THORNTON – At the start of the night, a total of 12-hundredths of a second seemed to separate Discovery Canyon and St. Mary’s Academy.
By the end of the night, the Thunder might as well have been rumbling from miles ahead of everyone else. Discovery Canyon pulled away from the Wildcats, ending a thrilling night by winning the Class 3A girls swimming championship, the first girls swimming title in program history.
“It was really incredible,” senior Madison Wagner said. “We just wanted to let loose and have some fun. Let’s just race.”
The 200-yard individual medley kicked off the swim finals at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center. St. Mary’s Academy, the defending team champion, had jumped out to a lead in the race. Swimming out of Lane 5, the Wildcats were the favorite to start the night with a win, but Discovery Canyon made a final push and it was Wagner touching the wall in 1 minute, 50.11 seconds.
St. Mary’s Academy finished at 1:50.12.
Wagner repeated that feat in the 200 IM. Out of Lane 7, Wildcats junior Madison Crysel led for the entire race, even heading into the final 50 yards. Above the surface, Crysel looked like she was going to score an upset win, but below the surface, Wagner again got the first touch to win the race at 2:07.00.
Crysel finished second at 2:07.11.
“We had to win this,” Wagner said. “We were going for a trophy.”
The Thunder pretty much went on cruise control the rest of the way. They didn’t get another win, but events like the 100 butterfly – where Alaia Sloan finished second and Anna Clayton finished fifth – propelled DCC to its first title.
“We finished second in my first two years, my freshman and sophomore year,” Wagner said. “Last year, we went down to sixth. Coming back and taking first is just amazing and it helps our school and everyone realize the importance of swimming as a sport.”
Although the night as a whole belonged to DCC, several competitors came away with big wins for themselves and for their schools.
Holy Family’s Lorelai Frauenfelder won the 50 and 100 freestyle, winning the first individual girls swimming titles in school history, according to Holy Family’s sports media guru, Jon Yunt.
Glenwood Springs’ Emma Lindstrom takes a title back to the Western Slope after taking the 200 freestyle. She was also named Swimmer of the Year at the end of the meet.
Wellington found the top of the podium in the 100 backstroke with Cody Monajjem’s win in the event.
Overall, the championship representation was well distributed from schools throughout the state and the Thunder taking the 3A title provided a noteworthy ending to a five-day stretch of swimming competition at the VMAC.
Class 3A girls swimming and diving state champions
| EVENT | CHAMPION | SCHOOL | TIME/SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 medley relay | Anna Clayton, Reyna Halleen, Alaia Sloan, Madison Wagner | Discovery Canyon | 1:50.11 |
| 200 freestyle | Emma Lindstrom | Glenwood Springs | 1:52.40 |
| 200 individual medley | Madison Wagner | Discovery Canyon | 2:07.00 |
| 50 freestyle | Lorelai Frauenfelder | Holy Family | 23.27 |
| Diving | Mia Cook | St. Mary’s Academy | 471.75 |
| 100 butterfly | Elsa Anderson | Kent Denver | 1:02.87 |
| 100 freestyle | Lorelai Frauenfelder | Holy Family | 51.15 |
| 500 freestyle | Tallaby Riddle | Evergreen | 5:04.43 |
| 200 freestyle relay | Camryn Williams, Hadley Carrington, Emily Lin, Elsa Anderson | Kent Denver | 1:39.40 |
| 100 backstroke | Cody Monajjem | Wellington | 56.98 |
| 100 breaststroke | Brooke Gothard | Wheat Ridge | 1:05.09 |
| 400 freestyle relay | Kate Callender, Madison Crysel, Lauren Anderson, Riley Mills | St. Mary’s Academy | 3:37.03 |
TEAM SCORES
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discovery Canyon | 386.50 |
| 2 | St. Mary’s Academy | 367.5 |
| 3 | Kent Denver | 346.5 |
| 4 | Liberty Common | 247.5 |
| 5 | Holy Family | 244 |
| 6 | Green Mountain | 220.5 |
| 7 | D’Evelyn | 208 |
| 8 | Evergreen | 181 |
| 9 | Glenwood Springs | 155 |
| 10 | Colorado Academy | 154 |
