The Eaton Lady Reds swim team is back with a normal year and a great athlete turnout. The Lady Reds lost some great swimmers from last year, leaving the strong incoming class of ‘22. With a grand total of only two seniors, the upperclassmen of the team are ready to lead the swimmers into a successful season. Lexi Bruntz (22) and Adie Burke (22) have stepped up to be the role models of the Lady Red’s swim team and they couldn’t be happier to take on leadership roles. “I’ve been having a great time so far this year, encouraging the younger girls. I know how important it is to have a good role model and I’m trying to be a great one for them! They are all talented and I know this year will be great,” said Bruntz (22), who has had a successful season and couple of years so far. Hattie Carlson, the swim coach, said, “These girls both want to have a successful last year and they are a very strong incoming class,” and the girls are indeed strong as Lexi Bruntz went to state last year as well. As for new athletes, there are six freshmen. With Sophie Morgan (25) and Dharma Perkins (25) as great additions. “I would say being new on the team was much easier than I expected. Being a freshman is always scary, but the upperclassmen are really welcoming, everyone is so friendly, and supportive. The seniors set a standard for practice and always push us to do our best,” said Sophie Morgan (25). The first meet for the Lady Reds was in Estes Park. Three of the Lady Red swimmers finished in the top 12 overall.

As for new athletes, there are six freshmen. With Sophie Morgan (25) and Dharma Perkins (25) as great additions. “I would say being new on the team was much easier than I expected. Being a freshman is always scary, but the upperclassmen are really welcoming, everyone is so friendly, and supportive. The seniors set a standard for practice and always push us to do our best,” said Sophie Morgan (25). The first meet for the Lady Reds was in Estes Park. Three of the Lady Red swimmers finished in the top 12 overall, starting off the season strong. The second meet was a home meet, against Frederick High School.This time the competition was a little harder for the Lady Reds. “With a larger team than Eaton, they are still in the process of being built to their best, so they have a lot of potential. We were still able to beat them with our small numbers, but bigger depth of talent,” Coach Carlson said. At this meet, Bruntz (22) swam a 2:15:54 for the Women 200 Yard Free, receiving first place. She has a lot of pressure on her back considering the state qualification time is 2:16:00. As for the freshman, Perkins (25) got first place in the Women 50 Yard Free, with a time of 27.85 and the pressure of a state qualification time of 27.80. Recently, on Dec. 13, 2021 there was a league relays meet, in Fort Collins, against five other teams. This meet was one of the larger ones as the five teams were the ones in their league. It is called league relays as the girls only swim relays and not individual events. These types of meets are what the girls consider more “fun” kinds of meets and there were fast times posted. Overall at the league relays, the Lady Reds placed second and gave their best effort into the teamwork aspect of the meet. Coach Carlson has been with the Eaton swim team for a while and loves seeing each of the grades swim and accomplish their goals. She always has great words of encouragement and advice, “ I always talk to the girls about race techniques and to trust their training. We have been going through a 30 confidence book that I encourage them to draw from,” said Coach Carlson. Overall, the Lady Reds are looking forward to a great rest of the season.