The Evanston High School girls’ swimming and diving home hosted the Evanston Invitational Saturday at Davis Middle School, winning eight events, and finishing first as a team.

The Lady Devils won the team title with 371.5 points, followed by Lyman in second with 273.5 and Kemmerer in third, with 259. Green River and Rock Springs were also scheduled to compete, but pulled out of the event earlier in the week.

“The girls swam really well, and our divers also did well — we had a few PRs, which was nice,” said EHS head coach Teri Wilt. “We’re kind of at that part of the season where it’s a bit more of a challenge to qualify — once we start tapering, we’ll see a lot more kids qualify. But all of the swims were great, the girls did well and swam hard. It would have been nice to have Green River and Rock Springs there, as well, but it was still a fun meet.”

The Lady Devils also took time during the meet to honor their two seniors: Allyssa Sepos and Leah Sturges. Sepos has been with the program all four years, while Sturges joined the team last year.

“Allyssa has been on the team for four years, and she started diving her sophomore year,” Wilt said. “She’s excelled in both swimming and diving — she’s one of our highest point scorers consistently, she always scores at every meet. Her dive score Saturday was a PR for her, and she’s now qualified for two events in swimming and in diving. She’s our team captain.”

As for Sturges, it’s her attitude and work ethic she brings to the team that Wilt will miss the most.

“Leah joined us last year, and she’s been amazing — she has such a great attitude, and is always lifting up the team,” Wilt said. “Since she’s so new to the sport, she’s obviously not to the point where some of the other girls are, but what she does contribute to the team is just amazing — she has such a good spirit about her.”

As for the meet itself, sophomore Brooklyn Larsen won multiple events — the 200 freestyle (2:17.49) and the 100 freestyle (1:01.06). Fellow sophomores Clara and Lyra Hutchinson also won events, with Clara taking the top spot in the 200 individual medley (2:50.45) and Lyra winning the 100 Butterfly (1:16.32). Sophomore Rachel Johnson won the diving portion of the meet, with a score of 381.60.

“Our sophomore class has grown a lot — I think we have eight or nine sophomores, and all of them are just doing amazing,” Wilt said. “They’ve dropped so much time. A lot of them swam through the summer with me, and you just see that hard work really paying off. They’re just going to keep getting stronger the next two years.”

The Lady Devils won all three relay events, with the team of Allyssa Sepos, Brooklyn Larsen, Lyra Hutchinson Clara Hutchinson leading off the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay (2:10.48). The team of Clara Hutchinson, Allyssa Sepos, Cera Fadden and Brooklyn Larsen won the 200 freestyle (1:56.53), while Clara Hutchinson, Lyra Hutchinson, Raquel Rasmussen and Cera Fadden won the 400 freestyle relay (4:29.57).

“Our freshman class — girls like Raquel Rasmussen — she’s a good, strong swimmer that can swim all four strokes for us,” Wilt said. “Story Hawkins is one of our stronger freshmen, as well — we can throw her into any event. We don’t have as big a freshmen class, but this year’s team is just a strong team — they all support each other, and have so much fun together.”

While there were no new state qualifiers at Saturday’s invite, Wilt said a handful of girls are right on the cusp of earning a trip to state.

“We have some girls that are very close — like .5 seconds away,” Wilt said. “They’ll get it soon, I have no doubt.”

Wilt gave a special shoutout to her assistant coach, who has proven to be invaluable to the team this season, particularly in the swimming events.

“Our new assistant coach — Corbin Rasmussen — has been amazing,” Wilt said. “He’s been such a big asset to this team. I coach mainly diving, and he coaches the swimming events, and has contributed so much to the team.”

The Lady Devils are off this week to enjoy the Homecoming festivities, but will be right back at it in the weeks to follow.

“We have about a 10-day break, which is good timing — we’ll really push hard the next couple of weeks, and then we’ll start to see a little bit of tapering when we head into conference,” Wilt said. “Our next meets are in Big Piney, Rock Springs and the Rawlins Invite, as well as a home meet against Kemmerer in October. We’re really excited for conference — we’re looking really strong.”

Evanston Invitational

Team Scores

1. Evanston 371.5, 2. Lyman 273.5, 3. Kemmerer 259

200 Medley Relay

1. Allyssa Sepos, Brooklyn Larsen, Lyra Hutchinson, Clara Hutchinson 2:10.48, 4. Rachel Johnson, Gigi Larson, Raquel Rasmussen, Jenna Phillips 2:32.56

200 Freestyle

1. Brooklyn Larsen 2:17.49, 4. Raquel Rasmussen 2:27.74, 5. Jenna Phillips 2:38.44, 6. Kenzi Fackrell 2:39.56

200 IM

1. Clara Hutchinson 2:50.45, 3. Hanah Kolata 3:18.70

50 Freestyle

3. Lyra Hutchinson 28.93, 6. Cera Fadden 29.52, 10. Gigi Larson 33.64, 11. Leah Sturges 36.02, 12. Ella Clarito 41.79

Girls 1 Mtr Diving

1. Rachel Johnson 381.60,  2. Allyssa Sepos 379.99

100 Butterfly

1. Lyra Hutchinson 1:16.32, 2. Raquel Rasmussen 1:20.47

100 Freestyle

1. Brooklyn Larsen 1:01.06, 3. Allyssa Sepos 1:05.27, 7. Jolee Swann 1:23.34, 9. Ella Clarito 1:35.80

500 Freestyle

2. Jenna Phillips 7:01.65, 3. Hanah Kolata 7:25.99, 4. Story Hawkins 7:30.66

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Clara Hutchinson, Allyssa Sepos, Cera Fadden, Brooklyn Larsen 1:56.53, 3. Hanah Kolata, Gigi Larson, Story Hawkins, Kenzi Fackrell 2:15.99, 5. Rachel Johnson, Leah Sturges, Ella Clarito, Jolee Swann 2:29.00

100 Backstroke

5. Kenzi Fackrell 1:24.80, 8. Leah Sturges 1:34.11, 9. Jolee Swann 1:45.87

100 Breaststroke

3. Cera Fadden 1:24.56, 6. Gigi Larson 1:39.50

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Clara Hutchinson, Lyra Hutchinson, Raquel Rasmussen, Cera Fadden 4:29.57, 4. Kenzi Fackrell, Hanah Kolata, Story Hawkins, Jenna Phillips 5:20.62