4A Boys Swimming & Diving: Monarch Wins First 4A Swimming State Championship
By Brad Cochi/CHSAAnow.com
Photo: Brad Cochi/CHSAANow
THORNTON – For the first time in the school’s history, Monarch has won a boys swimming team championship.
On Saturday at Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center, the Coyotes posted a winning team score of 409.5 to claim the Class 4A team title.
“This is four years in the making and something that’s never been done at Monarch, so it’s extra special,” Monarch coach Amber Austin said. “I just really appreciate everyone putting themselves out there, not just at this meet but for the last four years having really been a huge team-building effort. I couldn’t be more excited. We got 29 guys qualified to come here and between all of them, they achieved 108 cuts, so it was quite the exciting quest.”
Right out of the gate, the Coyotes – Gavin Keogh, Tobin Howe, Isaac Skillern and Ethan DiFronzo – set a 4A state record of 1 minute, 30.074 seconds in the 200 medley relay.
Keogh starred for Monarch, swimming a Colorado state record time of 46.54 seconds in the 100 backstroke and also winning gold in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:37.47.
Also a multi-swim champion, DiFronzo won the 500 freestyle with a time of 20.50 seconds, as well as the 100 freestyle in 45.29 seconds.
“Our depth was important and our swimming up from prelims was important,” Austin said. “And I have to shout out all the other teams. We were really needing them to take points away from Mullen, so shout out to Silver Creek and Cheyenne Mountain. It was a collaborative effort for us to do this and we’re just really thrilled that we get to be the state champs because of that.”
Mullen finished runner-up with a team score of 402 points. Evergreen (254) was third, Glenwood Springs (243) was fourth and Cheyenne Mountain (213) was fifth.
Poudre’s Micah Moore won the 200 IM with a time of 1:49.66.
Evergreen’s Duncan Salmen won the 100 butterfly with a 4A state record time of 48.654 seconds.
Cheyenne Mountain’s Barrett Kerrigan (4:35.60) won the 500 freestyle.
Mullen – Thomas Bradac, Oliver Valdez, Noah Silver and Alex Aleinikovas – won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:24.06.
Coronado’s Hudson Newsom won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.54 seconds.
Mullen – Joel Silver, Aleinikovas, Noah Silver and Henry Montgomery – won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:03.34.
Earlier in the day, Evergreen’s Carson Harrington won his third straight diving title and set a state record with a score of 696.10.
