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Even with snow still falling, when the calendar turns to February, it's an indication that winter has reached its turning point and spring likely will be here in a flash. The winter state championship season, however, is just getting started.
Colorado will begin its month-long process of crowning state champions this week as the state swimming and diving meets are set to begin Thursday. Unlike previous years, the meets will all be held at one location, the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
The Class 5A championships will get going first with 3A wrapping up Saturday. The 4A swimmers will then take the facility over next Tuesday with their finals slated to finish Wednesday, just in time for everyone to head to Pepsi Center for state wrestling.
With so much going on over the next week, here is a brief overview of what to expect when the starting gun is fired Thursday night.
Team championship raceClass 5A: After
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) claimed back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018,
Fairview (Boulder) made its way back to the top of the podium last year. The Knights would love to take the 5A team title for a second straight season and are regarded as a legitimate threat to do just that. Standing in their way is 26-time champion
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village). While the Bruins often enter the state meet as contender, they haven't claimed gold in a decade and will look to end that drought this year.
Arapahoe (Centennial) and
Heritage (Littleton) are other teams that could factor into the final standings.
Class 4A: Rampart (Colorado Springs) has looked more than impressive the last two years. After claiming the program's first girls swimming title in 2018, the Rams validated their talent in the pool by defending that title last year. The biggest threat in their bid for a three-peat is just a few miles south on I-25.
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) has looked strong all year and has its set on winning a second title in four years. Outside of the two Colorado Springs powers,
Mullen (Denver) and
Broomfield have the potential pull off something special this year.
Class 3A: Since the 3A classification was added in 2017 there has yet to be a repeat champion.
Evergreen looks to be the first as it will head to the VMAC as the perceived team to beat for a second year in a row. But the Cougars could see challenges from all corners of the state as
Aspen,
Salida and
Durango boast strong teams. Back-to-back runner-up
Pueblo County shouldn't be counted out, either. Of all three meets, 3A has the potential to be the tightest in the hunt for the team title.
Individual Events and Relays
200 Medley Relay
Class 5A: The 5A meet will get started in thrilling fashion as this relay figures to be one of the most competitive races on the docket. The
Legacy (Broomfield) squad of
Abbie Kehmeier,
Sabrina Rachjaibun,
Sydney Bales and
Indigo Armon have the top time in the state after clocking in at 1 minute, 45.52 seconds at the Front Range League meet last week. Fossil Ridge and Heritage also have strong times, and the top three teams are all within a 1/2-second of each other.
Class 4A: The last two years Rampart set a 4A record in the event and followed it by winning the team title.
Claire Timson,
Johanna Miller,
Laelle Brovold and
Lindsey Immel are in for a tough challenge if they want to continue that tradition. Their 1:45.15 is about 2.5 seconds shy of last year's record time. Mullen and
Dakota Ridge (Littleton) are within a second of the Rams' season-best time.
Class 3A: The Pueblo County Hornet Invite gave Salida the fast pool it wanted and the Spartans delivered in the relay.
Hannah Rhude,
Elise Mishmash,
Emma Diesslin and
Lily Lengerich understand the importance of building momentum at the state meet and want to make sure their quest for a team state title begins with a medal in the first event of the meet.
200 Freestyle
Class 5A: Chatfield (Littleton) junior
Kathryn Shanley is in a great spot heading into Thursday. Her season-best time of 1:50.33 is more than 3 seconds faster than any other swimmer in the classification. She'll have to hold off a couple of Centennial League contenders in
Hailey Matthews of
Grandview (Aurora) and Cherry Creek's
Elizabeth Brock, but all indications are it's Shanley's event to lose.
Class 4A: Much like 5A, the 4A race appears to have a clear favorite heading into the meet.
Niwot sophomore
Mary Codevilla's time of 1:50.32 is better than 3 seconds faster than Cheyenne Mountain's
Frances Hayward. The battle between Hayward and Rampart's Brovold in this race is crucial to each team's quest for a team title.
Class 3A: St. Mary's Academy (Englewood) will look for its first gold medal of the meet by sending
Sydney Silver into action. Her 1:51.48 is the third-best time regardless of classification and easily the best in 3A. Salida's Mishmash and a couple of
Glenwood Springs teammates in
Amy Madsen and
Kylee Smith are also looking for strong finishes.
200 Individual Medley
Class 5A: Fossil Ridge sophomore
Lucy Bell came away with the title in the event last year and is aiming to make it two in a row. She has the fifth-best time this season at 2:05.68 is 5 seconds behind her championship winning time from a year ago. Heritage's
Anna Shaw has the top time in 5A at 2:03.52.
Class 4A: It was back on Dec. 21 when Cheyenne Mountain's
Caroline Bricker swam the individual medley in 2:03.69. That time has held up through the course of the season, and she will enter the state meet with the fastest time in 4A. She'll have to fend off a couple of young standouts in
Windsor's Karter Friesen and Mullen's
Chase Davison if she's going to claim gold.
Class 3A: St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) senior
Caitlin Cairns is looking to close out her career with a big win in the individual medley. She has two competitors in
Jolie Kim of
Kent Denver (Englewood) and
Denver North's Tuva Siegel are within 2 seconds of her time. Defending runner-up
Caitlin Beery of
Thomas Jefferson (Denver) has the fifth-best time heading into Friday.
50 Freestyle
Class 5A: Meredith Smithbaker of
Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) finished second last year, but the 23.11 she swam at the Front Range League meet would've been good enough to win last year's gold medal. This will be a tight race as four competitors, including Chatfield's
Avery Turney, are within a 1/2-second of Smithbaker's time.
Class 4A: After finishing second in 2019, Rampart's Immel figures to be a big favorite in the sprint. Her 23.92 leads 4A by just two-hundredths of a second as
Madison Black of
Silver Creek (Longmont) holds a 23.94 in the event.
Class 3A: The field in this year's swim is loaded, especially with the arrival of Aspen freshman
Lilly Huggard. She leads the field with a 23.55 time in the event. Defending champion
Erie's Payten Irwinn has the eighth-best time, and Cairns has the second-best time after taking second in the event in 2019.
100 Butterfly
Class 5A: After finishing first and second in the event, Fossil Ridge teammates
Renee Gillilan and Bell have a great chance to take the top two spots on the podium again. Fairview freshman
Edith Simecek should get a top finish to help the Knights in the team title hunt.
Class 4A: It's a Cheyenne Mountain swimmer topping the ranks heading in, but that swimmer is not defending champion
Harper Lehman. She currently has the sixth-best time in the field as teammate Bricker holds the top spot.
Class 3A: Cairns, Irwin and Aspen sophomore
Kayla Tehrani all finished in the top four last year and hold the top three times in the event heading into state.
100 Freestyle
Class 5A: Defending champion
Jada Surrell-Norwood of
Regis Jesuit (Aurora) is 26th in the event heading into state. Her 54.07 is about 3.5 seconds behind her championship time from 2019. Bell, Shaw and
Ashley Stenstrom of
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) should all be in contention.
Class 4A: Defending champion Immel's quest for a repeat is going to be tough as Bricker and
Katey Lewicki of
Monarch (Louisville) should make a push for a championship swim.
Class 3A: Led by Cairns, the top four swimmers this season are within 2 seconds of each other.
500 Freestyle
Class 5A: Shanley holds the top time for the 5A swimmers, clearing both Legacy's and
Abigail Gardner of
Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) by more than 10 seconds.
Class 4A: Codevilla took third last year as a freshman and is a favorite to take the crown this year. Cheyenne Mountain's Hayward holds the top time in the field and Lewicki holds the No. 2 spot.
Class 3A: Remi Gucker's win in the 500 freestyle last year was a big piece of Evergreen's run at the team title. As a senior, she'll look for a second consecutive wins in the event as the Cougars look to become the first 3A team to win consecutive state titles.
200 Freestyle Relay
Class 5A: Last year Fairview claimed gold with two freshmen on its relay team, and this time this Knights will look to duplicate that feat. Edith Simecek and
Julia Urbanowski make their state debuts and look to help their team win back-to-back titles in the event.
Class 4A: Rampart and Cheyenne Mountain come in with the top times in the state; this race figures to be a big factor in the team championship.
Class 3A: A veteran squad of
Emma Neuroth,
Emma Berg,
Peyton Oaster and
Alexandria Ouellette hope to capture gold for
Green Mountain (Lakewood).
100 Backstroke
Class 5A: Legacy's Bales leads a talented lineup in the event. Chatfield sophomore
Abigail Storm and
Ralston Valley (Arvada) junior
Sydney Metzler will look to drop some time, but should find their way to the podium.
Class 4A: Monarch senior Lewicki is the favorite to win here with Mullen's
Mary Macaulay and Rampart's Timson also looking to contend.
Class 3A: St. Mary's Academy's Silver is more than 4 seconds faster than any other 3A swimmer in this event. Pueblo County's
Kandi Liberato and
Holy Family (Broomfield) ace
Abigail Philipsen will be in the mix but need to drop a lot of time to take gold.
100 Breaststroke
Class 5A: If Rocky Mountain's Smithbaker wins the 50 freestyle, she could be going for her second gold of the day. She'll have to fend off
Katelyn McClelland of
Lewis-Palmer (Monument) to get it.
Class 4A: This should be a thriller as Cheyenne Mountain's Bricker and Niwot's Codevilla will battle for a gold medal.
Class 3A: Delta sophomore
Jillian Carlson is the only 3A swimmer to break 68 seconds this season, so she is the favorite.
400 Freestyle Relay
Class 5A: Just over a half-second separates Chatfield and Cherry Creek heading into state. Depending on the team race, the Bruins might need to take this one.
Class 4A: Three girls from Rampart's championship team return this season. To date, Cheyenne Mountain has the fastest time in the class at 3:33.85.
Class 3A: Evergreen, Kent Denver, Glenwood Springs and Salida are all within a second of each other this season. This should be a thrilling race that could likely determine the 3A team champion.
Diving
Class 5A: Ralston Valley's I
Isabel Gregersen finished third last year but has posted numbers to suggest she will find the top of the podium this year.
Class 4A: Rampart finished one-two in diving last year, and defending champion
Maggie Buckley is right in the mix again.
Lauren Gryboski of
Coronado (Colorado Springs) is the top performing 4A diver heading into the meet.
Class 3A: This should be a competitive contest as
Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs) standout
Victoria Sanders,
Mackenzie Abbott of
Colorado Academy (Denver) and Glenwood Springs'
Abbie Scrutonn each have a shot to win.
