Even though the Lady Reds had a tough loss in their home swimming pool to Berthoud, the girls had a bunch of great first-place awards. Berthoud High School is one of the swim teams’ largest competitors, with finishes seconds apart. The final score was 99-86 with Eaton at a loss, which gives the Lady Reds the motivation for their next meet against Mountain View High School on Jan. 25, 2022.  

First place was taken by many girls that have already qualified for state, such as Caitlin Morgan (23) and Lexi Bruntz (22). In the 100 Breast, Morgan swam a 01:21.29 and the girl behind her, from Berthoud, at a 01:23.00. Morgan also swam in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 02:35.60, in which she received first place as well. Both of her first-place standings helped out the team in the end, as the score was close. “Even though we didn’t win, we still fought hard. The meet was super close and it was back and forth the entire time. I’m glad I was able to do my part in helping the team succeed though,” Morgan said. 

Bruntz also got first place in the 100 Free with a time of 00:58.94 with the girl behind her, from Berthoud, at a time of 01:00.20. Bruntz has always expressed a passion for the 100 Free and 200 Free, in which she has gone to state in both since she was a freshman. In the 200 Free, Bruntz got second place with a time of 02:11.59, and the girl in front of her from Berthoud was only 00:01.40 faster. “The meet last Friday was a lot of fun. We went against a team that has very similar talents, meaning almost every event had close times between at least two girls. There was a lot of great competition and all the girls gave it their all. I was proud of the outcome, even though as a team we lost,” Bruntz said. A loss is always a disappointment, but the Lady Reds didn’t let Berthoud have the win easily with the score being 13 points apart. 

The underclassmen fought just as hard, receiving a couple of second and third places throughout all the events. Sophie Morgan (25) took second place, after her sister Caitlin Morgan in first, for the 100 Breast with a time of 01:23.00. Sophie also had the second-best time, behind her sister, in the 200 Individual Medley, with a time of 02:40.98. “Receiving second place in a new event as a freshman was very exciting. Being so close to my sister in a race really helps me push towards my goal of getting the state time and to someday possibly beat her,” S. Morgan said, with the urge to beat her sister in the 200 Individual Medley. 

Another outstanding underclassman, Aedy Barclay (24), received fourth in the 100 Breast, with a time of 01:32.99. Barclay was also in the 50 Free, with a time of 00:32.65, receiving seventh place. She has been with the team for two years now and loves contributing to the team during very competitive meets. Barclay said, “The meet was so close. Berthoud is a really good team and we felt like we had a good competition here. During the next couple of weeks leading to the conference meet, we are going to work hard and prepare ourselves.” The conference meet is on Feb. 4, 2022, so until that day, the girls have lessened their practice times to relax and focus for the big meet.