Fort Collins – A year ago at this time, Kirsten Milberg proudly carried the Rock Canyon flag into the Edora Pool Ice Center for the Class 4A state swimming and diving championships and walked away a champion, a first for the newest Douglas County school.
This time around Milberg brought some friends who showed up to stake Rock Canyon’s claim on the Class 4A swimming landscape.
“It’s a lot more fun to be here with your team, representing your school,” said Milberg, a sophomore who won the 100- yard backstroke title in 2006. “I know the expectations are high for me to come back and defend that title, but now I have people here backing me up.”
The Jaguars are in prime position to compete for a top-three finish. They posted the second- fastest times in the 200 medley (1:52.15) and 400 freestyle (3:41.77) relays. Seven swimmers will score points in individual races today, including Taylor Curado and Tia Totura in the championship heat of the 100 butterfly.
“We had some girls that were a little sick, and that’s disappointing, but we swam well in the relays,” Kirsten’s mother and Rock Canyon coach Ruthie Milberg said. “We gained in spots and lost a little ground elsewhere, but we are still in the finals where we expected to be.”
Heavily favored Ralston Valley nailed down the top spots in each of the two aforementioned relays and have the fifth-best time in the 200 freestyle relay.
St. Mary’s Academy’s Ellie Freeman turned in the performance of the day. Her 1:04.28 effort in the 100 breaststroke not only set a Class 4A record, but beat the Colorado state record of 1:04.40 set last year by her teammate Danielle Gonzales.
“I have a few more meets after this, and this was a good warm- up,” said Freeman, who won the breaststroke title in 2004. “My breaststroke wasn’t on today, so we’ll see where tomorrow goes.”
With the shoulder injury of defending 50 free champion Emily McDonald of Glenwood Springs, the field is wide open. Moffat County’s Kelsey Conci posted the quickest qualifying time (24.42) and is in prime position to claim the Craig school’s first state swimming title.
Other top qualifiers Thursday included Ralston Valley’s Arianne Lujan in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly, Mullen’s Caroline Shea in the 100 and 200 freestyles, Broomfield’s Kia Dobie in the 500 freestyle and Mountain View’s Brandie Kavalec in the 100 backstroke.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
CLASS 4A
At Edora Pool Ice Center
Preliminaries (finals qualifiers)
200-yard medley relay – Ralston Valley 1:51.97; Rock Canyon 1:52.15; Estes Park 1:55.59; Windsor 1:55.59; Niwot 1:55.75; La Junta 1:56.55; Mullen 1:57.18; Broomfield 1:57.42.
200 freestyle – Caroline Shea, Mullen, 1:55.21; Brandie Kavalec, Mountain View, 1:56.26; Kirsten Milberg, Rock Canyon 1:56.82; Shannon Garlie, Fossil Ridge, 1:57.60; Kim Freeman, D’Evelyn, 1:58.22; Kirsten Queen, Windsor, 1:58.71; Summer Cook, Mountain Range, 1:58.94; Julia Derk, Greeley West, 2:00.91.
200 individual medley – Arianne Lujan, Ralston Valley, 2:07.74; Katie Johnson, Ralston Valley, 2:10.22; Joy Bunting, Greeley West, 2:10.30; Kia Dobie, Broomfield, 2:11.22; Ellie Freeman, St. Mary’s Academy, 2:12.12; Jessy Badaracco, Platte Canyon 2:16.80; Krysta Sparks, Montrose, 2:18.14; Melissa Phelps, Cherokee Trail, 2:18.92.
50 freestyle – Kelsey Conci, Moffat County, 24.42; Tesse Maciejko, Gunnison, 24.95; Patricia Nelson, Fossil Ridge, 25.03; McKenna Gustafson, Thompson Valley, 25.31; Kim Schemahorn, La Junta, 25.35; Lindsay Banning, Silver Creek, 25.39; Kenzie Hewson, Estes Park, 25.43; Sierra Grove, Glenwood Springs, 25.45.
100 butterfly – Arianne Lujan, Ralston Valley, 58.50; Taylor Curado, Rock Canyon, 59.01; Mariah Coler, Cherokee Trail, 1:00.12; Ashley Valdez, Greeley Central, 1:00.16; Tia Totura, Rock Canyon, 1:00.94; Madison Krall, Pueblo Centennial, 1:01.18; Katie Wedel, Pueblo South, 1:01.84; Tracy Mangone, D’Evelyn, 1:02.40.
100 freestyle – Caroline Shea, Mullen, 53.88; Tesse Maciejko, Gunnison, 54.71; Kim Schemahorn, La Junta, 54.75; Patricia Nelson, Fossil Ridge, 54.77; Kenzie Hewson, Estes Park, 54.94; Kim Freeman, D’Evelyn, 54.97; McKenna Gustafson, Thompson Valley, 55.01; Agatha Oleksiak, D’Evelyn, 55.24.
500 freestyle – Kia Dobie, Broomfield, 5:10.35; Katie Johnson, Ralston Valley, 5:11.43; Summer Cook, Mountain Range, 5:11.93; Shannon Garlie, Fossil Ridge, 5:14.67; Madison Krall, Pueblo Centennial, 5:19.22; Elysa Gresham, Pueblo South, 5:24.13; Kirsten Queen, Windsor, 5:26.57; Paige Fischer, Ralston Valley, 5:27.70.
200 freestyle relay – Mullen 1:41.55; D’Evelyn 1:42.10; Estes Park 1:42.29; Fossil Ridge 1:43.58; Ralston Valley 1:43.87; Gunnison 1:44.29; Niwot 1:44.37; La Junta 1:44.44.
100 backstroke – Brandie Kavalec, Mountain View, 58.72; Kelsey Conci, Moffat County, 58.85; Kirsten Milberg, Rock Canyon, 58.86; Jordan Quick, Ralston Valley, 1:01.26; Ashley Valdez, Greeley Central, 1:02.40; Chloe Beaupre, Niwot, 1:02.93; Gina Rhue, Cheyenne Mountain, 1:03.21; Mackenzie Norlin, Windsor, 1:03.33.
100 breaststroke – Ellie Freeman, St. Mary’s Academy, 1:04.28 (Colorado state record); Joy Bunting, Greeley West, 1:05.57; Lauren Hewson, Estes Park, 1:07.68; Melissa Phelps, Cherokee Trail, 1:08.91; Katie Wedel, Pueblo South, 1:08.93; Londyn Clawson, Rock Canyon, 1:10.12; Danielle Gleason, La Junta, 1:10.42; Krysta Sparks, Montrose, 1:10.56.
400 freestyle relay – Ralston Valley 3:39.61; Rock Canyon 3:41.77; Estes Park 3:44.15; Greeley West 3:45.09; La Junta 3:45.44; D’Evelyn 3:45.48; Fossil Ridge, 3:46.73; Pueblo Centennial 3:48.09.
