THORNTON – Brodie Johnson came in a winner with the Cherry Creek boys swim team and he went out as one as well.
The Bruins senior standout won an individual state championship in the 100 yard butterfly — his second straight in the event — and was one of a slew of contributors as Cherry Creek broke Regis Jesuit’s hold on the Class 5A boys swimming state championship and won for the first time since 2021.
“Just excitement and joy is the feeling,” Johnson said. “We won my freshman year and we won my senior year, so I’m just excited. We bookended it.”
Cherry Creek got off to a great start with the performance of junior Luke Ogren in the 1-meter diving competition the morning and then opened the finals with a championship in the 200 yard medley relay from Johnson and juniors Camille Trinquesse, Trevor Boodt and Connor Kelly.
Coach Chris Loftis’ Bruins would add championships in the 100 butterfly from Johnson, the 100 yard freestyle (from senior Colin Mikulecky) and both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Cherry Creek’s state championship was the 13th all-time.
“It seems like it was a real long time (since the Bruins’ last win),” said Loftis after getting out of the pool while celebrating with the team.
Only one swimmer won two events at the meet and that was Lewis-Palmer senior Eli Hobson, who coupled his 50 yard freestyle title with the 100 yard breaststroke crown near the end of the meet. He clocked a time of 53.58 seconds in the finals to earn the victory.
Other state champions were Pine Creek’s James Schreiber (200 freestyle), Fossil Ridge’s Brennen O’Neil (200 yard individual medley), Highlands Ranch’s Vladislav Kazan (500 yard freestyle) and Grandview’s Oliver Schimberg, who repeated in the 100 backstroke.
Individual champions
| EVENT | ATHLETE | SCHOOL | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 medley relay | Camille Trinquesse, Trevor Boodt, Brodie Johnson, Connor Kelly | Cherry Creek | 1:29.12 |
| 200 freestyle | James Schreiber | Pine Creek | 1:39.03 |
| 200 individual medley | Brennen O’Neil | Fossil Ridge | 1:49.13 |
| 50 freestyle | Eli Hobson | Lewis-Palmer | 20.03 |
| One-meter dive | Luke Ogren | Cherry Creek | 615.85 |
| 100 butterfly | Brodie Johnson | Cherry Creek | 47.33 |
| 100 freestyle | Colin Mikulecky | Cherry Creek | 44.86 |
| 500 freestyle | Vladislav Kazakin | Highlands Ranch | 4:33.75 |
| 200 freestyle relay | Brodie Johnson, Kian Lihalakha, Jamie Crawford, Colin Mikulecky | Cherry Creek | 1:23.85 |
| 100 backstroke | Oliver Schimberg | Grandview | 47.49 |
| 100 breaststroke | Eli Hobson | Lewis-Palmer | 53.58 |
| 400 freestyle relay | Vladislav Kazakin, Ethan Viescas, Brian He, Sota Kawahata | Highlands Ranch | 3:09.90 |
Top Teams
| PLACE | SCHOOL | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cherry Creek | 458.5 |
| 2 | Regis Jesuit | 306.5 |
| 3 | Highlands Ranch | 263 |
| 4 | Fossil Ridge | 215.5 |
| 5 | Fairview | 205 |
