GREAT FALLS — Butte High senior Thad Holdsworth will be a two-time All-State swimmer for the second straight year.
Now it is just a matter of what place he brings home from the State swim meet in Great Falls.
Holdsworth placed third in the 100-yard butterfly and fourth in the 100 breaststroke last year. On Friday, he qualified for the finals in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. He qualified third in both events.
The top six from Friday’s preliminaries advance to the top finals and earn All-State. The next six qualify for the second finals and score team points.
In all, Butte High as nine swimmers who advanced to the second day at the Great Falls High pool.
Ladd Hutchinson qualified 12th in the 100 breaststroke, while Kershaw Mellot, Holdsworth, Hutchinson and Ziah Garza qualified seventh in the 200 freestyle relay. They missed the top six by .03 seconds.
The same four boys qualified ninth in the 200 medley relay. Mellott, Garza, Jack Luoma and Hutchinson qualified ninth in the 400 freestyle relay.
On the girls’s side, Carley Trefts, Kinzie Mason, Lily Jaksha and Alex Kovnesky qualified in the top 12 in three relays. They took 11th in the 400 freestyle relay and 12th in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.
“Every swimmer swam a personal best time today,” Butte High coach Lynn Shrader said. “I am so proud of everyone.”
Action resumes at 11 a.m. Saturday.
