s t r o Sp
Bozeman Barracudas 2022 State Champions After five years, the Montana State Short Course Swim Championship trophies are back in Bozeman, all three of them: Men’s, Women’s and Combined. The story began last summer as the Barracudas team, stinging from a close loss, watched another team jump into “their” hometown pool, screaming and celebrating their win. The look on the Cudas faces said it all. The swimmers told the coaches ‘We do not want to experience this again, ‘We want to win state next year.’” But was it realistic to challenge a team from another city that had dominated the state for years, and which had just started a branch location in their pool? Could the Barracudas win? They had a season to find out...and in February of 2022, they found themselves at the state meet in Butte with a powerful squad of swimmers ages 10 and under for timed-final races sandwiched between intense morning prelims and evening finals races for ages 11 and up in the Challenge and Senior groups.
16
april 2022
Head Coach Hans Dersch shares some moments from the state meet: “It’s Thursday, Cuda swimmers are counting laps for kids from other teams who don’t have a counter for the 1,000 freestyle... and they’re cheering for their competitors. It’s Friday, only a few swims in and it’s clear that we are ready. Personal bests fall again and again, new cuts, team records, state records... It’s Saturday, and I see Cudas shaking hands, highfiving and saying, ‘good luck,’ and ‘good race,’ to the kids next to them, win or lose. They are saying, ‘Thank you,’ to timers and officials, showing that Cuda class. In the Butte YMCA natatorium our swimmers set up camp on the little peninsula that juts out into the splash pool. During finals, senior and resident math expert, Aeden DeGraw, is charting out team scores. Swimmers gather around him, trying not to get too excited. It’s Sunday night at the team meeting before finals. Captain Cami Yovich breaks out a new cheer. Arms entwined, the Cudas form a circle:
