Lady Wolves dive into new season

It's a new season and a new chance for the Green River Lady Wolves to snag a State Championship! The Lady Wolves Swimming and Diving team officially started their practices on August 14. Throughout the summer the girls worked on general conditioning and technique to get stronger and ready for the upcoming season. They also went to the gym and were lifting weights to stay in shape during the off season.

Green River was a very strong team last year, ending their season with six All-State Champion awards and taking second place at the 3A State Championships. Returning champions Tavia Arnell and Tanith Smith were some of the talent that brought the Lady Wolves so far in the championships last year. Some of the other amazing State qualifying athletes returning include Brianna Uhrig, Madison Moffat, Courtney Clark, Emilee Barnes, Hailey Luth, Haley Clevenger, Ashlynn Smith and Ivory Neher. They have also seen a good number of newcomers, including a core of freshman that are starting for their first season. Among the new swimmers is Breezy Van Etten, who transferred from Laramie and will make a great addition to their group.

The Lady Wolves have returning divers as well, including Kaili Wadsworth, Natalie Walgren and Paige Brady.

The Lady Wolves had some athletes that were injured last year that have returned to the pool. Tanith Smith has returned after a shoulder injury and Natalie Walgren has also returned after getting injured from hitting the diving board.

"I'm really excited for this season," said Head Coach Colleen Seiloff. "The girls have been working really hard. They're listening, working together and getting along and we've had talks already about what it's going to take to be successful within the season."

The Lady Wolves will be traveling to Laramie tomorrow for the Laramie Pentathlon. Friday night the teams will compete in the Laramie Relays and Saturday they will compete in the Pentathlon.

"It's always good competition at the beginning of the year," explained Coach Seiloff. "It's a good place to find out what the girls are good at and where they will be in certain events."

Coach Seiloff has always believed if you work hard, your hard work pays off in the end. She doesn't like the girls to get caught up in worrying about scores when competing at State. She likes her team to be encouraging and to help their teammates. When they finally see the scores, then they will know if they won or not.

It will be an exciting year for the Lady Wolves as they will be hosting the 3A West Conference on October 20 and 21. The girls will also be competing at the 3A State Championships in Gillette on November 3 and 4.