LOVELAND — Just minutes after securing his second top seed in the Class 4A boys state swimming finals, Arvada junior Eric May weaved his way through the crowd of swimmers. Halfway back to his belongings, he was stopped by a fellow swimmer, Phil Jeffries.
“I’m so proud of you for getting two firsts,” Jeffries said.
“No, I’m proud of you,” May said in return, as he gave Jeffries, an Arvada High freshman, another hug.
Sure, swimming fast and setting best times and, hopefully, winning championships matter to May. But having four of his Arvada teammates here with him at the state meet at the Mountain View Aquatic Center — most of them for the first time — has been just as special.
“I swim to get best times, but I can get best times at USS swim meets. A really big part of high school for me is swimming as fast as I can to represent Arvada High School as best I can,” May said.
Arvada isn’t exactly an athletic powerhouse these days, and May knew that when he decided to enroll there for the school’s academic programs. In fact, when May — who said he is proud to call himself a “science nerd” — was an eighth-grader, Arvada didn’t even have a swim team. The school managed to pull one together by the time May started ninth grade.
As a sophomore last year, May won his first individual title in the 200-yard individual medley.
Though he was seeded eighth going into Friday, it was quickly apparent May remains the swimmer to beat in the individual medley. He finished his preliminary race in 1 minute, 54.93 seconds — about half a second faster than his championship time last year, and 2 1/2 seconds ahead of the next qualifier.
He later swam the fastest time in the 100-yard breaststroke, 59.32, though Tanner Krall of Pueblo Centennial, the defending state champion and 4A state-record holder, remains the favorite in today’s final.
Arvada coach Shaun Burns said he has worked closely with May’s club swimming coach, Brett Stoyell at North Jeffco, to train May for his high school season and to get him ready for the national meet circuit this summer.
“He’s confident in his abilities and you can look into his eyes before he steps on the blocks, you can tell he’s just so confident because he knows he’s put in the time, the hard work to make it happen,” Burns said.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
