Butte High’s girls placed third in the Butte High School Invitational swim meet Friday at the Butte Family YMCA. The Bulldog boys swam to fifth place.
Gallatin’s girls won the team title with 524 points. Billings Central scored 266 points to take second in the 10-team meet. The Bulldogs scored 216.
Bozeman won the boys’ title at 509, which was exactly 100 points better than second-place Billings Central. Helena Capital placed third at 299, and Gallatin finished fourth at 258. The Bulldogs scored 200 points.
“Everyone is working hard,” Butte High coach Lynn Shrader said. “They have had many hard workouts to get to this point.”
Senior Olivia Thurmand and junior Alaina Grochowski led the Bulldog girls. Thurmond placed fifth in the 200-yard individual medley, shaving 5 seconds off her previous best time. She also placed sixth in the 100 freestyle.
Grochowski finished fifth in the 200 freestyle, beating her previous best by 9 seconds. She placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
Senior Tatum Trefts had the top individual place of the day for the Bulldog girls. She took third in the 100 breaststroke. Freshman Adalie Grochowski also had a big day. She placed fifth in the 100 backstroke and sixth in the 50 freestyle.
Adalie Grochowski, Trefts, Alaina Grochowski and Thurmond captured second in the 200 medley relay. Alaina Grochowski, Bella Corrales, Thurmond and Adalie Grochowski swan to second in the 200 freestyle relay.
Bryher Fitzpatrick, Trefts, Elly Rumler and Corrales took eighth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Morgan Hardy of Butte Central placed seventh in the 500 freestyle and eighth in the 200 freestyle. Teammate Tessa Ganzenmueller took 10th in the 200 freestyle race.
BC’s 200 medley relay team of Hardy, Tia Tomposn, Ganzenmueller and Arwen Register placed eighth.
Junior Gage Plum posted his best times in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke, taking seventh and sixth. Senior Nathon Stone placed fifth in the 100 butterfly.
Sophomore Tucker Kissell took ninth in the 50 freestyle, posting a personal record. Freshman Alex Sonneman placed eighth in the 200 freestyle, and sophomore Gunnar Benson took 10th in the 50 freestyle.
Sonneman, Kissell, Plum and Stone placed fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, and Sonnemann, Stone, Benson and Plum took sixth in the 200 medley relay. Elgin Hoar, Benson, Ayvahn Mann and Kissell teamed to take sixth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Shamus Peck placed ninth in the 100 butterfly for Butte Central. He just missed the top 10 in the backstroke.
Butte High will compete in a meet in Missoula on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Maroons will hold a crosstown meet on Monday at the YMCA. That will be the last action before the State meet, which is Feb. 12-14 in Great Falls.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 