Fremont High School swimming coach David Struble attended an Arlington Eagles pep rally Feb. 14, sitting among the students on the bleachers.
At it, he confirmed all five Washington County student-athletes taking advantage of the schools' co-op in his Tigers sport will compete today during the second day of the three-day NSAA State Swimming & Diving Championships in Lincoln. The three Blair — Jane Busboom, Jacob Hanson and Ryleigh Schroeter — and two AHS — Lizzie Meyer and Dathan Hansen — swimmers will participate in preliminary races in hopes of reaching Saturday's championship finals.
Malory Rollins of Arlington is also set to compete in the Bob Devaney Sports Center Pool again. She'll contend for her third-straight victory in the Special Olympics 50-yard freestyle race.
On Feb. 14, AHS Activities Director James Shada stood in front of the pep rally crowd and asked Meyer, a senior, what she wanted her legacy in swimming to be. The four-time state qualifier said she wanted to be remembered as a Tiger who helped “build each other up,” noting how necessary it is to support each other during difficult practices at the Dillon Family Aquatics Center.
After earning sixth- and seventh-place finishes alongside Schroeter and Busboom in state relay races last year, Meyer will compete in three more today. Her 200-yard medley relay team with the two Bears and Charlotte Vech is the highest seeded. The FHS squad enters the state competition fifth in the state with a 1:49.9 seed time.
Her 200 free relay team with Madelyn Buck, Kami Spilinek and Alexis Rasmussen is sixth, too, while her 400 relay team with Schroeter, Busboom and Buck enters with a seed time of 3:44.53.
Meyer will also compete in the individual 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.96 seconds.
In addition to the aforementioned relays, Busboom is set to swim in the individual 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. After finishing seventh in the backstroke event in 2023, the BHS student-athlete is seeded fifth with a time of 59.07 seconds this year. She is also seeded seventh in the 100 free with a time of 53.28.
Schroeter is in two relays and will compete in the 100-yard individual butterfly race and the individual 200 freestyle. The junior is seeded 11th in the butterfly with a time of 1:00.5, while her seed time in the 200 free is 2:00.57.
On the boys' side, Hanson will compete in three relays — the 200 medley, the 200 free and the 400 free — and the individual breaststroke, which he enters with a seed time of 1:03.02. His medley relay squad with Elliot Vech, Zayne Keslar and Gabe Christ is seeded fifth with a time of 1:38.33, too.
Hanson will compete alongside Garrett Nielsen, Landon Lamson and Hansen — his teammate from Arlington — in the 200 free, too.
In addition to his 200 free relay inclusion, Hansen is also listed on pre-meet heat sheets as a 400 free relay alternate.
Back at the pep rally, Meyer also spoke about all of the “opportunities” she's gotten through FHS swimming across the last four years. Today and Saturday, she has the chance to pick up a few state medals in Lincoln.
2024 STATE SWIM/DIVE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday & Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln
FRIDAY — Swimming prelims
7:30 a.m., Girls warmup
9 a.m., Girls prelims
12:30 p.m. Boys warmup
2 p.m., Boys prelims
SATURDAY — Swimming finals
9 a.m., Swimming warmup
11 a.m., Swimming Championship finals
