Class 5A
Boulder Panthers
Coach: Emily Sampl
Last year’s result: Sent five swimmers to the state meet.
Testing 1-2-3: Senior captain Owen Pendergast competed in two relays at the state meet last year.
The Tea: The Panthers will be working with a smaller team this season, but Sampl sees significant potential in the sprint freestyle events as they work toward building more depth in other events. She’ll lean on Pendergast, sophomore Gray Lewis, senior Colton Lewis and freshman Grant McCuen to make waves for the rest of the squad.
Fairview Knights
Coach: Connor Corrigan
Last year’s result: Finished second in the FRL, 12th place at state with six top-10 finishes.
Testing 1-2-3: Senior James Kershaw, who Corrigan described as a “versatile swimmer,” will serve his last season as a team captain before moving on to swim at Brown University.
The Tea: The Knights will look to build on last year’s strong finish by reaping the benefits of a “great team atmosphere that promotes teamwork, fast swimming, and good work ethic set by the team, for the team.” They’ll look to leadership from Kershaw, senior Layton Sealman, junior Soren Koschmann, senior Kyle Yin and junior Wesley Schlachter.
Legacy Lightning
Coach: Leigh Dodd
Last year’s result: Finished third in the FRL, 10th at the state meet.
Testing 1-2-3: Senior Aidan Bailey, who looks to swim collegiately next year, represented the Lightning in two individual and two relay events at the state meet last year.
The Tea: While the Lightning lost a lot of top talent over the past couple of seasons, Dodd describes this group as “rebuilding speed while keeping team numbers high.” She’ll lean on Bailey, senior captain Alex Zou, sophomore Tyler Mills and junior DK Nakashima, who she believes will likely break a district record this year.
Monarch Coyotes
Coach: Amber Austin
Last season’s result: Finished fourth at the Front Range League and 5A state meet.
Testing 1-2-3: The Coyotes are fresh off their program’s best state finish in two decades, finishing fourth as a team, while winning the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The Tea: Austin thinks her team can place inside the top three at the Front Range League and 5A state meet. And for good reason. Juniors Gavin Keogh, Ethan DiFronzo and senior JC Holmes return after leading the 400-yard freestyle relay to gold last spring. Keogh and DiFronzo were a part of a second-place 200 freestyle relay. Keogh also placed second in the 100 backstroke. Junior Matthew Martino is back after placing 14th in diving.
Class 4A
Broomfield Eagles
Coach: Emily Austin
Last year’s result: Finished 10th at the state meet.
Testing 1-2-3: Senior Nathan McCracken notched two top-10 individual finishes at last year’s state meet, going fifth in the 200 individual medley (1:59.83) and eighth in the 500 free (4:54.37).
The Tea: Austin said she hopes the boys can maintain the status quo that they set last season as they look to maintain their placement at last year’s league and state meets. She believes that McCracken, junior Rhys Gibson, senior Riley Glass, senior Burke Frese and senior Blake Frese will make the most impact early on.
Longmont Trojans
Coach: Michelle Urbina
Last season’s result: Qualified three individuals and eight in relays to last year’s 4A state meet.
Testing 1-2-3: For a fourth straight season, senior Ethan McClure is looking to qualify for the state meet in both an individual event and relay.
The Tea: “We are looking to build on our success from last year,” Urbina said. “With a core group of upperclassmen and some really talented underclassmen, we plan to qualify even more individuals to state this year.” Leading the way is McClure, who last spring qualified in the 200 freestyle and 200 and 400 free relays. Others to watch include seniors Gentry Swanson, Tanner Whitson and freshman Caleb Phelan.
Silver Creek Raptors
Coach: Debbie Stewart
Last season’s result: Finished runner-up at the 4A state meet.
Testing 1-2-3: Senior Stephen Codevilla, a team captain, has qualified for state in every swimming event in his high school career.
The Tea: Codevilla is back after he finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke and eighth in the 100 freestyle at the state meet last year. He was also the anchor to Silver Creek’s third-place 200 free relay and seventh-place 200 medley relay. Others to watch include swimmers Justin Gawrych, James Story, Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong and diver Levi Walker. Stewart said her team is hoping for another top-five finish at state.
POINT ME TO THE POSTSEASON
The state meets are back at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton, with 4A running May 9-10, and 5A May 10-11. Deadline for state meet entries is May 6.
