The Evanston High School boys’ swim team closed out the 2019-20 season with a string of strong performances at last weekend’s Class 4A State Swim Meet that propelled the team to a Top-10 finish.

Laramie made it a 3-peat in 4A, topping the leaderboard with 255.5 points. Cheyenne Central was second with 239 points, while Kelly Walsh rounded out the top three with 232 points.

The Red Devils were 10th with 50 points.

“The weekend went very well for us,” said EHS head coach Jim Levine. “Team-wise, we finished about where we expected we would. I think all of the kids that qualified for state hit personal best times, either in the prelims Friday or in the finals Saturday.”

The Red Devils sent 10 swimmers to Laramie — eight individual qualifiers and two relay qualifiers — and were paced by sophomore Jaxon Nicholls. Nicholls posted Evanston’s highest individual finishes, placing fourth in the 100 backstroke (56.22) and seventh in the 100 butterfly (56.71); he also swam legs in the 200 medley relay (with teammates Hunter Jensen, Timmy Bloomfield and Vince Bloomfield) and 400 freestyle relay (with teammates Ben Cook, Gage Beachler and Vince Bloomfield), both of which finished eighth.

“Jaxon swam well,” Levine said.

In the final state meet of his high school career, Red Devil senior Colter Camphouse qualified for Saturday’s consolation finals in both of his individual events, finishing 10th in the 200 freestyle (1:55.84) and 11th in the 500 freestyle (5:25.26).

Red Devil junior Connor Fackrell also qualified for the consolation final in the 500 freestyle, placing 12th with a time of 5:25.38. The Red Devils had three swimmers in the 500 free prelims, with Michael Tobin finishing 18th overall with a time of 5:37.88.

“Two of our entries [Camphouse and Fackrell] in the 500 free made it to consolations — they didn’t quite hit the time they did in Friday’s prelims, but they swam very well,” Levine said.

As the lone senior on the roster, Camphouse provided exceptional leadership for the younger swimmers, according to Levine. His presence will be missed next season.

“Colter is a great young man,” Levine said. “The kids respect him — he’s been through four years with us, and he knows how to work hard and lead by example. He’s a great competitor — all those good traits you look for in a swimmer. But I think the best thing about him — and what I’m going to miss the most — is his competitiveness.”

Along with strong finishes by the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams, the 200 freestyle relay team also qualified to swim on Saturday — the team of Fackrell, Ben Cook, Gage Beachler and Vince Bloomfield finished 10th with a time of 1:37.01. The future for the relay teams looks promising, as every member of the three teams will return next season.

“It will definitely pay off next season, having all those guys back,” Levine said.

Also competing for the Red Devils in individual events were Ben Cook, who finished 17th in the 200 IM (2:20.62) and Gage Beachler, who finished 14th in the 50 freestyle (23.65) and 15th in the 100 freestyle (23.65). Timmy Bloomfield swam the 100 butterfly, placing 15th with a time of 1:00.59.

Jayden Cornell qualified for the 100 butterfly, but was unable to compete due to an illness.

“Jayden [Cornell] would have helped us out, he’s a good swimmer,” Levine said. “But we’re excited to have him back next year.”

With another season in the books, Levine called it a successful one, with swimmers performing above and beyond preseason expectations.

“We had high expectations at the beginning of the year,” he said. “This group exceeded my expectations. We had a lot of qualifiers this year compared to the past, and I think it’s going to be even better next year.”

Wyoming 4A State Swim Meet Results

1. Laramie 255.5, 2. Cheyenne Central 239, 3. Kelly Walsh 232, 4. Green River 120, 5. Campbell County 114.5, 6. Cheyenne South 108, 7. Thunder Basin 100.5, 8. Sheridan 75, 9. Cheyenne East 67, 10. Evanston 50, 11. Rock Springs 17.5, 12. Natrona County 10

200 Medley Relay

8. Jaxon Nicholls, Hunter Jensen, Timmy Bloomfield, Vince Bloomfield 1:47.63

200 Freestyle

10. Colter Camphouse 1:55.84

200 IM

17. Ben Cook 2:20.62

50 Freestyle

14. Gage Beachler 23.65

100 Butterfly

7. Jaxon Nicholls 56.71, 15. Timmy Bloomfield 1:00.59

100 Freestyle

15. Gage Beachler 53.09

500 Freestyle

11. Colter Camphouse 5:25.26, 12. Connor Fackrell 5:25.38, 18. Michael Tobin 5:37.88

200 Freestyle Relay

10. Connor Fackrell, Ben Cook, Gage Beachler, Vince Bloomfield 1:37.01

100 Backstroke

4. Jaxon Nicholls 56.22

400 Freestyle Relay

8. Ben Cook, Gage Beachler, Jaxon Nicholls, Vince Bloomfield 3:35.86