Team mentality has Rampart girls ready for Colorado state swimming push

A fifth-place finish a year ago was just a stepping-stone for the Rampart (Colorado Springs) girls swimming and diving team.

The Rams finished the 2016-17 season with a number of state placers, but more importantly, Rampart didn't graduate any of its state qualifiers. With another season under its belt – and coming off a Colorado Springs Metro League championship last weekend – a deep, experienced squad with a team-first mindset is ready to make its push for the school's first swimming title.

Rampart is among the team favorites headed into the Class 4A state swimming and diving championships Friday and Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.

"We came back stronger this year than we finished last year," Rams coach Dan Greene said. "It gave them quite a bit of confidence early on … I think they'll be more comfortable at state this year than last year."

The 4A prelims get underway at 10:30 a.m. Friday, with the 3A finals following Friday afternoon at VMAC. The 4A finals start at 3 p.m. Saturday. The 5A state meet is at EPIC in Fort Collins on Friday and Saturday, with the finals slated for a 3 p.m. start there as well.

Rampart, defending 4A champion Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), 2016 champion Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) and Heritage (Littleton) are among the teams to watch for in the 4A classification.

Rampart, which won the 4A division at the Coaches Invite back in December, has 18 individual qualifiers and the top seed time in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400 free relay. The Rams are seeded second behind Valor Christian in the 200 free relay.

Seniors Catriona Clarke and Allana Clarke, junior Edenna Chen and freshman Lindsey Immel set the top mark of one minute, 45.99 seconds in the 200 medley relay at the CSML championships last weekend. That quartet did the same in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:32.78 at the Coaches Invite.

Greene said the Rams broke two team relay records at the league championships.

"All of our girls who were rested for the league meet, they all hit their tapers just right. We got a ridiculous amount of personal-best times," Greene said. "All the girls who put in the hard work during the season, it really paid off when it came time to rest and taper."

The coach added that the team has come a long way this season and that as a unified group, the Rams aren't in it for themselves.

"That's one of the great things about this team: They are better as a team than they are as individuals," Greene said. "Coming out of a really successful league meet going into state, I think they are just wanting to swim well for each other and the team."

Among the other notable swimmers to keep an eye on in 4A, Cheyenne Mountain's Cat Wright is the defending state champion in the 100 butterfly, and her seed time of 55.67 seconds is .62 seconds off the 4A state record set in 2016 by St. Mary's Academy's Alex Reddington.

Pueblo South senior Lainee Jones is the 200 free defending champion and was second in the 100 to Heritage's Kylie Andrews. Jones comes into state with the top 200 free time and is third in the 100. Andrews, who won the 100 free and 100 backstroke as a junior, is seeded first in the 100 free and third in the 200 free.

Valor Christian's 200 free relay time of 1:36.85 headed into state is .31 seconds off the 4A state mark set by Thompson Valley in 2013.

Colorado state swimming psych sheets

Class 5A
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) has left its mark on multiple events at recent state meets, and the defending state champion is locked and loaded as it attempts to defend that title.

The Sabercats enter EPIC with the top times in all three relays and six individual events. Junior Coleen Gillilan (200 free and 100 fly), senior Zoe Bartel (200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke) and senior Kylee Alons (50 free and 100 free) are the favorites in each of those events.

Alons and Bartel are defending their titles, along with Gillilan in the 100 fly. Alons was just .23 seconds off the state record in the 50 set by Regis Jesuit's Missy Franklin in 2011 last February. Gillilan set the 100 fly state record in 2017, and Bartel did the same in the breaststroke.

Other notables to watch in 5A include Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) senior Emily Barrier in the 50 and 100 free and Lewis-Palmer (Monument) junior Meredith Rees in the 100 free as they attempt to unseat Alons. Chatfield (Littleton) freshman Kathryn Shanley enters state with the top time in the 500 free by nearly 4 seconds, and she is second to Gillilan in the 200 free.

Delaney Smith of Arapahoe (Centennial) figures to give Bartel a run in the 200 IM. The 100 backstroke could also be an interesting race, as four individuals – including defending champion Bayley Stewart of Fossil Ridge – are within .28 seconds of each other as the top seeds.

The depth of Fairview (Boulder) figures to provide a challenge to Fossil Ridge for the team title.

Class 3A
One year after finishing 15th overall in the inaugural 3A state meet, Longmont is making a push for the state title.
The Trojans enter state with the top seed times in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, with Pueblo County seeded first in the 200 free relay and second in the 200 medley.

Longmont sophomore Lucille Matheson owns the top time in the 200 IM after finishing third in the event as a freshman. Matheson is also second to D'Evelyn (Denver) standout Abbey Selin in the 500 free, and freshman Emma Svendsen is second in the 100 back to Sydney Silver of St. Mary's Academy (Englewood). Selin, the defending state champion in the 500, is also the top seed in the 200 free.

The Colorado Academy (Denver) duo of Anne Younger and Aly Gallagher are the top seeds in the 50 and 100 free, respectively, and are seeded second to each other in both sprints.

Pueblo County's Amanda Blickensderfer, the defending champion in the 100 breaststroke, is seeded second in that event to Manitou Springs' Sydney Dolloff-Holt. Blickensderfer is the top seed in the 100 fly.