Fort Collins – The only thing that changes for Cherry Creek coach Eric Craven is the pool temperature.
“It just seems to get colder,” he said.
Craven took his 10th championship plunge Saturday after his Bruins won their 23rd state title at the Class 5A swimming and diving championships at Edora Pool Ice Center with 267 points. Fairview finished a close second with 240 points, and Regis, the defending Class 4A champion, finished third with 226.
“They all feel good, and everyone of them is special,” Craven said. “I’m going to enjoy this one, just like I’ve enjoyed the rest of them.”
It wasn’t Craven’s most talented team, but it might have been his deepest. The Bruins got things started in grand fashion with a come-from-behind victory over Centennial League rival Grandview in the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman anchor Gretchen Cohen reeled in Grandview’s Brittney Martinez to win by .13 of a second.
Cherry Creek’s only individual champion was in the 500 freestyle, when Michelle Menezes had enough in the tank to get past Fairview’s Julie Giehl.
“This was a real test to this team, especially after losing our two star swimmers (Caitlin Iverson and Jessica Rodriguez),” Craven said. “We just had a lot of girls step up. They saw an opportunity and they jumped on it and ran with it. Makes my job a lot easier.”
The night might have belonged to Chatfield’s Maiya Otsuka. The Chargers senior pulled the same double, the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly, that Elizabeth Barger did in 1995, the last time a Chatfield swimmer stood atop the awards podium.
Otsuka left the 200 IM competition in her wake, blitzing the field for nearly a four-second victory.
“It’s hard to go the times you want to go when you are that far ahead,” she said. “But I just think of it as trying to go as fast as I can.”
The banner night for the Jefferson County League continued. One night after Ralston Valley won the Class 4A team title, the first of any kind for a Jeffco school, Pomona’s Cori Swango captured the diving title and Dakota Ridge junior Emily Kuhr brought home the 100 breaststroke title, a first in school history.
“I didn’t know I could win this,” said Swango, who attends Faith Christian. “Actually I went into this very worried, but I knew I was going to have to work very hard to win it.”
Another school to claim a first-time champion was Brighton. Bulldogs junior Breann Fuller was the best in the 100 backstroke, winning by .67 of a second over Mountain Vista’s Lindsay Zeberlein.
“I’ve been working so hard all season for this,” said Fuller, whose brother will swim this spring for the Bulldogs. “It feels good to finally get it.”
Highlands Ranch’s Samantha Dole made sure the sprint championship stayed with the Falcons. One year after Lisa Caprioglio captured the school’s first individual title, Dole not only won the 50, but doubled up with a win in the 100 freestyle.
Fairview’s Giehl came from nearly two lengths back in the final 100 yards of the 200 freestyle to beat Menezes by .25 of a second.
“I just felt like everybody else just stopped swimming,” Giehl said. “And I just kept swimming. I was nervous there, but I tried to stay calm and turned my legs on. I just couldn’t believe it when I saw my time posted.”
Regis’ initial venture into Class 5A produced titles in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
