BROOMFIELD — Emily Austin and her Broomfield Eagles always put on quite the show when all the BoCo teams converge at the Broomfield Community Center, and Saturday’s meet didn’t disappoint.
After two days of strong swim and dive performances across the board at the Boulder County Invitational, Fairview — ranked No. 3 in the Class 5A prepswimco.com rankings — ran away with a victory and 1,196 points to beat out 4A’s third-ranked Broomfield by over 300 points (811).
4A No. 5 Monarch (809 points), 5A No. 8 Legacy (784.5 points) and 5A No. 14 Boulder (749.5 points) all followed in tow.
For Fairview, it was just another day in the pool as the Knights enjoyed victories in the 200-yard medley relay (Edie Simecek, Olivia Shaw, Isabel Fisher and Amelia Mason; 1 minute, 50.41 seconds), the 200 freestyle (Sydney Inman, 1:54.82), the 25 free (Simecek, 11.34), the 100 butterfly (Mason, 54.76), the 100 free (Maggie Hansel, 53.78), the 200 free relay (Simecek, Fisher, Inman and Abby Davis; 1:42.71), the 100 backstroke (Mason, 57.33), the 400 free relay (Morgan Cady, Hansel, Paiten Tobey and Mason; 3:38.05) and the 1-meter dive (Caroline Younge, 454.30 points).
“A lot of girls on the team right now are making state cuts, which is so exciting, some for the very first time and this meet is crucial for that,” Simecek, a senior, said. “This meet, there’s been so many new state cuts like Isabel Fisher. She just got the 100 fly cut for state, so we’re doing really well.”
Simecek herself has already made state times in her 100 fly and 100 back, among others, as she soaked in a BoCo meet surrounded by friends. She believed the meet provided a good sounding board for where her team is at as the season begins to taper off toward the postseason.
So far, she likes what she sees.
“I think it breeds a lot of excitement,” Simecek said. “I mean, everyone’s here. We’ve come together. We’re racing, we’re making state cuts. We’re cheering for each other. We’re crying for each other. We’re just getting ready for state and leagues where it’s all going to come together.”
New team, who dis?
For four years at Niwot, Mary Codevilla stole the show. Now that she’s at Notre Dame, fighting for her Irish, a new Cougar has stepped into the spotlight to make her own waves for Class 4A’s fourth-best team.
And, while the success isn’t anything new for senior Jamieson Legh — who leads the classification in the 50 free, 100 back and 100 fly — the leadership role has certainly been an adjustment for a squad with an entirely new coaching staff.
She seems to be rising to the occasion just fine.
“I’ve had a really fun year,” Legh said. “I love all of the girls and we have a lot of new freshmen this year. I just really wanted to take the time to mentor them and make sure they’re really enjoying their swim season and can get the most out of their season as they can. We had such a great leader last year. With Mary leaving, I was really nervous about trying to fill her shoes and the swimming aspect and the leader aspect.”
On Saturday morning, Legh earned two individual wins in the 100 IM (59.45) and 50 fly (25.56) while helping push her team to second-place finishes in the 200 medley and 400 free relays. She’s wasted no time earning her spot at the state meet in the 100 breast, 100 fly, 100 free, 200 IM and 100 back, and has been happy to jump in the pool wherever her team needs her most in the meantime.
Flexing her muscles
Monarch has certainly been able to make a splash in Class 4A this year, and a coaching strategy filled to the brim with mental and physical toughness has made all the difference.
Senior Mia Prater, at least, has noticed the difference in her own times and performances. She found success along with many of her teammates, who enjoyed personal records at the BCC.
She believes it will set her Coyotes up for even more good fortune as the season begins to wind down.
“I was really excited to swim a state qualifying time in the 200 IM, which is not one of my best events, and then I was pretty happy with my 100 freestyle,” Prater said. “We’re in, really, the peak point of our season, so we’re all exhausted. I think that the fact that we’re swimming PRs and swimming even close to our best times and the fact that I swim even close to my best time, I’m really happy with it.”
Prater took second in the 200 IM (2:21.06) and 100 free (54.29), but it was freshman Audrey Shambo who stole the show with 63 points off of her win in the 50 breast (30.67) and silver in the 100 IM (1:01.65), as well as a couple of top-four finishes in relays.
Donning the heart of a Warrior
Virginia Walsh’s time with Elevations Athletics seems to be treating her quite well.
When the Centaurus sophomore exited the pool for the final time on Saturday, she enjoyed performances that were two-to-three seconds better than those she nabbed at the same meet last year. And, while she was a bit disappointed with her final results, she was thrilled to see the strides that not only she but her teammates have made to get to this point.
“I was trying to go for a sectionals cut in the 50 free, so going under 24.99, and I went a 25.10, so I was a little sad with that but I mean, a first place (finish) was still good,” she said. “I think we’re doing pretty well. We have a lot of new, fast freshmen and a lot of returning fast kids. I think we’re going to do really well at conference and state this year.”
Despite the 0.11-second setback, Walsh still turned heads with her times in the 50 free (25.12, first) and 50 fly (26.46, third). She’s already been able to qualify in the 200 free, 100 free, 50 free, 100 fly, 100 back and 500 free for her 11th-ranked Warriors (4A), and hopes to add the 100 breast to those achievements.
The most wonderful time of the year
By the time Ellianne Effland wrapped up for the day, the Broomfield senior had secured two individual wins in the 200 IM (2:15.46) and 100 breast (1:09.42), all while helping another one of her team’s relays to a third-place finish.
She’s seen great improvement in her breaststroke during her final season, and has been able to earn her spot for the state meet in that event as well as the IM and a couple of freestyles.
“I’m pretty happy,” she said. “It’s really fun this year, senior year, just trying to have as much fun as possible to make it all worth it. The team did pretty well (today). I think we got third so that can help us for leagues or the next couple invites and state.”
Austin, for her part, was thrilled to see her ladies not only hit PR after PR, but to witness the overall atmosphere of the meet she has helped create. Every year, the Eagles have been able to deliver.
“The timing of it this year was like the perfect time in our season to showcase,” Austin said. “We’re all training super hard, all these teams, because ultimately, our goal is the culminating meets and conference and state. So to see where we are, when we’re training, and when we’re coming off a break, it’s a really great barometer but also the energy has always been amazing.”
