Pueblo County wasn't far off from the program's first state championship in girls swimming and diving last February.
The Hornets claimed two relay titles and two individual crowns in finishing second in Class 3A.
Longmont brought home the team trophy, utilizing its depth and
Lucille Matheson's 200-yard Individual Medley title to finish with 203 points – 20 ahead of Pueblo County.
The Trojans have moved back to 4A for the 2018-19 season though, leaving a Pueblo County team that was young last year as one of the early favorites as December winds down.
Blickensderfer also teamed with
Alexa Musso and
Anna Maurello on the winning 200-medley and 200-free relay teams. Freshman
Kandi Liberato was also on the 200-medley team, and junior
Julianna Krinsky was part of the 200 free relay. Musso, who was fourth in the 100 free and sixth in the 50 free, was also a junior last season.
The 3A field as a whole should be loaded once again. Matheson is now in 4A, and D'Evelyn's Abbey Selin – the 3A Swimmer of the Year after winning the 200 and 500 free – graduated. But the majority of the defending champions are back.
Half of the 400 free relay-winning squad from
St. Mary's Academy (Englewood) were sophomores last winter. The Wildcats'
Sydney Silver – one of those swimmers – also won a title in the 100 backstroke and was third in the butterfly.
Other notable seniors include
Aspen's Davy Brown, who won the 100 backstroke as a sophomore on the Skiers' championship team. Brown was second in the event last year and helped Aspen to a pair of top-four relay finishes. Dolloff-Holt was second in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM, and the Mustangs were in the top five in a pair of relays.
The best finish for
Kent Denver (Englewood) in a single event was a fourth-place showing in the 400 free relay, but a young Sun Devils team still place third in the team standings thanks to their depth and a handful of top-eight placings.
Evergreen, which finished 10th in the 4A standings last February, moves down to 3A and should also contend for a title.
With the state championships a little more than seven weeks away – 5A and 4A run Feb. 7-9 at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center in Thornton, and 3A is Feb. 8-9 at EPIC in Fort Collins – here is a look at the state's two biggest classifications:
Class 5A
Defending state champion: Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins)Overview: Fossil Ridge won its third 5A championship in four years, sweeping all three relays and eight individual events. The SaberCats were hit hard by graduation, though
Colleen Gillilan (200 free and 100 butterfly champion along with two relays) was only a junior. Gillilan set a state record of 52.57 seconds in winning the 100 butterfly and was part of the 200 medley and 200 free relay teams that also set state records.
Fossil Ridge's departures open the door for a number of other teams.
Fairview (Boulder) finished second to Fossil Ridge, and the Knights are coming off the team title in the Rex Abelein Memorial Invitational (formerly the Coaches Invite) Dec. 15. Fairview was junior-heavy last season and recorded several top-eight finishes across the board, placing in the top five in all three relays.
Regis Jesuit (Aurora) was second in the 400 free relay and third in the 200 medley and 200 free, with no seniors on any of the relays.
Jada Surrell-Norwood had a strong sophomore campaign, placing second in the 100 free with an All-American time of 50.26 seconds, and finishing third in the 50 free.
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) finished second to Fairview at the Rex Abelein Memorial.
Arapahoe (Centennial) was third, and
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) – third in 4A last February and a newcomer to 5A – was fourth.
Valor returns quite a bit of talent, including all but one of its winning 200 and 400 free relay teams.
Lindsay Stenstrom is now a senior, and
Ashley Stenstrom and
Makayla Hoehn were freshmen on those relay teams.
Meredith Rees of
Lewis-Palmer (Monument), who won the 50 free and 100 backstroke at the Rex Abelein, was second in the backstroke and third in the 100 free at state as a junior.
Kathryn Shanley of
Chatfield (Littleton) made a big splash as a freshman, winning the 500 free by more than five seconds over another freshman in
Melinda Johnson of
Dakota Ridge (Littleton). Three of the top six placers were freshmen. Shanley also placed second in the 200 free.
Arapahoe's
Franny Cable won a state diving title as a junior.
Class 4A
Defending state champion: Rampart (Colorado Springs)Overview: Rampart's only first-place finish last February came in the 200-medley relay, but the Rams had enough depth to roll to the program's first state championship. Rampart held off
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) and Valor Christian to claim the top spot.
Edenna Chen won the 100 breaststroke as a junior and was on the winning relay, as was
Lindsey Immel. The freshman also placed fourth in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 free. Chen and Immel were also on the 400 free relay team that placed second. Another freshman,
Maggie Buckley, placed second in the diving event.
Cheyenne Mountain graduated 200 IM champion Cat Wright from a team that placed second to Rampart, but the Indians had a handful of placers that should help make this year's team a contender again.
Mullen (Denver), which finished tied for sixth as a team, had its best showing by taking second in the 200-medley relay. The Mustangs had a strong contingent of freshmen at state, including three on the 200 free relay that placed fifth.
Niwot was also young but finished fifth as a team. The Cougars took third in the 200 free relay and fifth in the 400 free relay with no seniors, and
Abigail Shaw was second in the 100 backstroke as a sophomore.
Heritage (Littleton) graduated Swimmer of the Year Kylie Andrews, who won the 100 and 200 free, but
Anna Shaw won the 50 free as a freshman. Shaw was also fourth in the 100.
Loveland's Erin Lang won the 500 free as a junior and was third in the 200 free.
