5A Girls State Swim & Dive: Cherry Creek wins 4th title in a row
The Cherry Creek High School Girls Swimming and Diving Team is on top of the mountain, again. The Bruins took home the overall team State Championship held this past weekend at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center (VMAC) in Thornton. Creek won the title trophy for the fourth year in a row, besting runner-up Regis Jesuit by the slimmest of margins, 362-359 in total points. Victory came down to the 12th and final event of the night. With the win, the Bruins chalked up their 30th title in program history. Grandview took sixth overall, Cherokee Trail ninth, and Smoky Hill 18th.
“This was very hard fought, but I always say, ‘Never underestimate women on a mission,’ and these girls were on a mission,” said Bruins Head Coach Karin Olmstead.
She said the entire Bruins team contributed.
“It wasn’t just the last event. It was all the other events where we made up, we scored bigger, we placed higher,” Olmstead said. “So, it wasn’t just the last relay, but it was definitely a team effort for sure. A team win.”
Creek swept all three relay events on the evening, including the deciding 400-Yard Freestyle Relay, the last race of the night. The team of senior Charlotte Wilson, freshman Jenna Fernstrom, junior Madison Williams, and senior Alana Maxey brought home the crown with a stirring first-place finish to edge the Bruins past Regis.
Adding to the drama, senior swimmer Maxey didn’t even swim the 400’s preliminary event on Thursday afternoon, but was given the anchor spot in the final.
“Everything came down to the last event, so we’re pretty pumped,” she said. “We do well every year because they (Regis) are fantastic. The whole rivalry really keeps us going. Both teams have a whole lot of passion, and it’s really fun to go against them every year,” Maxey said.
The Cherokee Trail quartet of sophomore Bella Lane, senior Emme Metzmaker, junior Olivia Jisa, and senior Sarah Woren came in ninth in the 400.
The Cherry Creek foursome of Wilson, freshman sisters Sydney and Jenna Fernstrom, and junior Ana Loveridge started proceedings off on a positive note, taking first in the 200-yard Individual Medley. Grandview’s team of seniors Amelia Brown, Kaitlyn Hafer, Peyton Belcher, and Keira Vail took fifth, and Cherokee Trail juniors Ava Zadigian and Ella Drakulich, sophomore Lane and senior Woren finished seventh.
CCHS juniors Ava Ross, Loveridge, freshman Sydney Fernstrom and senior Alana Maxey took the top podium spot in the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay. The Grandview quartet of freshman Makenna Dyk, senior Vail, freshman Jasia Barnes and senior Brown finished third.
In other events, Creek senior Charlotte Wilson also took the top spot in the 200-Yard Individual Medley, and the 100-Yard Backstroke.
CT junior Ella Drakulich took tenth in the 200 IM, and junior Zadigan was fourth in the 100-Yard Backstroke.
Smoky Hill junior Camryn Walkup was fifth in the 200-Yard Freestyle.
In the 50-Yard Freestyle event, Cherry Creek junior Loveridge and freshman Jenna Fernstrom came in third and fourth respectively, and Grandview senior Vail and freshman Dyk finished seventh and eighth. Cherokee Trail senior Sarah Woren took tenth.
In the 100-Yard Freestyle, Creek’s Loveridge took second, and freshman Jenna Fernstrom third. Grandview’s Vail came in fifth, and CT’s Woren ninth.
Smoky junior Walkup finished sixth in the 500-Yard Freestyle.
The 100-Yard Breastroke saw Bruin freshman Sydney Fernstrom take third and Grandview senior Kaitlyn Hafer fifth.
Finally, in the 1-Meter Diving finals held last Wednesday morning, Cherry Creek junior Ruthie Spiegel finished seventh, while Grandview junior Addison Campbell came in ninth.
You can see complete results here.
Congratulations to the Bruins!
Girls and Boys Wrestling: Regional tourneys qualify grapplers to State
CCSD girls and boys wrestling clubs competed for coveted state spots at regional tournaments across the state this past weekend. Qualifiers will be at Ball Arena for the 2024 State Wrestling Championships on Feb. 15-17.
For the girls, nine student athletes will head to state. District grapples were at Vista Peak Prep for the Region 2 tourney last weekend. Eaglecrest placed fourth overall in team standings, Overland finished 12th and Smoky Hill came in 18th.
On the boys’ side, 39 wrestlers will vie for state trophies this weekend. Grandview took the team title in Region 3 at Legacy High School. The Wolves edged out Poudre by nine points in the final team standings. In Region 1 at Adams City High School, Cherokee Trail finished fourth overall and Overland placed ninth. In Region 2 events at Ponderosa High School, Eaglecrest finished second to the team champion and host Mustangs, Smoky Hill placed eighth and Cherry Creek was ninth in overall team standings.
You can see qualifiers in all classes here.
Posted 2/11/2024.
