Fossil Ridge freshman takes 3rd at state swim meet as SaberCats (barely) lead local teams

THORNTON — This season in local girls swimming has been defined by a sea change in the pool.

That continued Friday night in the Colorado Class 5A state swim and dive championships at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center.

For the first time since 2009, Fossil Ridge had neither a state champion (relay or individual) nor a top-10 team finish in the state meet.

The SaberCats won four 5A team titles from 2011 2018 and have been a consistent power in the sport. On Friday, they were still the highest local 5A finisher for a 14th straight season, placing 11th, with Fort Collins one spot back at 12th.

SaberCat freshman Ella Gaca-Thiele showed immense promise in her debut campaign and backed that up with third place in the 100-yard freestyle (50.50 seconds) and fifth place in the 50 free (23.28).

"She's a great swimmer already and is going to do amazing things for this team and beyond in the future," first-year Fossil head coach Sarah Monk said.

Finishing ahead of Fort Collins was also a tiebreaker of sorts for Fossil, with the squads neck-and-neck all season long.

Fort Collins edged out Fossil in a City Meet stunner, but the SaberCats bounced back by finishing second to the Lambkins' third at the Front Range League championships.

"They crushed it at conference and just destroyed all their times," Monk said, noting that the team dropped a combined 3-plus minutes off their swims from the city to league meets. "And then they were able to build off that here at state."

They had to say goodbye to a couple seniors, Sydnee O'Neil and Kenadie Glasgow, who were part of state-title relay teams during their careers and helped add to Fossil Ridge's recent championship heyday.

"It's a nice building block for them on the way to their club sectionals," Monk said. "They were extremely helpful to me as a new coach to this team. Both are great captains and role models for the younger girls."

Those two, along with Gaca-Thiele, helped Fossil finish seventh in both the 200 and 400 free relays.

Fort Collins had a bevy of seniors, too, leading to their "ultimate goal" of winning the City Meet last month and ending Fossil's decade-plus dominance in the event.

The Lambkins capped it at the state meet, with senior Abbi Crum placing ninth in the 200 individual medley (2:06.89) and 10th in the 100 backstroke (58.17). That came after she broke the 200 IM school record Thursday in prelims with a time of 2:04.82.

Fort Collins also finished eighth in the 200 medley relay, and Elle Gray placed a program-best second in the 1-meter diving event on Tuesday.

Rocky Mountain was 21st in the team standings. Lobos senior Mia Waldron finished 10th in the 100 butterfly (56.74) and 14th in the 50 free (24.43).

Here are all the top-20 local finishers from the 5A state meet:

Fossil Ridge (11th, 145 points)

• Ella Gaca-Thiele: 3rd (100 free); 5th (50 free); 7th (200 free relay); 7th (400 free relay)

• Gracie Thornton: 7th (200 free relay); 7th (400 free relay); 9th (100 butterfly); 32nd (100 back)

• Kenadie Glasgow: 7th (400 free relay); 14th (200 IM); 14th (100 breaststroke)

• Sydnee O'Neil: 7th (200 free relay); 7th (400 free relay); 15th (200 free); 17th (100 butterfly)

• Julia Zheng: 7th (200 free relay)

Fort Collins (12th, 107 points)

• Elle Gray: 2nd (1-meter diving)

• Abbi Crum: 8th (200 medley relay); 9th (200 IM); 10th (100 back); 14th (400 free relay)

• Mishka Little: 8th (200 medley relay); 14th (400 free relay)

• Lauryn Oram: 8th (200 medley relay); 14th (400 free relay); 15th (100 back)

• Amber Siverts: 8th (200 medley relay); 12th (100 fly); 14th (400 free relay)

Rocky Mountain (21st, 33 points)

• Mia Waldron: 10th (100 fly); 14th (50 free); 15th (200 medley relay)

• Teresa Collingwood: 15th (200 medley relay); 20th (200 IM)

• Naomi Duran: 15th (200 medley relay)

• Keolani Morrow: 15th (200 medley relay)

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fossil Ridge finishes out of Colorado 5A top 5 for first time since 2009