COLORADO SPRINGS – The Cheyenne Mountain girls swim team misses the feeling of standing on the podium as state champions at the end of the season.
The Red-Tailed Hawks claimed the 2020 title just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and did it in a little bit of an unexpected manner. They were trailing Rampart for most of the finals but rallied back to win the title in thrilling fashion.
The problem now is that championship feels like it was won 10 years ago. But there are girls on the current roster that were right there and remember it so vividly that they’re anxious to get back to state to once again seek gold.
“I remember making the seniors on that team proud,” junior Caroline Bricker said. “My sister (Sophia) was friends with all them because she was on the team the year before. I remember we finished, we won and we jumped in the pool. And when I got out I ran over and hugged all the seniors.”
She certainly wants to do it again and the Hawks have been working away this season trying to get back into championship form. They won the Cheyenne Mountain Invite just before the winter break and came back from the layover to claim the championship at the Hornet Invite at Pueblo County.
What could very well prepare this team for another title run more than anything is the normalcy that this season brings after spending last season on a modified schedule because of the pandemic.
“We have a system, we compete in the same meets every single year,” coach Kate Doane said. “We like to do a one dual a week type deal. So last year threw us off by not having the invites and not having target points to hit throughout the season.”
Make no mistake, Doane isn’t making excuses. She knows that Heritage, the 2021 Class 4A champion, was the dominant swim program in the state was well-deserving of their title. She knows that they’ll be a tough team to contend with at the VMAC next month.
That’s not going to stop her and the team from using a regular schedule to build up to a strong performance just as they done in years past.
“Let’s set ourselves up and see if we can get as many girls as we can to state,” Doane said. “Then we’ll go for it.”
Bricker is one of several swimmers that should contend. The 200-yard individual medley relay team of Bricker, Taylor Rhodes, Hannah Flis and Elizabeth Carrell have the second-fastest 4A time this season.
Bricker’s 2 minutes, 2.05 seconds in the 200 individual medley that she swam at the Hornet took over the top time in that event. She also has the top time in the 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.
Getting some normalcy back with the schedule has been very beneficial to her performance and she sees the effect it has had on everyone else.
“It helps build us as a team and get to know each other and push each other,” she said. “It gives us a sense of responsibility because you know these girls so well because you’re competing with them all season and you put everything on the line.”
They plan on putting it all on the line each time they jump in the pool from now until mid-February when they head to state.