THORNTON — For the last four years, the talented Nathan Mueller has been chasing a coveted state swimming championship.
The Highlands Ranch standout took two more steps toward reaching that goal when he finished first in the prelims of the 200-yard freestyle (1:39.22) and 500 freestyle (4:26.95) Friday in the Class 5A Swim and Dive State Championships at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.
“That was one of my faster times for altitude (in the 200), and I was pleased with my 500 time,” the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Mueller said.
Diving prelims begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and the finals in all events start at 2 p.m.
Mueller, who also swam legs on the 200 medley and 400 freestyle, concluded his individual effort Friday in the 500-yard freestyle — an event he placed second at state in the last two years.
Standouts Clark Smith of Regis Jesuit, who set the all-school state record in the 200-yard freestyle a year ago when he won state, and Ponderosa’s Carter Griffin, the second-place finisher, have graduated.
That opens the door for Mueller who was third in the 200 the last two seasons. Mueller has signed to swim at the University of Wisconsin.
“It’s not urgency,” Mueller said about capturing the elusive individual state crown. “I’m just ready and racing is just so much fun. I’m just excited to race (Saturday) and I think I can win both (the 200 and 500).”
When Mueller isn’t in the pool, he spends time doing graphic design projects and sleeping. Those ventures, however, haven’t kept him from being wide awake in the classroom.
“I’m planning on majoring in biomedical engineering with a pre-med kind of focus,” said Mueller, who has a 3.8 GPA. “I know I want to do something with medicine and biomedical engineering is really cool and it sound really hands-on.”
Team-wise, Regis Jesuit, which has won 12 out of the last 13 state boys swimming titles, is aiming for another one Saturday.
Individually, Regis’ Stuart Hennessey (200-yard IM, 100 backstroke) doubled up as a No. 1 qualifier for Saturday’s championship finals as did Douglas County’s JP Beach (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle).
Fort Collins’ Maxwell Holter (100 butterfly), and Regis’ Quinlan Stuart (100 breaststroke) also paced their events heading into the finals.
In the relays, Regis qualified No. 1 for the finals in the 200-yard medley, and the 400 freestyle relay and Fairview is tops in the 200 yard freestyle.
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Class 4A
The prelims for the Class 4A state meet took place Friday in Fort Collins.
The individual swims were highlighted by Thompson Valley’s Liam Gately (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle), D’Evelyn’s Daniel Graber (200 IM, 100 breaststroke), and Air Academy’s Hunter Doerr (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle), who each qualified No. 1 in a pair of events for Saturday’s championship finals.
Thompson Valley’s John Thorne (100 backstroke) and Discovery Canyon’s David Keller (100 butterfly) also each won their prelim heats.
In the relays, D’Evelyn (200 medley relay), Air Academy (200 freestyle relay) and Discovery Canyon (400 freestyle relay) were prelim winners.
Air Academy is the defending state champion.
