LOVELAND — You’ll never believe this. OK, maybe you will — after all, Mary Saiz has come to terms with the possibility, but the Pueblo South freshman is one victory away from becoming the first swimmer ever from Pueblo to win an individual state swimming championship.
Not Pueblo Central, Pueblo Centennial, Pueblo County, East, West or South. None of them have had a state swimming champion. But Saiz might change that this year at the Class 4A state girls swimming championships.
Now that’s a lot of pressure on a 14-year-old, but Saiz is anything but your typical teenager. She’s used to it. Just ask her coach.
“She has been to national competitions. That makes a big difference (in) being able to handle the pressure. She has the experience in that regard,” Pueblo South coach Susanne Divelbiss said. “This is not anything new to her. It could be for another freshman.”
As one of five Colts to qualify for this weekend’s 4A state meet at the Mountain View Aquatic Center and a member of two relay teams, Saiz certainly could make some noise today in the state finals, especially in the 100-yard backstroke.
“I really want to go and get my personal best,” said the 5-foot-9 swimmer, who entered Friday’s first day of the two-day state meet ranked first in the backstroke and third in the 200 individual medley. She finished fourth in Friday’s preliminaries of the 200-yard IM and first in the backstroke. Neither of her relay teams — the 200 medley relay or 400 freestyle — made it to the finals. “But that would be pretty cool to be the first girl to win state from Pueblo.”
It also would be quite impressive considering she injured her shoulder last summer and was rehabbing it until December, when she was finally able to practice on a full-time basis. And though the quietly confident Saiz may not make such a big deal out of her accomplishments or what possibly lies ahead, her peers have certainly taken notice. Fossil Ridge’s Emily Campbell, one of Saiz’s top contenders in the 100 backstroke, expects to see the Pueblo South phenom in contention later today.
“She is an amazing backstroker. I’m not going to lie. She’s insanely good,” Campbell said.
Campbell also knows something about the state championship experience, having been here as a freshman at last year’s meet.
“It was really exciting last year. You don’t know what quite to expect,” Campbell said.
Then again, Campbell, unlike Saiz, didn’t have an entire community eyeing her as its best hope to break through the glass ceiling that girls swimming has held over Pueblo since, well, forever.
Seeing how well she did Friday, she just might break through.
