LOVELAND — Missy Franklin, the talk of girls swimming in this state, was nowhere to be found Saturday at a power-packed meet at the Mountain View Aquatics Center.
That’s because the 14-year-old Regis Jesuit freshman was competing for Team USA in the Duel in the Pool in Manchester, England. So last year’s freshman phenom, Bonnie Brandon, and her Cherry Creek teammates took center stage, and they weren’t about to share it with anyone.
Brandon won the 200- and 500-yard freestyles and teamed with Christine Wixted, Kelly Naze, Jordan Mattern and Katie Naze to take first place in the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. Those victories, four of the six for Cherry Creek, led the Bruins to 350 points and the meet’s Class 5A team title. Regis Jesuit finished second with 292 1/2 points. Thompson Valley, with 108 points, edged Rock Canyon for the meet’s Class 4A team title.
Brandon would have loved to compete against Franklin, but she knew the Regis Jesuit phenom wasn’t going to be at the meet. Still, Brandon can’t wait for them to race in high school competition.
“I knew she was going (to England). She’s doing a good job. I would’ve liked to have raced her, but I will race her at state,” Brandon said.
For now, Brandon will have to settle for her own teammates providing the stiffest competition.
Sore and tired from the finals’ opening 200 medley relay, Brandon held off a challenge from Heritage’s Shelly Patton in the 200 freestyle. But it was Mattern, in the 500 freestyle, that nearly pushed Brandon off the top. A second-place finish by 0.17 of a second looked closer than it really was. The teammates played it out that way.
“Before we went in, we were just like, ‘Let’s stay together and see what we can do,’ ” said Mattern, who was joined by Katie Naze for a 1-2-3 Cherry Creek finish in the race.
Results
COACHES INVITATIONAL
At Mountain View Aquatics Center, Loveland
Class 5A team scores — Cherry Creek 350, Regis Jesuit 292 1/2, Fairview 220, Heritage 150, Monarch 128, Smoky Hill 120, Boulder 95, Ralston Valley 93, Arapahoe 67, Ponderosa 51, Loveland 45, Columbine 43, Chaparral 37, Legacy 34, Chatfield 34, Grandview 25, Lakewood 21, Denver East 18, Littleton 18, Fort Collins 17, Mountain Vista 8, ThunderRidge 7, Dakota Ridge 5, Douglas County 5, Highlands Ranch 4.
Class 4A team scores — Thompson Valley 108, Rock Canyon 100, Broomfield 88, Mountain View 33, Windsor 30, Fossil Ridge 13 1/2, Legend 13, Niwot 11, D’Evelyn 9, Greeley Central 6, Mullen 4, Sterling 4, Moffat County 3, Arvada 2.
200 medley relay — Cherry Creek, 1:47.27; Regis Jesuit, 1:50.59; Fairview, 1:51.50; Smoky Hill, 1:53.60; Monarch, 1:53.80; Heritage, 1:55.14; Broomfield, 1:55.39; Boulder, 1:56.00.
200 freestyle — Bonnie Brandon, Cherry Creek, 1:52.36; Shelly Patton, Heritage, 1:53.16; Hillary Thomas, Regis Jesuit, 1:54.79; Anna Labozan, Monarch, 1:56.09; Mackenzie Norlin, Windsor, 1:57.54; Kristen Haeger, Ralston Valley, 1:57.76; Megan Grier, Regis Jesuit, 1:58.18; Ruthie Pappas, Ralston Valley, 1:58.78.
200 IM — Kelly Naze, Cherry Creek, 2:04.37; Jordan Mattern, Cherry Creek, 2:07.95; Christine Wixed, Cherry Creek, 2:10.05; Kaitlynn Jackson, Columbine, 2:12.37; Alex Todd, Regis Jesuit, 2:13.05; Makenna Wilson, Chaparral, 2:14.11; Whitney Dougherty, Monarch, 2:15.93.
50 freestyle — Caroline Piehl, Smoky Hill, 24.23; Laura Koller, Fort Collins, 24.50; Siobhan Hengemuhle, Boulder, 24.57; Snoopy Slouka, Heritage, 24.89; Katie Naze, Cherry Creek, 24.94; Rhianna Williams, Thompson Valley, 25.04; Emily Scraggs, Fairview, 25.27; Fiona Kane, Cherry Creek, 25.49.
Diving — Michal Bower, Loveland, 462.10; Raleigh Williams, Ralston Valley, 419.05; Beth Ambrozic, Arapahoe, 415.90; Dani Howe, Arapahoe, 412.50; Max Thorn, Loveland, 398.05; Jessica Heap, Grandview, 395.05; Breanna Hemming, Ponderosa, 393.10; Chanley Burge, Loveland, 368.25.
100 butterfly — Alex Todd, Regis Jesuit, 57.43; Delaney Lanker, Regis Jesuit, 58.15; Ashley Horodyski, Columbine, 58.99; Miranda Morton, Regis Jesuit, 1:00.02; Christine Wixted, Cherry Creek, 1:00.08; Lauren Rigg, Fairview, 1:00.14; Hannah Chase, Regis Jesuit, 1:00.99; Breanna Hemming, Ponderosa, 1:03.59.
100 freestyle — Caroline Piehl, Smoky Hill, 51.91; Kelly Naze, Cherry Creek, 52.27; Hillary Thomas, Regis Jesuit, 53.18; Anna Labozan, Monarch, 53.22; Siobhan Hengemuhle, Boulder, 53.70; Rhianna Williams, Thompson Valley, 54.25; Kaitlynn Jackson, Columbine, 54.26; Snoopy Slouka, Heritage, 54.63.
500 freestyle — Bonnie Brandon, Cherry Creek, 5:04.59; Jordan Mattern, Cherry Creek, 5:04.76; Katie Naze, Cherry Creek, 5:08.89; Ruthie Pappas, Ralston Valley, 5:12.83; Elizabeth Anderson, Fairview, 5:13.27; Julie Anderson, Fairview, 5:13.55; Madison Vanderpoel, Rock Canyon, 5:22.54; Kristen Haeger, Ralston Valley, 5:22.54.
200 freestyle relay — Cherry Creek, 1:39.24; Regis Jesuit, 1:41.08; Smoky Hill, 1:41.24; Fairview, 1:42.10; Heritage, 1:42.34; Broomfield, 1:44.56; Mountain View, 1:44.67; Thompson Valley, 1:45.88.
100 backstroke — Shelly Patton, Heritage, 57.33; Sara Nash, Legacy, 58.84; Makenna Wilson, Chaparral, 59.47; Gretchen Cohen, Cherry Creek, 1:00.38; Caroline Patterson, Fairview, 1:01.26; Melissa Tillman, Monarch, 1:01.91; K. Laufasa-Duncan, Broomfield, 1:02.05; Laura Kollar, Fort Collins, DQ
100 breaststroke — Lauren Stoeckle, Regis, 1:05.97; Janaye Monica, Fairview, 1:06.33; Kylie Rathbone, Lakewood, 1:08.40; Kourtney Fosse, Fairview, 1:08.52; Whitney Dougerty, Monarch, 1:08.82; Kara Schweitzer, Rock Canyon, 1:09.58; Heather Shaver, Broomfield, 1:09.59; Kim Utter, Littleton, 1:11.55.
400 freestyle relay — Cherry Creek, 3:32.58; Regis Jesuit, 3:39.48; Heritage, 3:43.24; Monarch, 3:44.51; Rock Canyon, 3:45.12; Thompson Valley, 3:46.78; Boulder, 3:48.79; Ponderosa, 3:52.40.
