LOVELAND — Steve Schmuhl didn’t perform up to his expectations, and Kyle Milberg may have exceeded his. In the end, though, they both found themselves ahead of the competition Saturday at Mountain View Aquatic Center.
Schmuhl, a sophomore at Legacy, clipped a pair of Regis swimmers to take first place in the 200-meter freestyle at the Dick Rush Swim & Dive Invitational. Schmuhl’s winning time of 1 minute, 41.37 seconds was more than two seconds ahead of his qualifying time and a second ahead of Regis’ Alex Reinhardt, but, according to him, there was room for improvement. However, he’ll still take the final result.
“I’d like to be a little faster, but I’ve been struggling all week,” Schmuhl said. “It was a good payoff.”
The 16-year-old, who proclaimed that he’s been struggling in practice and he wasn’t happy with his turns in the 25-meter pool Saturday, still found a way despite his own self criticism.
“I just really tried to work the last 100. That proved to be the better strategy because I got ahead of him (Reinhardt),” said Schmuhl, who’s hoping to break the 200 national record by season’s end.
Schmuhl did the same thing later in the 500 freestyle, but it wasn’t nearly as easy. An early lead evaporated over the final 100 meters before he held off Reinhardt by .26 seconds.
“I’ve never hung with that guy before. I’ve never beat him before, so my strategy was just to try to stay as close as I can, give it everything I had,” said Reinhardt, who followed with another second by swimming the winning leg in Regis’ 200 freestyle relay. Regis took the 5A team title with 406 points. Highlands Ranch came in second with 344, and Cherry Creek was third at 201. “That last 100, I just really tried to go all in, and it came down to that finish. He won it this time, but there’s always next time.”
In the 4A team race, Lewis-Palmer won with 155 points. Fossil Ridge finished second with 73 points, and Silver Creek was third with 57.
Highlands Ranch junior Milberg turned what should’ve been a competitive 200 intermediate medley into a personal highlight reel. His time of 1:55.40 beat Regis’ Nick Beaulieu by nearly two seconds, a result that was even a surprise for Milberg.
“Well, yeah. Nick is definitely a really fast guy, and I thought some other guys would go a little bit faster,” said Milberg, who swam the second-fastest qualifying time behind Beaulieu earlier in the day.
A fast start in the butterfly portion gave Milberg, who also won the 100 backstroke, the lead he needed. He held on from there.
Cherry Creek’s Matt Voell edged Regis’ Bryce Suchomel and Stephen Ratkovich in the 50 free with a time of 21.60.
