Swimmers do great at state
RIVER BLAZEJEWSKI | Hungry Horse News | UPDATED 4 hours, 28 minutes AGO
The Columbia Falls 2026 swim team had a great showing at state, with the girls taking third and the boys fourth. Front row, from left, Sawyer Clark, Kensley Cheff, Lucy Hiner, Molly Bagley, Coach Scarlet Kaplan, Maielle Bales, Teagan Bates, Javen Kuntz, Ramsey Cuffe; second row, Talon Borgen, Cathrine Opalka, Alana Trevino, Jackson Schubert, Coach Kyle Babcock, Tristan Victor.
The Wildcat swimmers had a phenomenal performance over the weekend at the state A swim meet in Great Falls.
The boys took home hardware with a third place finish. Coach Kyle Babcock only had positive things to say about the meet. “We swam all 13 of our swimmers at state and I’m very proud of every one of them. Every single one of our kids worked so hard this season and each made great strides.”
Catherine Opalka blew the competition out of the water, stamping her name on three new school records: the 200 IM, 100 Backstroke, and the girls 400 free relay. Also included on this new record are Kensley Cheff, senior Molly Bagley, and Lucy Hiner.
Senior Teagan Bates had a standout all-state performance in the 200 free, snagging fifth place.
The boys 400 free relay, consisting of Javen Kuntz, Talon Borgen, Ramsey Cuffe, and Jackson Schubert, was a “big step up relay” for Columbia Falls, but they got it done securing a third place finish.
The boys took third in Class A, with only six swimmers. The girls took fourth place with seven. These are both amazing outputs against some solid teams, Babcock noted.
The Wildcats had eight top three finishes, and took home 14 all state (top six) medals.
The team loses two beloved seniors, Teagan Bates and Molly Bagley, this season, so they’ll have a bit of rebuilding to do. Next year, they’ll have six seniors, only considering their current roster.
Additional individual results are listed below:
Girls 200 Medley Relay-4th (Lucy Hiner, Kensley Cheff, Catherine Opalka, Molly Bagley)
Boys 200 Medley Relay-3rd (Teagan Bates, Jackson Schubert, Tristan Victor, Javen Kuntz)
Girls 200 IM-Catherine Opalka, 1st, Kensley Cheff, 6th
Boys 50 Free-Tristan Victor, 3rd, Javen Kuntz, 6th
Boys 100 Free-Tristan Victor, 2nd
Boys 200 Free Relay-3rd (Javen Kuntz, Teagan Bates, Jackson Schubert, Tristan Victor)
Girls 100 Back-Catherine Opalka, 1st, Kensley Cheff, 6th
Boys 100 Breast-Jackson Schubert, 3rd
Girls 400 Free Relay-4th (Kensley Cheff, Molly Bagley, Lucy Hiner, Catherine Opalka)