THORNTON — Chatfield junior Kathryn Shanley entered the Class 5A girls state swimming and diving meet looking to defend a championship from last year.
She’s also looking at claiming another individual title and is a prime position to do so when finals begin on Friday.
Shanley will start in the coveted fifth lane in the 200-yard freestyle after a preliminary time of one minute, 50.69 seconds. She finished second in the event in 2019 and that was just before she hit the pool to claim gold in the 500 freestyle.
She’s aiming to keep her crown in that event as she swam 4:59.28 in prelims to firmly put herself in the A final.
Her position as anchor in the 200 freestyle relay also helped the Chargers claim the top overall seed in that race.
Fossil Ridge’s Lucy Bell is another swimmer who put herself in a position for multiple championships as she took top preliminary times in the 200 individual medley and the 100 freestyle.
She also watched as teammate Renee Gillilan beat the field in the 100 butterfly at 53.99. The two standouts for the Sabercats are hoping to guide their team to a four title in six years. It was Fairview edging out Fossil Ridge in 2016 and 2019.
The Knights started prelims out by taking the top seed in the 200 medley relay. Fairview certainly has the bodies to claim its second straight title but a win in the medley relay on Friday would definitely boost confidence for the rest of the night.
They got their first individual leader of the meet when Jenna Reznicek took the top time in the 100 backstroke at 1:02.24. She’ll have to fend off Gillilan – last year’s runner-up – in Friday’s final.
Heritage junior Anna Shaw leads the field in the 50 freestyle and was the only swimmer in the event to break 23 seconds. Shaw came into prelims with the second-best time in the state, but put together a masterful performance to take the top spot in the final.
Capping off the night, Cherry Creek edged Chatfield by 0.04 seconds in 400 freestyle relay to take the top spot in finals.
Things will get interesting on Friday as finals are slated to begin at 5 p.m. The team race looks competitive as Fairview, Fossil Ridge and Cherry Creek all have the numbers to bring home team hardware.
THORNTON — Erie’s Payten Irwin fully intends on defending her 2019 state championships in the Class 3A 50-yard freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
To do it, she’ll have to repeat her performance from a year ago in more ways than one. In both events, Irwin claimed gold but did it from outside the prime starting position of the fifth lane.
Caitlin Cairns from St. Mary’s entered the finals with the best time in prelims and that will be the case again this year. Cairns clocked 26.62 seconds in prelims on Thursday to once again take the top seed in the event. Irwin will start in lane six after finishing the race in 24.56 seconds.
It’s the same story in the 100 butterfly as Cairns will start the race in lane five with Irwin right next to her lane six. The battle between the Erie and St. Mary’s standouts will be a fun storyline to watch when finals begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Defending team champion Evergreen reminded everyone why they are the team to beat in the event as the Cougars started the day best all other teams in the 200 medley relay. Remi Gucker took the first leg of that race before coming right back to take the top time in the 200 freestyle at 1:56.84. She won the event last year and is looking to add a second gold medal while also helping the Cougars become the first back-to-back champion in 3A history.
Gucker helped her team take the top spot at the meet’s big distance relay races with a time of five minutes, 13.45 seconds in the 500 freestyle relay and 3:42.65 in the 400 freestyle relay.
Salida took a couple of top times through day as Elise Mishmash swam the 100 freestyle in 53.95 seconds. Mishmash won the event last year. She also anchored the 200 freestyle relay team in its top race of 1:42.76.
A neck-and-neck race in the 200 freestyle saw Kent Denver’s Jolie Kim touch the wall in 2:13.24, less than a 10th of a second faster than Aspen’s Lilly Huggard.
St. Mary’s Academy’s Sidney Silver will swim in lane four in the 100 backstroke after a prelim time of 55.27. Thomas Jefferson’s Caitlin Beery dropped nearly two seconds off her qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke and took the top time in the event at 1:07.51.
The 3A meet will continue first thing Saturday morning with diving prelims . Swimming and diving finals are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
JEFFERSON COUNTY — It was a day for celebrations across Jeffco on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Nearly 100 student-athletes from 11 different schools across the school district signed their National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. Feb. 5 marked the start of the Division I and II, along with the football regular signing period.
There is still one more signing period ahead that begins on April 15.
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Arvada West High School
Conner Bickford, soccer, Northeast Community College
Shayla Erickson, softball, Otero Junior College
Olivia Henkel, volleyball, Cornell College
Jay Lambert, baseball, Midland University
Justin Lepke, football, Western Colorado University
Noah McCandless, baseball, Garden City Community College
Nicholas Nuher, track, University of Colorado
Shelby Robb, softball, Metro State University
Isabelle Schwein, softball, Friends University
Addison Southwick, baseball, Augustana College
Braden Thomson, baseball, Feather River College
Josh Yago, lacrosse, Air Force Academy — Preparatory School
Bear Creek High School
Jose Ramos, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Josh Alejo, football, Harding University
Chatfield High School
Daniel Moore, baseball, University of Dubuque
Hayden Cross, baseball, McCook Community College
Cole Nash, cross country & track, University of Alaska-Anchorage
Abby Wilkinson, soccer, North Dakota State
Jacob Roybal, baseball, Mesa Community College
Jordan Ramirez, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Garrick Levesque, baseball, Ventura Community College
Kyle Koppelmaa, baseball, Orange Coast College
Columbine High School
Ally Distler, softball, Colorado Mesa University
Annika Schooler, golf, South Dakota School of Mines
Makenna Riotte, lacrosse, Adams State University
Jackie Mudd, swimming, Biola University
Aden Sievert, lacrosse, Hood College
Adam Harrington, football, Middlebury College
Andrew Gentry, football, University of Virginia
Andrew Lauritzen, football, Missouri Western State
Braeden Hogan, football, Western Colorado University
Justin Lohrenz, football, Washington State University
Justyn Classen, football, St. Olaf College
Tanner Hollens, football, Colorado State University
Stephen Hughes, football, Concordia University-Nebraska
Joel Basile, baseball, Scottsdale Community College
Evan Johnson, volleyball, Trinity Christian College
Mark Thurman, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Erica Mock, tennis, Whitman College
Conifer High School
Josey Nichols, softball, West Texas A&M
Kassidy Butler, lacrosse, Florida Southern College
Jordyn West, soccer, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Adie Brake, softball, Vernon College
Megan Wilkins, swimming, Arcadia University
Denali Douglas, volleyball, Union College
Dakota Ridge High School
Caley Akiyama, softball, Cottey College
Brianna Binder, volleyball, McKendree University
Luke Brandt, football, Bethel University
Kyle Cannon, football & track, Dakota State University
Matthew Heitmann, football, Air Force Academy
James Hess, football, Colorado School of Mines
Tia Krats, lacrosse, Regis University
Faith Lawson, softball, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Izaak McWilliams, football, Bethel University
Madeleine Nightengale-Luhan, volleyball, Colorado School of Mines
Connor Ohlson, cross country & track, Air Force Academy
Adam Rodriguez, golf, Loras College
Samantha Schmidt, lacrosse, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Green Mountain High School
Hunter Grogan, fencing, Vassar College
Kasey Klocek, cross country & track, South Dakota State
Sofia Parisi, beach volleyball, Concordia University
Braydon Schulz, baseball, North Dakota University of Jamestown
Trey Towndrow, football, Colorado Mesa University
Lakewood High School
Josh Beattie, baseball, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Olivia Desso, tennis, Chapman University
Caden Link, baseball, Pacific University
Faith Zehnder, volleyball, Holy Family University
Pomona High School
Sanjay Strickland, football, Colorado State University
Garrett Bishop, football, New Mexico State University
Adam Karas, football, Air Force Academy
Kyle Moretti, football, Central Michigan University
Chase Lopez, football, University of South Dakota
Trevor Baskin, basketball, Colorado Mesa University
Zoe Hendrix, soccer, Doane University
Ashlyn Mathers, softball, Augustana-Illinois
Bethany Tiscareno, softball, Otero Junior College
Ralston Valley High School
Payton Roberts, diving, University of Idaho
Riley Dmytriw, cross country & track, Colorado Christian University
William Wall, baseball, Whitman College
Paul Stone, swimming, Midland College
Braden Siders, football, University of Wyoming
Chase Wilson, football, Colorado State University
Caleb Rillos, football, Air Force Academy
Alexandrya Jacobs, soccer, Hastings College
JJ Galbreath, football, University of South Dakota
Ben Lenahan, golf, Whitman College
Ben Takata, football, Colorado School of Mines
Mitchell Morehead, football, Colorado School of Mines
Tanner Lallman, volleyball, University of the Southwest
Elizabeth Schweiker, cross country & track, Rice University
Parker Dorrance, baseball, Northeastern Community College
Walker Brickle, football, Colorado State University
Kaleb Tischler, football, South Dakota School of Mines
Ben Sampson, swimming, Colorado Mesa University
Standley Lake High School
Julianne Pelletier, cross country, Regis University
Jaren Cosby, football, Western Colorado University
Kevin Starnes, football, Nebraska Wesleyan University
There are a lot of things the town of Salida does very well. The town as a whole is very visitor friendly with a versatile atmosphere that almost anyone can enjoy.
When Colorado residents talk about heading west to that region of the state, it’s mostly associated with a trip to the Monarch ski area. But inside the walls of the high school, a group of athletes doesn’t care about skiing.
The girls swim team cares about making history in the pool and there is a real feeling that they are on the verge of doing just that.
“This group of girls came in with a lot of focus and we had a couple of freshmen come in that are very strong, that have been training in our summer program,” coach Wendy Gorie said. “We do not have a year-round program in Salida. We only have a summer league program, which is very unusual.”
Nevertheless, this team is looking every bit the part of a state contender. The Spartans came in at No. 1 in the Class 3A girls swim rankings this week and they have the results to back it up. The 200-yard medley relay team has the best time in the class and is hoping they can open the state meet up with a win in the event to set the tone for what they want to accomplish.
“It’s a little intimidating because we’ve never been seeded first by that much ever,” junior Hannah Rhude said. “So it’s a little intimidating but it’s really exciting to see how we stack up to everyone and how our hard work has been paying off.”
History was made for the team a year ago when senior Elise Mishmash claimed gold in the 100 freestyle. That was the very first indication that something special was coming together in the small town tucked in near the collegiate peaks.
“The state championship in the 100 freestyle,” Gorie said. “That is the glamour event of swimming.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
So if she can do it, other members of the team can put their own mark on the state meet next month at the VMAC.
Mishmash already has the top time in the state for 3A, but just over a second and a half behind her is Lily Lengerich, who also occupies a spot on the medley relay team.
Drawing on Mishmash’s experience from last year, the Spartans are ready to get on the big stage and do something special for their school. And they want to do it together.
“We’re here to bring it this year and we’ve never had this kind of intensity before,” Lenderich said. “We’re just really ready to take that to state.”
The Spartans look strong at the top of their lineup, but they’ll have plenty of work to do to hold off defending champion Evergreen as well as Pueblo County.
Mishmash certainly has ambitions of repeating in the 100 freestyle and adding a 100 breaststroke title to her name. Her one minute, 10.03 seconds in that event is the second-best time in 3A this year.
Regardless of how she fares in her individual events, her focus is not to get these wins for herself. She wants them for her teammates so together they can do something special for their school.
“I think that that is actually a big motivator,” Mishmash said. I think it’s really special to do something super awesome in your school history as a team, not so much as an individual. So I really think that that’s a big drive for us.”
