Bigfork swimmers continue to speed up in Missoula and Helena

Bigfork swimming has been hard at work, speeding up in the pool before state.

The Valkyries travelled to Helena over the weekend and continued to cut down their times. 

“I am so proud of these girls,” head coach Charlotte Ball said. “We have been doing a lot more sprints in practice versus distance and I can really see it paying off. They are getting faster, feeling stronger in the water and are definitely seeing their improvements in their times.  They are really in-tune with the times they want to be getting and are working hard to accomplish those goals.”

The 50-meter freestyle was made extra exciting for Bigfork with a little family rivalry. Kayleigh Beaulieu-Henion and Catelynn Henion were in the same heat and in lanes 2 and 3. “The pressure worked for Kayleigh who took two seconds off of her freestyle time,” Ball said.

The team readjusted the 200 freesyle relay team of Henion, Beaulieu-Henion, Jessica Young and Cienna Degele and cut four seconds off their time.

Helena was Degele’s second week back in the pool and she is already getting back to her fastest times from last year; she took two seconds off her 100-meter breaststroke. Young took three seconds off her backstroke and swam 30.84 in the 50-meter freestyle. 

The week before the Valkyries travelled to Missoula, which was Degele’s first meet of the season. As a team Bigfork saw a huge improvement in Missoula

“Degele swam the 200 individual medley for the first time and did a great job,” Ball said. “It is a tough event and she continued through all strokes.”

The medley relay team took nine seconds off their time with Young at the backstroke, Celeste Rehbein at breaststroke, Beaulieu-Henion at butterfly and Degele at freestyle.

“I’m very proud of Kayleigh, as I have made her become our fly swimmer and she has improved so much,” Ball said. 

Henion took two seconds off her 50-meter freestyle and four seconds off her 100-meter free style.

“This is huge,” Ball said. “As a first-year swimmer she is showing so much improvement and I am really excited that she is only a freshman.”

Young shaved a second off her 50-meter freestyle time, which was a big improvement, Ball said. “She had plateaued with a 31 second time and was finally able to break into the 30 mark—very big success and she was ecstatic.”

She also cut a second off her backstroke time.

Swimming takes this weekend off from competition before the state meet on Feb. 14 in Missoula.