Swimmer encourages sportsmanship through RIDE program

Green+takes+mark+for+the+start+of+a+race+on+blocks+at+home+meet.+%28Photo+Sam+Sampson%29

Green takes mark for the start of a race on blocks at home meet. (Photo Sam Sampson)

  Swimming competitively since second grade at the young age of eight, senior Molly Green has made a lifestyle out of the sport she loves most. Swimming from such a young age because of one of her lifelong friends, senior Pippin Robison, Green has made a name for herself in the world of Wyoming swimming.

  Green lived in Sheridan when she was younger but then moved away at the beginning of sixth grade to Georgia. She moved back to Sheridan her sophomore year and made herself known among other swimmers in Wyoming by winning state in the 200-yard freestyle and placing second in the 500-yard freestyle. Besides individual events, Green was also a part of the state champion 200 medley relay team. Green started off the relay by doing backstroke.

  Other than placing well at state both years of her Sheridan High School career, Green has broken several records, both individually and in relays. In her sophomore year, Green broke the  200-yard record at state with a time of 1:55.95. Alongside her 200, Green also broke the 500-yard record but then broke her own record in her junior year with a new time of 5:15.87. She has also been a part of five relay records. Green has been a part of all three of the yard relay records: going first and doing backstroke in the 200 medley relay, then pulling in the third leg of the 200 freestyle record, and being the third leg again on the 400 freestyle relay with times of 1:49.56, 1:41.30, and 3:38.83 respectively. On top of the yard relays, Green has been on two of the meter relay records. On the 200 freestyle relay Green was the anchor going last and finishing the race off with a time of 1:52.34 and was the third leg for the 400 freestyle relay with a total time of 4:08.93. Apart from being an overall fast swimmer, Green was also one of four 2016-2017 female athletes of the year for Sheridan.

  This year, Green is looking to take two individuals state titles as well as be a part of two state champion relay teams. Along with winning state as a swimmer, Green is one of three other returning seniors who are leading the team towards their full potential with the hopes of winning state. Green said, “One of the things I love most about swimming is my teammates,” and because of this love for her teammates, she wants to be a part of leading them to their first state win in over 30 years.

  Besides swimming, Green takes leadership and lifting other students to be their best to a new level. Rather than just doing everyday things and helping where she can, Green took to the RIDE program. Green applied to the program through their application process and then was accepted in April 2016. RIDE stands for Respect Integrity Dedication and Encouragement with the main focus of the program on promoting sportsmanship across the state.

  RIDE has only 18 people on the council statewide, with only one person from each school. The council members, who are all high school students, have meeting a few times a year to discuss how they can promote sportsmanship to everyone. In the past, Green has been in charge of making a video which was shown to the entire school as a project for RIDE to promote sportsmanship. Along with being a part of the ride program, Green was one of three current council members that went on a national leadership summit to Indianapolis. At Indianapolis, Green exchanged ideas that were based around RIDE’s main goal of sportsmanship and built relationships with people from all over the country with programs similar to our own. She plans to share these new ideas with her fellow council members to make projects to promote the program’s main goals.

  After high school, Green plans to swim in college. Recently, Green has made her verbal commitment to swimming the University of Wyoming because of her love for Wyoming as well as her hopes of staying close to her family and home. While in college, Green plans to get an education that would bring her closer to one of her dream jobs of being a speech pathologist, physical therapist, or athletic trainer. Ever since she was younger, she has had an interest in the body, which is what she contributes her passion towards these careers to.

  Outside of school and swimming, Green loves to go hunting with her Dad and be outdoors but values her family time even more.

  Green is the daughter of Courtney and John Green.