EVANSTON — Cooper Haycock enjoyed his holiday break.

And while the standout swimmer for Lyman High School, still spent plenty of time in the pool during that time, he also had to watch his diet at the dinner table during holiday feasts.

“Definitely, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Haycock said on Saturday after competing at the Evanston Invitational at Davis Middle School. “I stayed off sugar for all but one day.”

Haycock admits he had a few goodies during New Year’s Eve, but that was the extent of his cheat day. 

The sacrifice has been paying off throughout Haycock’s prep career, and it did again on Saturday. Haycock earned a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and was second in the 100-yard backstroke. He was also part of Lyman’s 200-yard freestyle relay team that took first (1:38.54) as the Eagles finished third in the competition with 180 points.

Green River was first with 382 points and Rawlins was second with 205 points. Rock Springs (172), Evanston (160) and Kemmerer (123) rounded out the top-six teams. 

“We swam really well today,” Lyman head coach Loren Huntsman said. “We had several personal-bests for the year. Some kids are coming really close to their state time, which is a big thing for us this time of the year. I was really happy with how we swam today.”

Haycock is all business when it comes to nutrition and training. But he is not only interested in setting personal bests. He also has his eyes set on breaking the school and Class 3A state record this season in the 100-yard backstroke. 

But Haycock isn’t the only swimmer to make waves in the pool for the Eagles. 

Lyman’s top seven swimmers have already made the state cut, something they did during the first meet of the season in Rawlins. Four of the Eagles’ swimmers have qualified for state in all of the swimming events.

Pictured:

Carson Walker qualified in the 100 breaststroke. HEARLD PHOTO/Josh Hall