No more second-place finishes.
Cheyenne Mountain boys’ swim and dive coach, Kate Doane, knew last year’s seven-point loss to Silver Creek was a bright spot for her team, especially since the Red-Tailed Hawks had done it in surprising fashion. This year, she wanted that same group to take the leap forward, and it did, capturing a 4A CHSAA Swim and Dive Championship at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.
The run was made that much sweeter with the Hawks taking home the title despite being at a three-to-zero deficit in the diving event.
“We scored it out last night and we just watched the ebbs and flows today,” Doane said. “We’d pick up a point here, or drop a point there, but it was all right where we needed to be. We figured out if we just finished the final event, we’d win it.”
Cheyenne Mountain pulled off what many teams have struggled to do. It was able to pull off a team win, despite not having an individual winner.
The highest placing swimmer for the Hawks was senior Max Roslin who finished second in the 200-yard IM. He later added a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke to propel Cheyenne Mountain. As a team, it also capped off the win with a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“We love the process,” Roslin said. “The whole point of this is to have fun, and we love having fun with one another. We have fun every single day, and it shows.”
Last year, the Hawks were projected to finish sixth before making a late run to second place as a team. Instead of settling for the underdog role, they took on a new attitude in the pool.
Every day, the team showed up and worked. Several of the team’s members have even had siblings on the team in the past — junior Ethan Carr’s older brother had bragging rights for years after his team’s title.
Across the board, Roslin’s teammates contributed. Carr placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard freestyle’s third spot belonged to sophomore Xander Taylor.
When the team finally clinched the win, and Doane was able to join her team in the pool once again, it was a ‘weight off the shoulders’ moment.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Doane said. “Jumping in the pool with my team is just a sense of relief and a sense of excitement. I’m just so proud of these guys.”
Doane was awarded the classification’s Coach of the Year after the meet. Discovery Canyon senior, Quintin McCarty was named the state’s 4A, Swimmer of the Year after capturing a first-place finish in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle — setting new state records in both.