The meet against Liberty Commons and Estes Park was difficult for Eaton, but the girls powered through. The Lady Reds placed second overall with a score of 49 points, behind Liberty Commons at 94 points. There were two first place finishes by Eaton throughout the meet, which is less than normal but for a solid reason. Most of the girls on the team have either qualified already and are waiting for state, or trying to qualify for state. A majority of the Lady Reds are qualified and going through taper, a progressive way to lessen practice times in order to prepare for state. Four time state qualifier, Lexi Bruntz (22), didn’t actually swim this meet, due to a shoulder injury. At the Fort Collins meet she felt pain and kept going which made it worse, causing her not to swim. She attended the next practice following the Estes meet and feels much better now. 

The underclassmen have never been more outstanding with two more state qualifications. Sophie Morgan (25) and Dharma Perkins (25) both qualified for the 100 Butterfly. S. Morgan also qualified for the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 01:09.35, receiving first place. She placed third in the 100 Butterfly, right behind her sister, Caitlin Morgan (23), with a time of 01:18.49. C. Morgan placed second, in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 01:16.34, and also second in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 02:39.57. “The meet was super fun. I was glad to get to race my sister and help her qualify in the 100 Breaststroke. It was also super fun to see Sophie and Dharma qualify in the 100 Butterfly,” C. Morgan said. 

The competition was more difficult as the altitude in Estes makes it hard to swim as it changes the pressure. Aedy Barclay (24) swam in the 100 Breaststroke as well, with a time of 01:33.72, receiving fifth place. She also swam in the 50 Free, placing seventh, with a time of 00:32.28. “It was a rough meet and everyone was tired but we all pushed hard. We all tried to do our best to qualify and some girl ended up doing so,” Barclay said. She has been with the team for two years now and is a great and encouraging teammate. 

The only diver in this meet, for Eaton, was Kaiya Sinkler (23). At the last meet, she performed 11 dives, with a total of 334.20 points, and qualified for state. This time she did 6 dives and scored a total of 139.43 points, receiving eighth place. Overall, the last regular meet of the season went well and was just another win in the books for the Reds. Now the Patriot League Championship Prelims on Feb. 4, 2022, awaits the Lady Reds.