Boys' Swimming Peak Performer of the Year: Adam Pannell joins Discovery Canyon swim greats with phenomenal end to high school career

Jun. 18—Discovery Canyon senior Adam Pannell doesn't need a state title or a state record to be on the line to have a good time in the water.

A good race is the foundation of his love for swimming. The four state titles and two state records he earned in the 2023 boys' swimming spring state finals at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton are just the cherry on top.

"Every single time I have a really good practice, that's really tough it makes me feel great," he said. "Nothing feels better than when you are able to have really good races even when you're not competing at a super high level meet, if you have a really good race even during practice that feels really good."

An introvert, Pannell leads more through action than words but the message he sends to younger teammates looking to achieve success in the sport is to find good competition and work to be good competition.

The competition he had in mind for the 100-yard butterfly at state wasn't even in the lane next to him but rather Quintin McCarty, a Discovery Canyon swimmer who had graduated last year. While McCarty didn't compete in the butterfly at the state meet a season ago, breaking his record was a goal Pannell had set for himself prior to the beginning of the year.

The Thunder senior raced to a 48.83 second finish in the butterfly, setting a 4A state record. He defended his 200-yard freestyle win at state last year with a top finish of 1:40.17 and helped Discovery Canyon set a 4A record in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:32.00, a race McCarty and the Thunder won last year as well.

Finally, Pannell and Discovery Canyon kept their hold on the 400 yard freestyle relay, securing the school's fourth state championship in the event since 2019 with finishing time of 3:07.16. The win marks Pannell's third state title in the event winning alongside McCarty in 2022 and then senior Andrew McGill in 2021.

McGill was the first senior who inspired Pannell as a member of the Thunder team.

During Pannell's first season at Discovery Canyon in 2021 — as a sophomore having lost his freshman season to COVID-19 — he began to watch how the seniors above him were competing.

"It was a weird schedule, it went into June," Pannell said of that sophomore season. "That was the first time I saw someone who was really fast consistently, Andrew McGill, and he's not as fast as Quintin is so it was crazy to watch Quintin last year too but (McGill) was still still very good and he was cool to watch."

Developing those relationships with swimmers who share the same drive in a difficult sport is what part of why Pannell has loved swimming since an early age. The intensity of the training required to compete at a high level builds character and in turn, creates a community of good people, Pannell said. Thunder coach Joe Fanthorp calls it a "common suffering."

"You don't get as far into the sport if you're not willing to put in a significant amount of work and I think that work tends to bands groups of people together," he said. "Colorado Springs, all those guys, not just from (Discovery Canyon) but from different clubs different high schools, they're so close. And that you see the same thing up in Denver...they kind of merge together....It's a common suffering they're all working really hard and so they all kind of understand what each other is doing in order to get where they are.

That work ethic is contagious and it translates from club teams to high schools.

Pannell's work which led to success rubs off on younger swimmers in the same way McCarty's and McGill's effort had an effect on him. When younger athletes see what a local kid can do, how far someone from their area can go, it creates aspirations, Fanthorp said.

But even though Pannell's Discovery Canyon journey is over, his swimming career isn't. He will attend the University of Wyoming in the fall where he intends to approach the sport the same way he did in high school with just a desire to compete.

Fanthrop can't wait for the Cowboys to come down to Air Force for meets.

"I'm glad he's going to Wyoming because we get to see him come back and swim. I know Wyo swims at the Air Force and we get to see that so I'm excited to get to see him," he said. "I love to see these guys when they come back from college. They're such a great group of kids."