Regis Jesuit’s Goodwin stands out in 5A boys swimming prelims
William Goodwin has to be liking his chances for gold medals. At Thursday’s Class 5A boys swimming prelims, Goodwin took the top spot in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke races.
He’s hoping to grab a couple of first-place finishes to follow up an overall solid first day.
From a team standpoint, Cherry Creek has a bit of an edge once Saturday’s finals get underway. The Bruins sit in either first or second in all three relay events and Brendan Eckerman is adding a boost from an individual outlook.
Eckerman finished second in the 50 freestyle at 21.19 seconds. The only swimmer to beat him was Fossil Ridge’s Knox Williams who finished in 21.03 seconds.
In the 100 freestyle, Eckerman will lead the field in the A final on Friday.
Legacy’s Lukas Miller kept his standing as one of the best distance performers of the year as he took the top spot in both the 200 and 500 freestyle. Miller took second in the 200 last year, but with Broomfield and Harrison Lierz competing in 4A this season, it appears to be the junior’s event to lose.
In the 500, he’ll have to hold off Arapahoe sophomore Fletcher Hayes. Less than a second separated the two in qualifying rounds and over the course of such a long distance, anything can happen with a margin that tight.
As a freshman, Hayes finished eighth in the event in 2019. He’ll have a busy day as he’ll also compete on the Warriors 200 medley and 400 relay teams. He’s also swimming in the finals for the 200 IM.
Boulder has a chance to make a play for some team hardware and Max Kreidl has a big role in that potential. He swam the top time in the 100 butterfly, took third in the 500 freestyle and is on both the 200 medley and 400 relay teams for the Panthers.
The 400 freestyle relay team was more than a second better than Cherry Creek’s squad which is anchored by Eckerman.
With it being the final race of the day, that could be the determining event when it comes to team standings. Regis Jesuit will be in the mix for team hardware and finished third in the 400 in prelims.
The state boys swim meet will continue on Friday with prelims for 4A. The 5A finals are set to begin at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. All boys swimming events are held at the VMAC in Thornton.
