The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Chinook Lions and Harlem swim teams concluded the Montana Federation of Swimmers regular season schedule this past weekend in Fort Benton. The Lions had a good contingent with 14 swimmers on hand to compete. Harlem had one swimmer in the pool in the regular season finale.

The Lions took home three individual high Point Trophies along the way. Rachel Stephens set a couple of new Fort Benton pool records on her way to three first place finish and the Girls 11-12 High Point Trophy. Daniel Tilleman set a new pool record as well and swept all three of his individual events to win the boys 13-14 High Point award. Katie Tilleman continued her stellar season with three more first place finishes, another pool record and the girls 13-14 high point trophy.

Head Coach, Benton Elliot, was impressed with his teams performance in Fort Benton, "We had six pool records broken, Rachel Stephens broke the pool record in the 100 free and 50 fly, Katie Tilleman broke the pool record in the 100 back and 50 fly, and Daniel Tilleman broke the pool record in the 200 free and 100 free."

Stephens was the first Lion swimmer to garner a high point trophy in Fort Benton. She began her finals swim with an outstanding effort in the girls 11-12 50 Meter freestyle, winning the event in a pool record :31.06. Stephens then captured the top spot in the 100 Meter Freestyle with a time of 1:08.68. Her final swim was a pool record breaking effort in the 50 Meter Butterfly, touching the wall in :33.35 to win her third and final event.

Katie continued to dominate her age group, sweeping all three of her individual events along the way. To begin her Sunday finals swim, Katie outdistanced her competitors in the 13-14 Girls 50 Meter freestyle completing the event in :30.68. A short time later she added another win, this time in pool record fashion, as she took the top spot in the 100 Meter Backstroke. Katie's final swim of the day came in the 50 Meter Butterfly and resulted in yet another pool record with a time of :31.77.

Daniel Tilleman has found himself at the top of the podium many times in his swim career and this weeks swim in Fort Benton was no different. Daniel won his first event the 50 Meter Freestyle with a time of :27.53. He then added a win in the 100 Meter freestyle with a time of 1:03.73, good for a new Fort Benton pool record. In his final swim of the regular season another pool record fell as he claimed the top spot in the boys 13-14 200 Meter freestyle.

The 13-14 Girls 200 Medley Relay team also captured gold in Fort Benton, winning the event in 2:35.95. The relay team consisted of Katie Tilleman, Rachel Stephens, Jeni Mord and Lori Mord.

Mariah Huravitch turned in a nice effort in the Girls 9-10 50 Meter Butterfly, finishing second with a time of :53.65. Cynnloch Gibson added a valuable points to the Lions total, finishing third in the Boys 9-10 50 Meter Backstroke with a time of :52.37.

A talented group of swimmers getting better each time they dive in the pool also competed in the final regular season meet of the season, they are: Lotus Taly, Calvin Frye, Harper Matkin, Ivey Lenz, Gunner Lenz, Clara Laird and Justin Huravitch.

The Harlem Swim team was represented in Fort Benton by Hunter Speaksthunder. Hunter has competed very well for Harlem this summer and that trend continued this past weekend. Speaksthunder began the day with a fourth place effort in the 13-14 Boys 50 Meter freestyle, touching the wall in :31.26. Later he added a third place finish in the 100 Meter Backstroke with a time of 1:21.95. Saving his best swim for last, Speaksthunder won the 50 Meter Butterfly with a time of :34.54.

After a very successful regular season for both teams the Chinook Lions and Harlem Swim teams are now squarely focused on the upcoming Eastern Divisional in Plentywood this Saturday and Sunday. Both teams had a number of swimmers really rise to the top of their individual age groups, claiming many wins and bringing home a ton of hardware. In addition both teams have had a number of swimmers really improve throughout the season, cutting significant time each week and now have positioned themselves to really contend at the eastern Divisional.

The Chinook Lions have been led all season long by Katie Tilleman, Rachel Stephens, Britton Elliot, Bryce Elliot, Brockton Elliot, Daniel Tilleman and Denton DePriest. All seven have won individual high point awards and set new pool and federation records along the way. This strong group of swimmers positions the Lions in a good spot in the team race heading into the Eastern Divisional. Up and coming young swimmers like Cynnloch Gibson and Sylvi Harwood as well as experienced swimmers like Kolton DePriest and Tyler Stephens add to the Lions strengths.

High Point winners for the Chinook Lions Swim Team from Fort Benton this past weekend include (L-R) Daniel Tilleman (13-14 Boys), Rachel Stephens (11-12 Girls) and Katie Tilleman (13-14 Girls). The trio excelled in the pool over the weekend combining for six new Fort Benton pool records.

Elliot is excited to see what his team can do this weekend, "I'm super happy with where we are coming into Divisionals. We have the some of the most productive swimmers in the state so I think we will be able to keep up with teams that have more swimmers. We have a couple kids getting really close to federation records which would be awesome if they could get."

Harlem Swim Team Head Coach, Andrew Rasmussen, is very confident with where his team is heading into the post season, "I know my team is prepared, we have been working extremely hard this season. We have had many technique days along with hard sets." The team has improved tremendously throughout the season top to bottom, "Each swimmer is prepared and I know they're gonna do their best and preform to the highest of their abilities. We set the bar high this year and I know I can trust each swimmer to give 100% in each race. I've seen everyone improve so much this year and am very proud of their accomplishments throughout the season."

The top 12 swimmers in each event at this weekends Eastern Divisional in Plentywood will advance to the Montana Federation of Swimmers State Swim Meet in Lewistown the following weekend, August 6-7. Good Luck to all of our Blaine County swimmers as they look to close out the summer season on a high note.