Highlands Ranch senior swimmer Samantha Dole won’t see any familiar faces from her defending Class 5A state champion 200-yard medley relay team, a group that came within a second of breaking an eight-year-old state record last season.
Dole’s three relay teammates are gone – Lisa Caprioglio and Colleen Schweitzer are now swimming for Georgia and Ohio State, respectively, and sophomore Taylor Curado transferred to 4A Rock Canyon – but Dole is not alone. Graduation hit many teams hard, and only one 5A individual state champion (Cherry Creek junior Jessica Rodriguez, 500 freestyle) returns to the pool as the 5A and 4A swimming and diving season steps to the starting blocks.
The three-day state championship for the classifications will be held from Feb. 15-17 at Edora Pool Ice Center in Fort Collins.
“Our medley relay team last year was really amazing,” Dole said. “We all swam together on our club team, and we came so close to breaking a state record. It was so exciting. But those girls are gone.”
Dole, however, will not settle into a rocking chair and spend the season reflecting on what once was.
Instead, she will assume a new role as a favorite to win two of the fastest events – the 50 and 100 freestyle. Dole placed second in the 50 behind teammate Caprioglio and third in the 100.
“Frankly, Dole is the person to beat in the 50 and 100,” Highlands Ranch coach Steve Mitchell said. “Sam has matured every year. She first learned how to compete in a big meet, then how to place at a big meet, and now she knows how to win at a big meet. She knows what she wants.”
Despite the graduation of a wave of top swimmers, Dole will have plenty of competition.
Grandview’s Brittany Martinez placed second in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke and should challenge for state titles in both events. Nora Kennedy of Fort Collins finished second at state in the 100 butterfly between two talented graduates, Caprioglio and Smoky Hill’s Olivia Dean, and Kennedy moves to the head of the class in that race.
Kennedy heads a talented Lambkins squad that will join the rest of 5A in chasing two-time defending team champion Cherry Creek. The Bruins have won 21 girls team titles since 1974, and they have the swimmers to win a 22nd.
When asked to list the top individuals in 5A, Green Mountain coach Tim Campbell replied, “Cherry Creek – all of them.”
Rodriguez and Michelle Menezes head the program that easily won the title last season.
While 5A will see many new faces, the 4A scene is loaded with talented returners.
Glenwood Springs senior Emily McDonald is back to defend the titles she won in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and two freshman state champions will be back as well. Broomfield’s Kia Dobie won the long-distance 500 freestyle by three seconds last season, and Rock Canyon’s Kristen Milberg is back as the heavy favorite in the 100 backstroke.
Mullen junior Caroline Shea, the defending 200 freestyle champion, returns for a Mustangs program that has won four of the past six 4A team titles and placed third last season behind Regis, which moved up to 5A, and Ralston Valley, a team loaded with seniors and sophomores, including Jordan Quick and Arianne Lujan.
