Lake Monsters make splash at state
Laura Simpson photo
Lake Monsters Jeremiah Coutts, Sean Murphree, both 10, aquatic director and coach Ali Bronsdon, Hannah Simpson, 9, and Ajalin Simshaw, 12, traveled to Bozeman for the Long Course State swim meet July 31 through Aug. 2.
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BOZEMAN — A “small but mighty” school of Lake Monsters who made it to the Long Course State swim meet did Polson proud, shattering their own previous records and qualifying for finals in nearly every event they entered.
Sean Murphree, Jeremiah Coutts, Hannah Simpson and Ajalin Simshaw traveled to the state meet with Mission Valley Aquatics Director Ali Bronsdon, who’s been filling in for head coach Randy Folker until he returns full-time at the end of August.
“We went to Bozeman to see what we could do against the best in the state and came away with medals and ribbons, best times and tons of memories,” Bronsdon said. “Even though they are all under 12, this group is at the core of our young swim team and they learn so much every meet they attend.”
In the 9 to 10-year-old age group, Murphree swam to second in the 100 butterfly, dropping more than 5 seconds from his preliminary swim. He also took third place in both the 50-meter backstroke and 200 IM.
“He was exhausted by Sunday afternoon but still managed to dig deep and finish the meet with everything he had,” Bronsdon noted.
Coutts, also 10, made the finals in four events, with his best finish fifth in the 400 freestyle. He saved the best swim for last, though, making a comeback in the 100 backstroke to cut 5 seconds off his qualifying time and finish sixth.
“He blasted off the wall, nailed his turn, which was his problem that morning, and came home kicking like mad,” Bronsdon said.
Nine-year-old Hannah Simpson, the only returning Lake Monster at state, shattered her personal best 100 backstroke time by 13.49 seconds, finishing in 11th place as the sixth 9-year-old.
“That's kind of insane, really, but shows what hard work can do for a swimmer like Hannah who comes to practice every day and competes in every meet,” Bronsdon added.
At age 12, Simshaw was the oldest swimmer on the state team and out-swam some tough competition to place fourth in her “signature” event, the 200-meter breaststroke.
“She had a tall order in almost every race as her age group is super competitive, but she continued to impress all weekend long,” Bronsdon noted.
The Lake Monsters have August off and will restart in September.
