The Montezuma-Cortez swim team started the 2015-2016 season with consecutive double-dual meets against Durango and Fruita Monument.
On Friday, the Panthers hosted the Demons and Wildcats in Cortez, and ended up with multiple top-five finishes.
Junior Sam Bagge took second in the 500-yard freestyle (6:11.33) and third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:37.30); Shundiin Kauffman finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:24.59); and senior Kayla Hageman placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:28.51).
Head coach Gayle Earley noted Hageman’s performance in the 100-yard breaststroke.
“She did phenomenal,” Earley said. “It’s not necessarily her stroke, but she did amazing. It was a perfect swim.”
Freshmen Jenna Barner and Nanabah Sam also had strong races, with Barner finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle (28.30) and Sam taking third in the 100-yard backstroke (1:19.49).
On Saturday, the same three teams met up again, but changed the location and swam at Fort Lewis College in Durango.
Earley said that the Panthers went into Saturday’s meet with the goal of beating their times from Friday, and that almost all of the swimmers succeeded.
“One that really stands out is Stevee Brenner,” Earley said after the meet on Saturday. “She dropped two seconds on her 100-freestyle best time.”
“And this is her first weekend competitively swimming,” said assistant coach Meggie Curtis.
Brenner is in her first year on the swim team, and on Saturday she finished the 100-yard freestyle in 1:32.70.
Bagge was the Panthers’ highest individual placer on Saturday, finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.67. She also swam on the two best finishing relay teams.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Bagge, Sam, Kauffman and Barner placed second (1:57.78), and the 200-yard medley relay team consisting of the same swimmers finished third (2:19.65).
The next M-CHS meet is a relay meet in Grand Junction on Saturday, Dec. 12.
