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'Homeless' Bison work way to state swim-dive finals
LINCOLN, Neb. - The McCook High School swim and dive Team spent nearly the entire 2025-26 season on the road with one goal: reaching the final day in Lincoln at the Nebraska State Swim and Dive Championships.
This is a similar goal every year, but it was extraordinary this season because the Bison swimmers and divers were without a pool the entire season.
Every practice and every meet was spent on the road, spending hours riding a bus, racking up thousands of miles to get into a pool.
But that determination and dedication paid off with a record number of McCook swimmers making it to the finals on Saturday at the Devaney Center.
Along the way, they also broke numerous school records and produced several accomplishments along the way.
The Nebraska high school state meet started Friday with McCook swimmers in every event but one for the boys. The McCook girls still had good representation with three events, despite only four female swimmers this season.
Although they were hoping to bring home medals, several McCook swimmers made it the finals on Saturday in the consolation events, including seniors Abby Renner in the 50 free and Blake Rodewald in the 100 butterfly, along with two relay events for the men.
“Our goal every year is to swim on Saturday,” McCook Coach Jon Graff said. “This year we were able to get four events to the finals and have two more events sitting as first alternates. I am so proud of these swimmers!”
McCook kicked off the championship meet Friday with senior Abby Renner in the 50 yard freestyle, where she finished 14th with a new personal record of :25.19 and earned a spot in the consolation finals.
She followed it up with an 18th place finish and a new PR of :55.25 in the 100 yard freestyle and as the second alternate for the finals.
The girls wrapped up the preliminary heats with the 200 free relay of Renner, Karstyn Porter, Braelyn Dunworth and Ashlynn Renner. Although they finished first in their heat, they were disqualified for early relay starts.
The boys took over the pool in the afternoon with a McCook swimmer in every event, except breaststroke.
The 200 medley relay of Tate Moser, Aaron Spencer, David Acha, and Becket Moser finished 17th overall, listed as first alternate for the finals. Plus they dropped another second off their school record with a time of 1:44.14.
Several individual events took center stage with Bolivian exchange student David Acha in the 200 free, who finished the season with a time of 1:53.80 for 29th place. Senior Blake Rodewald completed in the 200 individual medley and finished in 2:05.68 for 20th place.
Junior Derick Spencer set a new school record in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of :22.67 and good for 25th place.
Blake returned to the pool in the 100 yard butterfly with a 13th place finish in a time of :53.58. Although he earned a spot in the consolation finals, he opted not to swim the event Saturday due to illness.
Tate Moser rounded out the first set of individual events, placing 27th in the 100 yard freestyle in :50.82.
For the second of three relay events, the team of Derick and Aaron Spencer, Beckett Moser and Rodewald, combined to lower their school record in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:30.36 for 11th overall and a place in the consolation finals.
Next, Acha swam in the 500 yard freestyle and placed 27th in a time of 5:17.60 and Derick earned 31st in the 100 yard back in a time :59.52.
To close out Friday’s events, the Bison relay team of Derick Spencer, Tate Moser, David Acha, and Blake Rodewald dropped another three seconds off the school record in the 400 free relay to 3:21.51 and an 11th place finish to earn a spot in swimming on Saturday.
“Friday was a good day for the Bison, with most of our swimmers putting up season best and personal best times. It was bittersweet for Blake who is battling illness and was not able to swim his best,” coach Graff said.
Returning to the pool the next day for the consolation finals, Abby Renner was the first Bison in the water with the 50 free where she finished 15th overall at a time of :25.28.
The men’s 200 free relay team of Tate and Beckett Moser, Blake Rodewald and Derick Spencer finished third in their heat and lowered their school record for the second time in as many days, with a time of 1:30.36 and placed 11th overall.
McCook closed out its 2025-26 season in the final event of the meet, the 400 yard free relay. With Blake Rodewald feeling ill, Aaron Spencer stepped up with his brother Derick, David Acha and Tate Moser. The boys earned a third place finish in their heat, and an 11th place finish in a time of 3:23.22.
“The two day format of the state meet can be a challenge for our swimmers. We don’t normally ask them to swim their fastest two days in a row,” Graff said. “I was very pleased with our kids’ performance on the second day as they were able to recover and swim their best.”
He added, “This was a challenging season without a home pool, but all of our swimmers and divers persevered and ended with one of our most successful seasons in program history.”
While the high school season is over, many of the McCook swimmers will continue swimming for the next few weeks in the YMCA league.