THORNTON – The last time that the Cheyenne Mountain girls swim team hoisted a state championship trophy, the world was on the verge of shutting down.
The 2020 Class 4A title should have been a cause for a prolonged celebration, but shortly after, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the high school swim world was turned upside down. By the time the Red-Tailed Hawks were competing again there were protocols and systems in place that took away the fun of the swimmers competing with their friends.
“You had to go in one door and out another,” coach Kate Doane said. “You had to get directly on the bus with wet hair and everything. It was terrible.”
The world in which the Hawks are the 2025 girls swim champions looks a little more closer to the pre-pandemic world in which their last tile was claimed.
“Even at Starbucks you can handle the creamer jug,” Doane said. “I learned that today!”
She disclosed that realization with dripping wet hair that comes from jumping in the pool after winning a state title. The Hawks scored 350 team points, 46 better than second-place Monarch. Doane was also named the swim coach of the year at the meet.
The kicker of the whole thing is they won just a single event during finals. Samantha Synsvoll claimed the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 2.33 seconds. This is her second 200 IM state title in a row and she shares that win with some of the all-time greats that swam for Cheyenne Mountain.
“I’m honored to be a part of that legacy with Cat Wright, Harper Lehman and Caroline Bricker, who’s out at Stanford crushing it,” Synsvoll said. “I never thought I would be able to go back-to-back and get an automatic All-American time, which is insane. I’m just so happy to continue Cheyenne’s legacy in that event.”
The overall team title comes because of the depth the team brought to the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center. In order to achieve a team title, a lot of the Red-Tailed Hawk swimmers knew their primary task was to pickup points wherever they were available.
“We have our leaders and we have our girls who are in the B final or sneaking into the A final,” Doane said. “They know that every point counts. That’s what we came in here saying. Every point counts.”
They picked up some good contributions along the way. Maria Trinidad finished fourth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 100 freestyle, Hailey Birkby took fifth in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 butterfly and the three relay teams finished no worse than fourth.
It was a true representation for what this team was for Doane this season.
“I have seven seniors on the roster and they all made it to state this year,” she said. “That’s the first time that’s happened for me.”
Winning a team title for the Red-Tailed Hawks required a team effort and no one questioned the approach to get the job done.
There were several other standout performances throughout the meet. Lewis-Palmer’s Abigail Perry collected four gold medals, winning the 200 and 500 freestyle and anchoring the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Monarch’s Eliza Lennox won the 50 and 100 freestyle.
Ponderosa’s Addison Herl won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. Her 54.18 time in the backstroke is a 4A state record.
Broomfield, Ponderosa and Centaurus rounded out the top five in the team standings.
Class 4A girls swimming and diving state champions
| EVENT | CHAMPION | SCHOOL | TIME/SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 medley relay | Gwyneth Christensen, Audrey Shambo, Sophia Banjo, Eliza Lennox | Monarch | 1:46.08 |
| 200 freestyle | Abigail Perry | Lewis-Palmer | 1:51.10 |
| 200 individual medley | Samantha Synsvoll | Cheyenne Mountain | 2:02.33 |
| 50 freestyle | Eliza Lennox | Monarch | 23.21 |
| Diving | Elizabeth Fay | Niwot | 529.50 |
| 100 butterfly | Addison Herl | Ponderosa | 55.49 |
| 100 freestyle | Eliza Lennox | Monarch | 50.64 |
| 500 freestyle | Abigail Perry | Lewis-Palmer | 4:56.85 |
| 200 freestyle relay | Grace Perry, Abigail Wallace, Zoe Charron, Abigial Perry | Lewis-Palmer | 1:37.17 |
| 100 backstroke | Addison Herl | Ponderosa | 54.18* |
| 100 breaststroke | Audrey Shambo | Monarch | 1:03.60 |
| 400 freestyle relay | Grace Perry, Abigail Wallace, Zoe Charron, Abigail Perry | Lewis-Palmer | 3:33.38 |
* – Denotes 4A state record
TEAM SCORES
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheyenne Mountain | 350 |
| 2 | Monarch | 304 |
| 3 | Broomfield | 291 |
| 4 | Ponderosa | 267 |
| 4 | Centaurus | 267 |
| 6 | Lewis-Palmer | 258.5 |
| 7 | Loveland | 185 |
| 8 | Gold | 153 |
| 9 | Niwot | 150 |
| 10 | Windsor | 149 |
