home the only top finishes for M-CHS, with Bagge winning the 100 free and Duran tying for first in the 100 fly.
And then Caisey Duran finished second in the 200 free and 100 back, Bagge and Nanabah Sam went two and three in the 500-yard free, and the Durans, Bagge and Sam came together to take second in the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay.
The Lady Panthers have now qualified for the Class 3A State Championships in eight individual events and three relays, with three regular season meets remaining.
The team will compete in Delta on Friday, before heading to Glenwood Springs on Jan. 28, where Earley is excited for her team to get a peak at a handful of Class 3A schools the Panthers will likely see at state.
“That’s going to be a really great meet for us because we’re swimming against Aspen, Moffat and Gunnison, which are all 3A qualifiers,” she said. “So it will be nice for my girls to get in the pool with them and see what it’s all about.”