Boys swimming: 2023 season preview capsules

Mar. 9----All events measured in yards

Class 5A

Boulder Panthers

Coach: Emily Sampl

Last season's result: Finished 24th at the Class 5A state meet

Spotlight swimmer: Senior Kai Parker raced in four state events last year, including the 200 IM and 100 backstroke. He'll swim at Pomona-Pitzer College in California next season.

Notable: Sampl is back, Part II. In the winter, she returned to girls program after being away for a couple of seasons. And now she's back with the boys team following her stint from 2014-19. This spring, she says she has a "small but strong team". It'll be led by Parker, other seniors in Luke Leoni, Noah Domeracki, as well as junior Colton Lewis and freshman Gray Lewis.

Fairview Knights

Coach: Connor Corrigan

Last season's result: Finished 13th at 5A state meet

Spotlight swimmer: Junior Layton Sealman brought enough speed — and swagger, too — to make his presence felt at the state meet last season. Donning pink-tinted sunglasses, he was candid about his own surprise in finishing third in the 100 freestyle and fourth in the breaststroke.

Notable: The Knights could be among the boys swim programs on the rise this spring. At the center of it are two standout juniors in Sealman, and James Kershaw, who took 12th in the 500 freestyle at state. Along with them, Joseph Lev-Tov is back after a 17th-place finish in the 500 freestyle. He'll be joined by other expected contributors in Soren Koschmann and Cal Hammond.

Legacy Lightning

Coach: Leigh Dodd

Last season's result: Finished third at 5A state meet

Spotlight swimmer: Senior Sam White is a two-year captain who signed to swim at Purdue University next season. He holds the 200 IM record in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district, per Dodd.

Notable: White and Tegan Barrier are back after they were part of the 200 freestyle relay that won state gold a season ago. Could they contend for more titles this spring? Possibly. White finished third in the 200 IM and fifth in the 100 freestyle. Barrier was third in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 free. Others expected to contribute for the Lightning include senior Thomas Nguyen, juniors Alex Zou, Alex Bailey and sophomores Hector Mu and DK Nakashima.

Monarch Coyotes

Coach: Amber Austin

Last season's result: Finished eighth at the 5A state meet

Spotlight swimmer: Coach Austin couldn't pick just one swimmer to highlight. Instead, she says sophomore Gavin Keogh will return as part of a young, talented group of swimmers with the Coyotes. Keogh, for his part, finished sixth in the 100 backstroke at last year's state meet.

Notable: Off a top-10 finish at state, the Coyotes bring back a young core that has Austin pretty excited. Sophomore Ethan DiFronzo finished seventh in the 50 freestyle and was part of two top-eight relays at state. Sophomore Matthew Martino is back on the board after he finished 18th in dive as a freshman. Other expected contributors include senior Luke Corson, junior JC Holmes, sophomore Gavin Lavery and freshman Charlie Zuhoski.

4A

Broomfield Eagles

Coach: Emily Austin and Kendall Wingfield

Last season's result: Finished 13th at 4A state meet

Spotlight swimmer: Junior Nathan McCracken finished 10th at last year's state meet in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle. He was also a part of the team's 400 freestyle relay that took ninth.

Notable: The Eagles took 13th at state last year, extending their run inside the top 15 to five seasons. This spring, longtime coach Austin will be joined by co-coach Wingfield, who is in her fifth year with the program. They have a strong roster led by a multiple state top-10 placer in McCracken, as well as senior Jack Lingbeck, juniors Riley Glass, Neil Shrestha and sophomore Rhys Gibson.

Longmont Trojans

Coach: Michelle Scott

Last season's result: Did not score at the 4A state meet, though qualified 10 swimmers

Spotlight swimmer: Senior captain Braden Wormke returns for his fourth year with the program. Last season, he was the Trojans' lone individual state qualifier, placing 33rd in the 100 butterfly.

Notable: "This team is hungry and ready to compete this season," said Scott, who is also the Skyline girls swimming coach. "All of our state qualifiers returned, and we have some new guys who should make a big impact on the team." Among those guys include Ben Findley, another four-year senior with the program, as well as Nelson Harshbarger, Ethan McClure and Victor Velasco.

Silver Creek Raptors

Coach: Debbie Stewart

Last season's result: Finished runner-up at 4A state meet.

Spotlight swimmer: Senior swimmer and diver Joshua Dowlin. The dual threat in the water took eighth in dive at state and seventh in breaststroke.

Notable: Dowlin should again be a points-eater at state, starring as Stewart's latest diver-swimmer talent. As the Raptors look to make another run in 4A, the coach says there is a good bit of returning talent and depth on roster. Among them, there's Stephen Codevilla, a name familiar to swim fans across the state as he's the brother of former Niwot phenom Mary Codevilla. There's also Hudson Kammerer, who finished 10th in the 50 freestyle and 11th in the breaststroke last spring, as well as Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, who was 17th in the breaststroke.

Point me to the postseason

Swimmers will have until May 6 to get themselves qualified for their respective state meet. The Class 5A meet will run May 11-12, 4A May 12-13. Both will be held the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.

Qualifying Times (in yards)

4A Boys/5A Boys

200 Medley Relay: 2:02.00/2:00.00

200 Freestyle: 2:00.00/1:51.00

200 IM: 2:18.00/2:06.00

50 Freestyle: 24.30/23.00

Diving-6 Dives (must hit twice): 170 (10.0)/210 (10.6)

Diving-11 Dives: 270 (12.0)/335 (12.6)

100 Butterfly: 1:01.00/55.50

100 Freestyle: 53.50/50.50

500 Freestyle: 5:33.00/5:10.00

200 Freestyle Relay: 1:48.00/1:44.00

100 Backstroke: 1:02.50/57.20

100 Breaststroke: 1:09.50/1:04.00

400 Freestyle Relay: 4:00.00/3:40.00

2022 5A state results

200 medley relay

Cherry Creek, first, 1:30.77; Legacy, second, 1:31.02; Fairview, 10th, 1:35.93; Monarch, 12th, 1:36.73; Boulder, 20th, 1:42.80.

200 freestyle

Jack Ballard, Fort Collins, first, 1:39.99; Patrick Vo, Monarch, 16th, 1:45.89.

200 IM

Chase Mueller, Columbine, first, 1:48.88; Sam White, Legacy, third, 1:51.40; Teagan Mayer, Boulder, 10th, 1:57.20; Max Kulbida, Legacy, 20th, 1:58.40.

50 freestyle

Tristen Davin, Chatfield, first, 20.57; Kyle Raskay, Legacy, second, 20.60; Tegan Barrier, Legacy, third, 20.86; Ethan DiFronzo, Monarch, seventh, 21.36; Jack Tran, Legacy, 12th, 21.51; Aidan Shepston, Legacy, 14th, 21.60; Dylan Covington, Monarch, 16th, 21.67; Luke Corson, Monarch, 17th, 21.70.

1-meter dive

Conrad Eck, Cherry Creek, first, 596.00; Matthew Martino, Monarch, 18th, 356.90.

100 butterfly

Carter Ruthven, Fossil Ridge, first, 48.82; Raskay, Legacy, second, 49.38; Covington, Monarch, 13th, 51.94; Shepston, Legacy, 15th, 52.00.

100 freestyle

Davin, Chatfield, first, 44.94; Layton Sealman, Fairview, third, 46.11; White, Legacy, fifth, 46.40; Barrier, Legacy, sixth, 46.45; Vo, Monarch, 18th, 48.40; DiFronzo, Monarch, 20th, 51.31.

500 freestyle

Ballard, Fort Collins, first, 4:37.91; James Kershaw, Fairview, 12th, 4:47.55; Joseph Lev-Tov, Fairview, 17th, 4:55.97.

200 freestyle relay

Legacy, first, 1:23.42; Monarch, fifth, 1:25.50; Fairview, 14th, 1:28.91.

100 backstroke

Mueller, Columbine, first, 47.38; Gavin Keogh, Monarch, sixth, 51.55; Tran, Legacy, ninth, 52.03; Mayer, Boulder, 10th, 52.33.

100 breaststroke

Mitchell Oliver, Heritage, first, 55.76; Sealman, Fairview, fourth, 56.73; Kulbida, Legacy, 12th, 58.17; Daisuke Nakashima, Legacy, 18th, 59.51; Corson, Monarch, 19th, 59.86.

400 freestyle relay

Regis Jesuit, first, 3:04.11; Legacy, third, 3:07.99; Monarch, seventh, 3:11.09; Fairview, 15th, 3:15.98.

Team results

Regis Jesuit, first, 467; Legacy, third, 295.50; Monarch, eighth, 150; Fairview, 13th, 106; Boulder, 24th, 28.

2022 4A state results

200 medley relay

Discovery Canyon, first, 1:33.02; Silver Creek, third, 1:37.22; Broomfield, 11th, 1:41.70.

200 freestyle

Adam Pannell, Discovery Canyon, first, 1:40.80; James Story, Silver Creek, second, 1:43.95; Brandon Lis, Silver Creek, 17th, 1:51.63; Rhys Gibson, Broomfield, 20th, 1:53.25.

200 IM

Jake Eccleston, Windsor, first, 1:49.46; Nathan McCracken, Broomfield, 10th, 2:01.85; Stephen Codevilla, Silver Creek, 16th, 2:06.51.

50 freestyle

Quintin McCarty, Discovery Canyon, first, 19.48; Hudson Kammerer, Silver Creek, 10th, 22.21; Nathaniel Starbuck, Silver Creek, 13th, 22.49; Jacob Dowlin, Silver Creek 15th, 22.68.

1-meter dive

Kian Smith, Evergreen, first, 432.10; Jacob Dowlin, Silver Creek, seventh, 399.80; Joshua Dowlin, Silver Creek, eighth, 398.10; Levi Walker, Silver Creek, 18th, 292.25.

100 butterfly

Xavier Hill, George Washington, first, 49.09; Jake Gutru, Silver Creek, seventh, 53.30; Evan Welding, Silver Creek, eighth, 53.38.

100 freestyle

McCarty, Discovery Canyon, first, 43.23; Story, Silver Creek, third, 47.23; Lucas Becker, Broomfield, eighth, 49.78; Sean Wyatt, Silver Creek, 10th, 49.92; Alek Matyjewicz, Silver Creek, 16th, 51.68; Owen McClain, Broomfield, 19th, 52.02.

500 freestyle

Taylor Wagner, Discovery Canyon, first, 4:35.03; McCracken, Broomfield, 10th, 4:58.35; Lis, Silver Creek, 17th, 5:05.53; Gibson, Broomfield, 18th, 5:05.68.

200 freestyle relay

George Washington, first, 1:25.34; Silver Creek, third, 1:28.55; Broomfield, disqualified.

100 backstroke

Andy Peterson, Wheat Ridge, first, 50.19; Gutru, Silver Creek, fifth, 53.42; Welding, Silver Creek, seventh, 54.53; Starbuck, Silver Creek, ninth, 55.85; Wyatt, Silver Creek, 12th, 56.24; Jack Lingbeck, Broomfield, 13th, 56.64.

100 breaststroke

Eccleston, Windsor, first, 55.04; Joshua Dowlin, Silver Creek, seventh, 1:01.07; Kammerer, Silver Creek, 11th, 1:00.78; Becker, Broomfield, 14th, 1:02.27; Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, Silver Creek, 17th, 1:03.30.

400 freestyle relay

Discovery Canyon, first, 3:06.81; Silver Creek, third, 3:17.59; Broomfield, ninth, 3:24.18.

Team results

Cheyenne Mountain, first, 402; Silver Creek, second, 371.5; Broomfield, 13th, 112.