3A girls swimming: St. Mary’s Academy’s Crysel sets 3A record in the 200 IM

THORNTON – At the 2022 3A state girls swimming and diving championships Saturday night, there was one individual swimming record broken.

It belongs to sophomore Caitlin Crysel of St Mary’s Academy.

The second-year swimmer for the Wildcats broke the five-year old record in the 200 IM, setting the new 3A standard with a time of 2:05.34. It narrowly eclipsed the previous record set by Lauren Fetzko of Glenwood Springs set in 2017 (2:05.84).

“I was super excited, I didn’t come in thinking I could do that,” Crysel exclaimed. “When I was finished, I was super excited to see that time on the board. Maddie, the girl next to me, gave me a great race, I was so honored to race her. It was just a great environment to race in.”

Crysel appears to have a stranglehold on the 200 IM race the next couple years as well, as she won the race last year as a freshman, beating the field by four seconds with a 2:06.62. This time around, she was second in qualifying and finished ahead of second place by less than two seconds.

That second-place finisher was Discovery Canyon freshman Madison Wagner, who Crysel credited with helping push her a little extra for both the individual title, and state record.

“In swimming, you can be great on your own, but the competition makes it that much better. This kind of competition just pushes me that much further.”

Not to be outdone after the 200 IM, Crysel went on to capture the individual crown in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.63, which was just .37 seconds away from another state record. It’s something she has her sights set on for next season.

“I just want to have fun again (next season), that race is awesome, and I was not disappointed with that result at all. If I just keep working hard, the record will hopefully come.”

The Wildcats have a bright future as well with Crysel, along with a slew of other underclassmen, who combined to take second in the 200 medley relay, and then first in the final race of the day, the 400-freestyle relay. As a team, St. Mary’s Academy took third with a team score of 264.