Sabercats, Knights gear up for Colorado girls swimming state clash

With just a little more than three weeks remaining on the calendar until the girls state swimming and diving championships, a glance at the current team rankings might reveal a few surprises.

In Class 5A, despite Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) presenting a lineup loaded with returning state champions, it's Fairview (Boulder) that currently sits on top in the PrepSwimCo.com rankings. The Knights took the 5A team title home in the Colorado Coaches Invitational before the winter break despite not winning a race, showcasing its depth to top the defending champion Sabercats.

Rampart (Colorado Springs), which placed fifth in the 4A state team standings last February, is currently ranked first after earning the 4A team trophy at the Coaches Invitational. The Rams' relay teams had the top times in 4A in the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle as of last week, and Rampart trails only Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) and Mullen (Denver) in the 200 free relay.

A Longmont team that was 15th in the inaugural 3A season is currently ranked first, ahead of Pueblo County. The Trojans' relays all own times in the top six, with sophomore Lucille Matheson and freshman Emma Svendsen making waves headed into the final weeks of the season.



What does all this mean? Perhaps not much at this point, but with league championships taking place the first weekend of February, it does mean that teams are prepping for one final push toward state.

MaxPreps Colorado girls swimming leaderboards

Here is a quick look at each of the state's three classifications headed into the final few weeks of the season:


Class 5A
Fossil Ridge owns the top times in the state in all three relays, two of which were set at the Coaches Invitational. The Sabercats also have four swimmers who currently have top times in individual events: Zoe Bartel (100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley); Coleen Gillilan (200 free and 100 butterfly); Kylee Alons (50 free); and Bayley Stewart (100 backstroke). All four were state champions a year ago as well.

Fairview's relays are all in the top four, and while the Knights don't have any swimmers with a No. 1 overall time, they do have a number of individuals in the top 10 (Fairview has five of the top nine 5A times in the 100 fly). Junior Mikayla Seigal is currently ranked second in the 200 free and third in the 100 fly, while fellow junior Amelie Lessing is second in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 IM.

Chatfield (Littleton) freshman Kathryn Shanley, who won the 500 free at the Coaches Invitational, has the top time in that event at 5 minutes, 1.62 seconds. That is nearly 4 seconds ahead of the next-closest time belonging to Lessing. Shanley also has the third-fastest time in the 200 free.



Other notables include Lewis-Palmer (Monument) junior Meredith Rees, who is first in the 100 free at 51.15. Rees finished fourth in the event at state last winter and was second in the 50 free. Delaney Smith of Arapahoe (Centennial) – a runner-up in the 200 free as a junior – is second in the 200 IM and third in the 100 free. Smith's teammate, Franny Cable, is currently first in 1-meter diving.

Emily Barrier of Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins), who won the 50 free at the Coaches Invitational, is second to Alons in that event by .41 seconds.

Class 4A
Rampart's relays have been a big strength this season, with the Rams making big strides in all three events.
A year ago the team tied for fourth at state in the 200 medley relay, placed third in the 200 free and was 14th in the 400 free.

All three times have improved, with freshman Lindsey Immel joining with seniors Catriona Clarke and Allana Clarke and junior Edenna Chen. The Rams placed second to Fossil Ridge in the 200 medley and 400 free relays at the Coaches Invitational.

Individually, Chen currently has the top 4A time in the 100 breaststroke and is second in the 200 IM. Allana Clarke is second in the 100 fly, and Immel is in the top five in the 50 and 100 free. Gabrielle Peltier is third in diving.

Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), the defending state champion, has Cat Wright leading the way with the top time in the 200 free and 100 fly and the third-fastest time in the 500 free. Sophia Bricker is just .32 seconds behind Chen in the 100 breaststroke.



Heritage (Littleton) standout Kylie Andrews, who claimed titles in the 100 free and 100 backstroke as a junior, is blazing new trails in the freestyle sprint events. Andrews currently has the top 4A time in the 50 and 100 free after finishing second in both events at the Coaches Invitational; her 50 time of 23.76 would have won a state title in the event a year ago and is .54 seconds off the 4A state record time of 23.22 set by Valor Christian's Brooke Stenstrom in 2016. She also has the fastest time in the 100 backstroke after winning that event Saturday in the Smoky Hill Invitational and is second in the 100 fly.

Teammate Anna Shaw is second to Andrews in the 50 free. The Eagles are currently in the 200 medley relay and third in the 400 free.

Valor Christian senior Ella Kirschke is first in the 200 IM by nearly five seconds over Chen. Kirschke finished second in that event at state as a junior. She is also second in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free, and the Eagles currently rank first in the 200 free relay and second in the 400 free relay.

Pueblo South's Lainee Jones, who won the 200 free as a junior, has the top time in the 200 free and the 500 free.

Class 3A
In attempting to win its first swimming championship, Longmont is turning to youth to get the job done.
Matheson, just a sophomore, currently ranks first in the 200 IM and 500 free for a Trojans team that was seventh in the 4A portion of the Coaches Invitational. Emma Svendsen, a freshman, is second in the 200 free and third in the 100 back; and senior Hannah Svendsen is third in the 200 IM. Longmont is currently second in the 200 medley and 400 free relays.

Pueblo County won the 200 medley and 200 free relays at the Hornet Invitational last Friday, and in doing so established new top times in 3A for this season. Amanda Blickensderfer, a state champion in the 100 breaststroke as a sophomore, currently is first in the 100 fly, second in the 100 breast and third in the 50 free.



Lillianna Brooks of St. Mary's Academy (Englewood) is first in the 100 free and second in the 500 free, and Sydney Silver has the top time in the 100 backstroke. The Wildcats are first in the 400 free relay.

Colorado Academy (Denver) teammates Aly Gallagher and Anne Younger are 1-2 in the 50 free, with Gallagher also second in the 100 free. Manitou Springs' Sydney Dolloff-Holt is first in the 100 breaststroke and second in the 200 IM.

Aspen's Davy Brown, who won the backstroke a year ago, is currently second to Silver in that event and also second in the 200 IM.