Girls Swimming: Monarch's Shambo on Comeback Trail

AURORA -- Audrey Shambo has spent years in the water, and a recent break wasn't something she'd been hoping to have.

“I started summer league swimming when I was five years old,” the Monarch senior said. “I have been in the pool my entire life, starting with swim lessons. I always loved the water.

"My mom tried to get me into soccer. I only made it like half a season. I did tennis for awhile, but ultimately swimming stuck. I was eight when I went into my club team that I’m on now, so I’ve been on my club team for 10 years. I love swimming and I definitely missed it this past year.”

The two-time defending Class 4A state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke is in her final season for the Coyotes. Her first meet was Wednesday in a dual against 5A powerhouse Fairview.

“I had surgery in November,” Shambo said. “I’m actually about nine weeks post-op and I just got cleared to push off the wall. I’m healing faster than expected, which is great, and I’m really excited to get back into the pool and start training again. Unfortunately, I haven’t really had a season. I twisted my ankle real good and it wouldn’t heal on its own. I had two ligaments reconstructed.”

Nonetheless, she has a little over a month to get into shape for the 4A state meet February 12 through 14 at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.

But, what a career she has had so far. The University of California-San Diego recruit holds school records in the 200 Individual Medley, 100-yard Breaststroke and 200 Medley Relay at Monarch. The Coyotes have won the 200 medley at the state championships two of the past three seasons with Shambo.

“The 200 Medley Relay is definitely my favorite relay, because it shows the team’s top talents with all four strokes in it,” Shambo said. “It’s a really fun race.”

Ponderosa was the runner-up to Monarch in the relay last season.

As a team, in 2025 the Coyotes were second to champion Cheyenne Mountain in the final standings. It was their top finish in program history.

Shambo and Evergreen's Tallaby Riddle (3A 500 freestyle) are returning two-time state champions this season. Eight other returning girls swimmers won their first state titles last season. Including 3A and 5A, the swimming championships are scheduled to run from Feb. 12-14 and Feb. 15-17.

Monarch had a sensational 2024-2025 school year in the pool as they also claimed their first-ever state championship in 4A boys swimming & diving under coach Amber Austin, who coaches both the girls and boys teams.

“Our community is full of strong swimmers and well-rounded student athletes and we have two of the largest summer league swim teams in our county in our backyard, and so it does help that a lot of these kids grew up swimming,” Austin said. “They have a really good background and experience in the sport and then they get to further develop their skills and speed at the high school level in a sport that they grew up loving.”

The Coyotes should continue to thrive despite having Shambo just returning from an injury, even though they did also graduate Eliza Lennox from last year’s team, who won multiple individual and relay state championship titles. She is already one of the top swimmers in the American Athletic Conference for Tulane University and might qualify for the NCAA championships.

“Eliza was very fun to swim with, she was very competitive at practices and it really pushed the other swimmers,” Shambo said. “She was also a great role model for a lot of the freshmen coming in last year. I also wanted to be a role model, someone that people look up to.”

Despite graduating several talented seniors, Monarch has a large contingent of talented girls (60), its biggest team ever.

“We still have a group of fast, driven, and dynamic swimmers who are making great progress this season and are continuing to improve and get faster daily,” Austin said. “While we graduated some great talent last year, our leadership and team culture remains strong and our depth is growing. We have a lot of swimmers stepping into bigger roles, and the momentum we’re building is exciting. Everyone is committed to pushing each other to get better leading up to the upcoming championship meets and our goal is to place in the top five at the 4A state meet.”

Said Shambo: “I think we have a lot of strong swimmers and we have a lot of potential. We don’t really put the pressure on the team as a whole. We just want to have fun as individuals and especially in the relays. The relays do score the most points. We try to keep it friendly and as fun as possible.”

Shambo has earned two gold medals individually and two in relays at the state championships. She has also been the runner-up in the 200-yard Individual Medley as a sophomore and a junior, as well as the runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke as a freshman. She was even fourth in the individual medley as a freshman. Shambo and her teammates were also second in the 200-yard medley relay in 2024.

And so, she has numerous state medals. The 100-yard breaststroke in 2025 was the most memorable so far.

“The one that I’ll remember the most is my junior year, because it was so competitive but it was so friendly,” the Division I recruit said. “Everyone that was swimming against each other was just so nice. There was just no bad blood. It was truly amazing to be in that kind of environment. Sometimes it’s refreshing to see when teams cheer for other teams and kids cheer for other teams. Last year that energy was more than usual.”

The race also sticks out in her mind due to how close it was, as in a winning margin of 0.04 seconds over Mullen sophomore Natalie Bradac. The times were much faster than Shambo’s sophomore year when she won by about three seconds.

Shambo comes from an athletic family as her sister participates gymnastics at Cornell University and her mother played soccer at a Division II school. Swimming is her chosen sport, though.

“Swimming is a really grueling sport when it comes to mental aspect and when you’re in the pool sometimes you feel so alone,” Shambo said. “You get out of the water and you get hugs all around, no matter what team you’re on. That just makes it so much better.”

Austin knows one of Monarch’s greatest in program history will continue to succeed in the coming years. Eventually Shambo wants to be a high school science teacher.

“Audrey is one of the most fierce competitors you’ll ever meet,” she said. “She is diligent and incredibly hardworking, and it’s been really special to watch her continually raise the bar for herself and for everyone around her. Whether you’re watching her compete or training alongside her, you can see the standard she sets through her preparation and effort. Her competitiveness is contagious, and it pushes her teammates to match her intensity and commitment.

"It’s hard not to be inspired by the consistency she brings every single day in practice, the way she leads by example, and how she constantly finds ways to elevate not only her own performance, but the performance and confidence of the entire team.”

Shambo could help lift the Coyotes to another high finish at the upcoming 4A state championships -- a top-four finish would be their fourth in a row.