Rivalry continues as Plainsmen, Camels battle in the pool

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

It just seems a little hotter in the pool when Laramie and Gillette meet in boys’ swimming. And humidity has nothing to do with it.

Laramie and Gillette have had a rivalry second to none in high school swimming in both boys and girls … but especially in the boys’ field.

Unless something unusual happens, either the Camels or the Plainsmen will win another state title in March. It would be the seventh straight year that one of the programs has won it all. The last time a non Laramie/Gillette team won the boys’ title was in 2002 when Casper Kelly Walsh snuck in there. You can go back another 10 years -- 1992 -- when Green River won the title. Other than that, it was either Laramie or Gillette.

“Laramie and Gillette are the two best teams in the state, or among the two,” veteran Laramie head coach Tom Hudson said. “We just have a great rivalry. We always get up to swim against them. It’s been that way for the last 30 years at Laramie High.”

The Camels, under the tutelage of Laramie native Mike Miller, have the edge in the overall series and especially as of late. Gillette has won 13 state titles under Miller in his 23 years at the helm, while the Plainsmen have won five under Hudson in his 18 years.

Gillette has also won the last three titles, with the Plainsmen winning the previous three.

“The rivalry between Laramie and Gillette has always been this way. Since we got back to start doing better again after our slump in the early 1990s … it’s been a great battle throughout the years,” Tom Hudson said. “Mike Miller has just been a tremendous coach. He always have these guys up for this meet and I always try to get our guys up of this meet. Honestly, they have won a lot more dual meets than we have.”

On Saturday, the two teams met for the second time in two weeks at the Laramie Recreation Center and the Camels pulled out a 96-90 win. Gillette has won each time out against Laramie this season in either duals or invitationals … but the gap is closing.

Miller, who competed against Hudson while he was at Laramie and Hudson at Sheridan, were also teammates at the University of Wyoming.

Miller said they are both quality programs with excellent coaching staffs and hard-nosed, hard working, quality athletes.

“These kids are all by-products of whoever taught us to do the things that we do and be the way we are,“ Miller said. “When you have two quality programs like that, you’re bound to have some great competition.”

On Saturday, the meet closed with the Plainsmen, led by Mike Hudson (Tom’s son) edging out Gillette freshman phenom Nick Dillinger in the final leg of the 400 freestyle relay.

For a day, at least, the Plainsmen won the battle, with the outcome of the war yet to be decided.
“Nick was on that relay, so we knew we had to swim our best. He is like the Michael Phelps of Wyoming of whatever,” Mike Hudson said. “It is a little extra motivation.”

Up until that race, Tom Hudson said the Plainsmen lost every close race that day. With that said, he was pleased to see his team come out on top against the strong Gillette relay squad.

“We showed an awful lot of heart in the 400 free relay holding off the Gillette team; Nick Dillinger is just a phenomenal freshman swimmer and we held them off,” Tom Hudson said. “It was our best time of the year, so I am happy with that. I’m happy with how hard we competed. We just have to keep getting better.”

As could be expected, Laramie and Gillette battle it out in youth swimming as well. Competing in high school is just an extension of several years of facing each other in meets across the state or in the region.

“I have some good rivalries with some of the kids. I’ve been swimming against them since I was about 8,” Mike Hudson said. “It’s good to win against them, sometimes.”

Neither coach has to really come up with any type of motivational speech when they face off; they all now what is at stake.

“We know they are really good, so we know that when we swim them we have to show up and do our best,” Mike Hudson said. “It’s a little extra motivation to go fast … it’s always nice to beat Gillette.”

Miller said his swimmers know the rivalry and the intensity that is there.

“There were a handful of years, about five or six years ago, that we weren’t every competitive (in the early 2000s),” he said. “I’m glad that our teams are back to where they are because we definitely have our best meets of the year against Laramie.”

The two teams will meet again a couple more times this season, including on Feb. 6 in a dual in Gillette. The Camels are still on top and have every intention of winning their fourth straight state title in March. That is, unless the Plainsmen have anything to do with it.

“We’re within a good range,” Mike Hudson said. “ By the time state comes, we should be around where they are.”

Tom Hudson likes his team‘s depth, which he believes will be the difference at state.

“They have two tremendous swimmers in every event, and hopefully by state, we’ll have three or four,” Hudson said.
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GILLETTE 96, LARAMIE 90
200 medley relay — 1. Gillette A (Nick Dillinger, Nicholas Hopson, Danny MacDonald, Jimmy Hurley) 1:43.20, 2. Laramie A (Sven Lundell, Justin Gabriel, Anthony Farley, Jack McClendon) 1:50.67; 3. Laramie B (Eli Kinney-Lang, Jake Ekberg, Jacob VanBaalen, Mike Goyn), 1:53.42; 4. Gillette B (Nate Tryon, Hunter Greer, Alan Arbach, Charlie VanPatten), 2:14.56.
200 freestyle — 1. Andrew Huddleston (Gillette), 1:54.94; 2. Mike Hudson (Laramie), 1:58.04; 3. Tyler Haddix (Gillette), 1:58.25; 4. Gentry Chakmakian (Laramie), 1:58.28; 5. Rostyn Hamilton (Gillette), 2:03.20; 6. Chuck Gabriel (Laramie), 2:04.32.
200 individual medley — 1. Nick Dillinger (Gillette), 2:03.68; 2. Rudi Hanekamp (Laramie), 2:07.65; 3. Nicholas Hopson (Gillette), 2:13.56; 4. Matt Gern (Laramie), 2:18.66; 5. Jake Ekberg (Laramie), 2:19.41; 6. Payton Young (Gillette), 2:26.22.
50 freestyle — 1. Colter Miller (Gillette), 23.31; 2. Jimmy Hurley (Gillette), 23.34; 3. Sven Lundell (Laramie), 23.57; 4. Jack McClendon (Laramie), 23.97; 5. Mike Goyn (Laramie), 24.64; 6. Alan Arbach (Gillette), 25.90.
Diving — 1. Derek Campbell (Laramie), 262.45; 2. Scott Wernsman (Gillette), 243.35; 3. Devan Flower (Gillette), 218.65; 4. Jade Schevling (Gillette), 176.70; 5. Sebastian King (Laramie), 163.00; 6. Garrett Kirk (Laramie), 161.10.
100 butterfly — 1. Danny MacDonald (Gillette), 54.52; 2. Rudi Hanekamp (Laramie), 54.81; 3. Colter Miller (Gillette), 59.53; 4. Anthony Farley (Laramie), 1:03.98; 5. Jacob VanBaalen (Laramie), 1:05.12; 6. Kris Nemee (Gillette) 1:16.14.
100 freestyle — 1. Andrew Huddleston (Gillette), 51.60; 2. Mike Hudson (Laramie), 51.94; 3. Jimmy Hurley (Gillette), 51.98; 4. Gentry Chakmakian (Laramie), 53.00; 5. Jack McClendon (Laramie), 53.23; 5. Alan Arbach (Gillette), 53.23.
500 freestyle — 1. Tyler Haddix (Gillette), 5:28.70; 2. Sven Lundell (Laramie), 5:40.07; 3. Rostyn Hamilton (Gillette), 5:41.06; 4. Augie Bress (Laramie), 5:41.81; 5. Chuck Gabriel (Laramie), 5:54.42; 6. Geoff Rappleyea (Gillette), 6:26.54.
200 freestyle relay — 1. Laramie A (Rudi Hanekamp, Jack McClendon, Gentry Chakmakian, Mike Hudson), 1:34.29; 2. Laramie B (Mike Goyn, Josh Peterson, Cole Nutter, Jacob VanBaalen), 1:41.96; 3. Gillette B (Alan Arbach, Charlie VanPatten, Cole Nutter, Jacob VanBaalen), 1:51.77; 4. Laramie C (Garrett Kirk, Cody Riddle, Dalton Moore, Micah Reicke), 1:52.54; 5. Gillette C’(Shea Spellman, Trevor Warrington, Reece Hamilton, Sinclair Lee), 2:08.63.
100 backstroke — 1. Nick Dillinger (Gillette), 55.29; 2. Eli Kinney-Lang (Laramie), 1:02.43; 3. Matt Gern (Laramie), 1:02.79; 4. Anthony Farley (Laramie), 1:04.52; 5. Payton Young (Gillette), 1:04.63; 6. Nate Tryon (Gillette), 1:07.59.
100 breaststroke — 1. Nicholas Hopson (Gillette), 1:05.71; 2. Danny MacDonald (Gillette), 1:06.77; 3. Jake Ekberg (Laramie), 1:07.18; 4. Justin Gabriel (Laramie), 1:10.93; 5. Augie Bress (Laramie), 1:11.40; 6. Geoff Rappleyea (Gillette), 1:13.17.
400 freestyle relay — 1. Laramie A (Rudi Hanekamp, Sven Lundell, Gentry Chakmakian, Mike Hudson), 3:26.30; 2. Gillette A (Andrew Huddleston, Tyler Haddix, Colter Miller, Nick Dillinger), 3:27.86; 3. Laramie B (Mike Goyn, Chuck Gabriel, Anthony Farley, Jacob VanBaalen), 3:48.67; 4. Gillette B (Rostyn Hamilton, Payton Young, Nicholas Hopson), Geoff Rappleyea), 3:54.57.