FORT COLLINS — Fair or not, some already are labeling Missy Franklin the best swimmer in state history.
Quite a proclamation for a freshman, but the Regis Jesuit prodigy did nothing to dispute that notion Saturday in the Class 5A swimming and diving championships at the Edora Pool and Ice Center.
Franklin produced state records in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke, one-upping marks she set the day before in the preliminaries. Her time of 22.49 seconds in the 50 freestyle was the fifth-best ever nationally, and her 53.16 in the backstroke the third-best.
And in regards to the talk of being the best ever? While Franklin admits there are several elite swimmers in the circuit — including several from Cherry Creek, which won its sixth consecutive team title with a record 400 points — she doesn’t shy away from the label.
“It makes me really happy,” Franklin said. “One of the best things I can hear from people is that they love watching me swim. It’s great knowing that because of all my hard work, I’ve made people’s lives happy.”
Historically, Franklin’s performance in the backstroke trailed only Natalie Coughlin (Concord Carondelet, Calif.), who set the record of 52.86 in 1998 and went on to become an Olympic gold medalist, and Mary Beck (Austin Westlake, Texas), who swam 53.03 in 2008 and is at LSU.
But Franklin, who also excelled in her portions of two relay races, was far from the only elite individual. Cherry Creek’s Bonnie Brandon, Jordan Mattern and Kelly Naze all won two events apiece and helped the Bruins to records in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. Brandon, a sophomore who won the 50 freestyle and backstroke last year, set state marks in the 200 individual medley (2:02.09) and 500 freestyle (4:51.56). She could continue to switch events next season (swimmers can participate in two individual events and two relays).
“I’m kind of a versatile swimmer, so I might,” Brandon said. “I’m not really a sprinter, so last year winning the 50 free was kind of a longshot. But I’ll probably stick with the 500 because I’m a distance swimmer and it’s a pretty basic swim for me.”
Mattern won the 200 freestyle in 1:48.82, eclipsing her state mark from a day before by 0.43, and also triumphed in the 100 freestyle. Naze broke her own record in the butterfly (54.25) and also won the breaststroke.
In all, nine of the 12 events have a new record-holder.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Cherry Creek coach Eric Craven, who won his 13th title since taking over in 1991. “It’s nice to coach a meet and see records broken and a great team battle.”
Cherry Creek recorded nine first-place finishes in earning its 26th title since 1974. Diver Michal Bower of Loveland was the only winner not from Cherry Creek or Regis Jesuit.
