GREAT FALLS — The 57th high school state swimming meet is in full swing in Great Falls, marking the seventh straight year the championship event has been held at the Swarthout Field House pool.
WATCH: State swimming prelims set the table for championship Saturday
Preliminary races began Thursday with the 500 freestyle and continued Friday morning with a full slate of prelim events, setting the lanes for Saturday’s championship finals.
A total of 436 swimmers from 25 teams qualified for this year’s meet, making it one of the largest high school championship events in the state.
Host Great Falls brought one of the biggest entries into the weekend with 34 boys and girls swimmers competing at their home pool. Class A Billings Central (33) and Billings West (32) also entered with deep rosters and contenders across multiple events.
Class AA races take shape
In Class AA boys, defending champion Bozeman is again in position to contend after strong early swims and relay depth. The Hawks are chasing another title after winning their record 20th championship last season. Great Falls, Helena Capital and Gallatin are also in the mix heading into the finals.
Several returning individual champions are back in action, including Bozeman’s Maximiliano Aguirre and Great Falls’ Seth Woldtvedt, both posting qualifying swims to reach championship finals in their featured events.
On the AA girls side, defending champion Great Falls is again pushing for the team race after winning three of the past four state titles. West and Gallatin remain key challengers after advancing multiple swimmers through prelims.
Missoula Big Sky standout Elly Lewis is back in position to chase more history in the distance freestyle events as she looks to add to her career title total.
Class A/B title runs in progress
In Class A/B, Billings Central’s boys and girls teams — both defending champions — advanced a large group of swimmers into Saturday finals. The Rams boys are seeking a sixth straight title, while the girls are aiming for a seventh in a row.
Top returning individual champions from Billings Central, Polson and East Helena also moved through prelims, setting up several marquee finals matchups.
What’s Next
Championship finals begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, where team and individual state champions will be crowned across Class AA and Class A/B competition.
- The top six A/B prelim times qualify for the finals
- The top six AA prelim times advance to the AA championship final
- AA swimmers who qualified seventh through 12th compete in the AA consolation final
Each event will be scored from those finals heats, determining both individual medals and the team standings.
