Francis qualifies for state on senior night.

NEWCASTLE, Wyo. - Newcastle High School earned three individual victories in a 95-52 swimming and diving dual loss to Douglas on Thursday, Oct. 8, in Newcastle. The senior-night meet was Newcastle's only home appearance of the season. The team then traveled to the Buffalo Invite on Saturday, Oct. 10, completing a two-meet stretch with state-qualifying performances and personal records.

Shelby Smith won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:48.38 and added second place in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:17.47. Macy Steber captured the 50-yard freestyle in 29.56 and finished third in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:06.06. Allie Lunstra delivered Newcastle's third victory, winning the 100-yard butterfly in 1:12.90 by 4.68 seconds, after finishing just 0.71 seconds behind the winner in the 200-yard freestyle with a 2:13.29. Season-best sprint performances also came from Steber, whose 29.56 in the 50 freestyle was 0.55 seconds from the Class 3A qualifying mark and whose 100 freestyle time was 1:06.06. Shelby Smith improved a personal best in the 200 IM by nearly two seconds, finishing 1.24 seconds from the qualifying standard.

The home meet's senior-night highlight came on the diving board, where lone senior State Qualifying placed second with a state-qualifying 158.55 points. Wesley Wood won with 161.85, leaving just 3.30 points between the top two finishers. Madalyn Francis also contributed third place in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:22.22. Thursday marked a return to diving for Madi, who had made only one previous appearance on the board, in Laramie in August, before illness interrupted the season.

Newcastle collected 44 individual-event points and eight relay points. Shelby Smith, Macy Steber, Madalyn Francis and Natalie Dean teamed for second in the 200-yard medley relay in 2:33.49, earning four points. Shelby Smith, Macy Steber, Allie Lunstra and Lillian Lopez added another four with second in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 4:39.32. Natalie Dean supplied scoring depth with third in the 200 IM and fourth overall in the 100-yard breaststroke, improving the breaststroke personal best by seven seconds. Additional improvements included Lilly Lopez's four-second personal record in the 100 freestyle and five-second improvement in the 100 backstroke. Dogies recorded state-qualifying times in the butterfly and 200 freestyle.

Despite fatigue from the quick turnaround, Newcastle finished fourth among five teams with 125 points at Buffalo High School on Saturday. Buffalo won with 444 points, followed by Worland with 197 and Cody with 176; Powell finished fifth with 117. Allie Lunstra paced Newcastle with 26 individual points through runner-up finishes in the 200 IM in 2:43.14 and 100 backstroke in 1:11.69. Both swims cleared the Class 3A standards of 2:47.14 and 1:16.81, respectively.

Shelby Smith contributed 20 individual points at Buffalo, taking fourth in the 500-yard freestyle in 6:55.89, an eight-second personal-best improvement, and sixth in the 200 IM in 2:52.21. Macy Steber earned 18 points with sixth-place finishes in the 50 freestyle in 30.17 and 100 backstroke in 1:19.73. State Qualifying posted another state-qualifying diving score, placing fifth with 153.50 points. Natalie Dean cut three seconds from the previous best in the 100 freestyle, finishing ninth in 1:18.94, but a nine-second improvement in the backstroke did not count after a disqualification on the final turn. Lillian Lopez added points with 12th in the 200 freestyle and 10th in the backstroke.

Relays supplied 42 of Newcastle's Buffalo points, helping secure an eight-point edge over Powell. Allie Lunstra, Madalyn Francis, Natalie Dean and Lillian Lopez placed fourth in the 200 medley relay in 2:33.41 for 22 points. Shelby Smith, Madalyn Francis, Natalie Dean and Lillian Lopez earned 20 more with sixth overall in the 200 freestyle relay in 2:15.82. Junior Shelby also recorded a personal-best 28.39-second relay split, faster than the Class 3A open 50 freestyle standard, although only a relay's leadoff leg can qualify for an individual event.