BEAR RIVER HIGH - By Tate Atkin, Headliner Sports Editor, December 8, 2022
The swim season at Bear River High is well underway starting back on October 28, when the Bears took part in the Ridgeline First Chance swim meet. The event was a five team meet hosted by Ridgeline High, with Bear River, Ridgeline, Box Elder High, Crimson Cliffs High and Mountain Crest High facing off in the pool.
Bear River struggled against the competition with the boys' team finishing in 4th place and the girls' team finishing in 5th place overall. Individually, the Bears had two swimmers finish in the top three. Senior Shannon Hyer placed 3rd in the girls' 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:06.44 minutes. Hayden Swain-Schmitt took 3rd place in the boys' 100-yard backstroke with a final time of 1:05.64.
Next up, the Bear River boys' and girls' swim teams traveled to Jordan High on November 3, for a quick pre-season meet. It was a close contest, but the Bears were outscored, 185-147. The Lady Bears edged out Jordan High, 91-71, but the boys' team from Bear River came home with a 114-56 loss.
1st place finishers for Bear River include:
Girls' 200-yard medley relay team A - Abby Peterson, Haylee Esplin, Shannon Hyer and Katherine Crook (2:22.60)
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 200-yard freestyle (2:27.64)
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 100-yard fly (1:10.42)
Girls' 200-yard freestyle relay team - Shannon Hyer, Kenadee Eversten, Kathrine Crook and Kiya White (2:07.42)
The Bears then competed in the Mustang Invite hosted by Mountain Crest on November 12. The combined team score for Bear River was 464.5, which was good enough for 4th place overall. The Bear River boys' team fared better than previous meets taking 4th place overall with 327.5 points. Sadly, the Lady Bears struggled to keep up with a score of 137 and finishing in last place. Hyer continued to dominate in the pool and took home a 1st place finish in the 100-yard fly with a time of 1:08.34.
Without missing a beat, the Bears took to the waters on November 15, this time at home as they hosted Fremont High. Overall, the Bears lost to Fremont, 209-130. Fremont High outswam the Bear River girls outscoring them 124-45, while the boys tied with Fremont, both scoring 85.
1st place finishers that day included:
Jonah Dean - Boys' 200-meter individual medley (2:33.31)
Hayden Swain-Schmit - Boys' 400-meter freestyle (5:17.82)
Brodie Rowley - Boys' 100-meter backstroke (1:15.57)
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 100-meter breaststroke (1:32.56)
Boys' 400-meter freestyle relay team - Jonah Dean, Hayden Swain-Schmit, Jaden Hyer and Garrett Griffin (4:10.52)
The Bears then hosted Judge Memorial High on November 17, where the Bulldogs ousted Bear River by an overall score of 197-135. The girls' team fell 95-67 and the boys' team lost 102-68.
1st place finishes at the meet include:
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 200-meter individual medley (2:51.47)
Jonah Dean - Boys' 200-meter individual medley (2:34.24)
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 200-meter fly (1:18.68)
Garrett Griffin - Boys' 100-meter freestyle (1:01.52)
Abby Peterson - Girls' 400-meter freestyle (6:28.51)
Boys' 400-meter freestyle relay team - Garrett Griffin, Aaron Betournay, Jaden Hyer and Jonah Dean (4:16.73)
On November 22, the Bear River swim team competed in the Thanksgiving Weigh-In meet. Bear River took 1st place in the 4-team meet as they outscored their competition with a combined score of 527. The girls' team from Bear placed 3rd overall with 194 points, just 12 points shy of first place, while the boys' scored 333 points to claim 1st place.
1st place finishes at the Thanksgiving Weigh-In meet included:
Garrett Griffin - Boys' 200 sc meter freestyle (2:19.66)
Jonah Dean - Boys' 200 sc meter individual medley (2:39.42)
Garrett Griffin - Boys' 400 sc meter freestyle (5:13.95)
Hayden Swain-Schmit - Boys' sc meter backstroke (1:10.54)
Boys' 400 sc meter freestyle relay team - Jonah Dean, Hayden Swain-Schmit, Jaden Hyer and Garrett Griffin (4:08.92)
Another trip to Mountain Crest High, this time on November 8, found the Bear River swim team taking home a loss to the Mustangs, 200-129. Both the boys' and girls' teams from Bear River finished in 2nd place where the girls' team had a score of 59 as did the boys' team with a score of 70.
1st place finishes for Bear River include:
Jonah Dean - Boy's 200-meter freestyle (2:18.45)
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 200-meter individual medley (2:51.93)
Shannon Hyer - Girls' 100-meter fly (1:16.57)
Garrett Griffin - Boys' 100-meter freestyle (1:00.25)
Kiya White - Girls' 400-meter freestyle (6:30.34)
Hayden Swain-Schmit - Boys' 100-meter backstroke (1:09.30)
Next up for the Bear River High swim team was a home meet against Region 11's Mountain Crest High, yet again, on December 8. Check back soon for final results.
Next week the Bears will host Layton High on Tuesday, December 13, starting at 3:30 p.m. followed by a trip to Ridgeline High on Thursday, December 15.