Tridents do well over busy two weeks of competition

The Lake Holcombe-Ladysmith-Flambeau-Bruce Trident Swim and Dive team has had a busy couple weeks, with two dual meets and a virtual invitational.

Sept. 3 vs. Lakeland Union

The Tridents traveled to Minocqua, to swim against the Lakeland High School Swim team, to begin their Great Northern Conference season. At the end of the night, the Tridents came up short and took their first loss to a talented Lakeland team.

“We had some good swims, with Brooke Lechleitner taking a first in the 50-yard freestyle and Madeline Bunton a first in the 500-yard freestyle,” said coach Matt Bunton, “but overall, just couldn’t get in front of them on many of the events.”

Sept. 10 vs. Medford (W 93-77)

A week later, the Tridents hosted Medford, for their second conference dual meet, with much better results and taking the win. The meet started out neck-and-neck, with the Tridents and Medford exchanging leads through the first series of events.

After a second and third place finish by the Tridents in the 200-yard medley, senior Olivia Bunton took a first in the 200-freestyle, with a time of 2:17.65. Sophomore Madeline Bunton then swam a 26.86 in the 50-yard freestyle to take first in that event, with teammates Sadie Heath and Federica Santori going under 30 seconds for third and fourth place, respectively.

“At the break, after the 50-free, we were just 2 points ahead,” said Matt Bunton. “The girls knew exactly what they had to do capture the win.”

In the 100-yard butterfly, junior Brooke Lechleitner took first, with a personal best of 1:03.73 and freshman Madilyn Kempen captured third place, with a time of 1.16.12. Next, Madeline Bunton took another first in the 100 freestyle, with a time of 57.18 and Heath capturing third.

Then, in the 500-yard freestyle, O. Bunton swam a personal best time of 6:06.48, to a first place finish, with sophomore Michelle Gaddy taking third in that event. In the 200yard freestyle relay, the A and B relays captured more first and third place finishes.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Lechleitner held on for a second place finish against Medford’s Erin Bergman, with sophomore Sanaa Trott and senior Kitara Fye swimming to fourth and fifth place finishes. In the 100-yard breaststroke, senior Mya Baselt and Gaddy were able to take second and third place finishes, against Medford’s Aiden Denzer.

Finally, in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Tridents A relay took first, while the B relay took third, to pull out a finish on the night, winning 93-77 over Medford.

“It’s easy to point at a few of the big swims that we had tonight, but really this was a whole team effort, with many of our younger swimmers rising to the occasion and swimming their hearts out to earn valuable points for their team,” said Matt Bunton. “We still have a lot of work to do in regard to fitness and technique, but I was very happy with how the girls responded tonight.”

Sept. 12 at virtual Superior Invitational

The girls then wrapped up with a “virtual invite” with Superior, Rice Lake and Two Harbors. The annual Superior Spartan Relays are a high point for the girls every season, and although not able to be together in the same pool, they made the best of it.

The Tridents were fortunate that the Rice Lake team was able to make the trip over and swim with them at Ladysmith. The meet opened up with diving, with Fye scoring a season high 159 in six dives.

“Last season, the divers and their coach from Rice Lake would come practice at Ladysmith, along with a diver from Tomahawk, every Monday night, and we haven’t be able to do that this year,” said Matt Bunton. “So, it was great for the girls to be able to dive and enjoy one another’s company again.”

At the end of the meet, the Tridents had secured a second place finish, overall, with first in the 3x100-yard medley relay, 4x50-yard butterfly relay and the 100, 100, 200 and 500-crescendo freestyle relay.

“This is always a fun meet for the team and the girls all look forward to,” said Matt Bunton. “The virtual format didn’t have all the excitement, of course, of a big meet up in Superior, but any day we can all get together and compete, is a gift at this point.”