The Regis Jesuit boys swim team lost twice to Cherry Creek during the regular season, but the Raiders came up with the result that mattered the most May 12.
The Bruins got the better of them at a dual meet that came with some discouragement, but the Raiders gained some confidence despite a loss at the John Strain Memorial Invitational.
The teams gathered again to go head-to-head over two days at the Class 5A state meet at the Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center and this time, Regis Jesuit came out on top with a 10.5-point victory that netted the program its second straight state title and 24th all-time.
Coach Nick Frasersmith’s Regis Jesuit team cruised to victory in 2022, but this time it was competitive the entire way as the Raiders had to overcome the lack of a single diver, while Cherry Creek came into the finals with an advantage as it had the state champion in Luke Ogren.
Regis Jesuit set itself up for a big finish with a good performance in the May 11 prelims and finished it off with a state title that included a pair of event championships, both involving senior Truman Inglis.
The Raiders got a big boost of points in the 50 yard freestyle with three championship finalists and all three — Inglis and fellow seniors Carter Anderson and Hawkins Wendt — finished in the top six. First to the wall was Inglis, who won the championship in the event in a time of 20.79 seconds, which brought him in just in front of Legacy’s Tegan Barrier, who clocked a 20.91.
Just behind were Anderson in fourth and Wendt in sixth. All three of those 50 freestyle finalists would team up with fellow senior Ronan Krauss later to win the 200 yard freestyle relay.
Regis Jesuit came in seeded first in the event and the senior foursome chopped some time off its season best with a 1:23.47 that brought it in just ahead of runner-up Monarch, which went 1:23.94.
The Raiders had four top-18 finishers in the 100 yard backstroke and three consolation finalists in the 100 breaststroke, then sewed up the meet with a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay from Inglis, Krauss, Wendt and senior Charlie Klein.
For the meet, 15 Regis Jesuit swimmers scored in at least one event and five made championship finals in two events.
Inglis coupled his 50 freestyle title with a third-place result in the 100 freestyle, while Krauss finished fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 500, Anderson grabbed fourth in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 butterfly, Wendt captured sixth in the 50 free and eighth in the 100 and senior Harry Kerscher came in sixth in the 100 backstroke and ninth in the 100 butterfly.
Coming off a runner-up finish behind Cherry Creek at the Centennial “A” League Championship meet, Smoky Hill finished as the second-highest Centennial League program in the final standings with a fifth-place finish, which was an improvement by one spot from 2022.
Coach Scott Cohen’s Buffaloes got a pair of top-three individual finishes from junior Daniel Yi, who was again the 5A runner-up in the 100 breaststroke and also took third in the 200 individual medley.
Smoky Hill also got points from the third-fourth finish of sophomore Ian Noffsinger and junior Jake Baker in the 500 freestyle and placed in the top nine of all three relays.
Ninth-place Grandview had only its second all-time state champion crowned as sophomore Oliver Schimberg claimed the title in the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.87 seconds to beat Monarch’s Gavin Keough to the wall. Schimberg joined John Martens as Grandview’s all-time champions.
Cherokee Trail — which finished 16th — got its top finish from sophomore Bronson Smothers, who came in third in the 50 freestyle, while the Cougars won the consolation heat of the 400 freestyle relay and placed in all three relays.
Overland had the only diver in the field in sophomore Chad Hamilton, who placed 20th.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 CLASS 5A BOYS STATE SWIM MEET
May 12 at Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center
Team scores: 1. REGIS JESUIT 399 points; 2. Cherry Creek 388.5; 3. Columbine 259; 4. Monarch 216; 5. SMOKY HILL 201; 6. Fossil Ridge 199; 7. Chatfield 181; 8. Highlands Ranch 177; 9. GRANDVIEW 167; 10. Legacy 162.50; 11. Rocky Mountain 155; 12. Fairview 152; 13. Heritage 135.5; 14. Douglas County 87; 15. Arvada West 81; 16. CHEROKEE TRAIL 71; 17. Greeley West 67; 18. Rampart 61; 19. Ralston Valley 60; 20. Fort Collins 55; 21. Pine Creek 48; 22. Poudre 36; 23. Loveland 31; 24. Denver East 23; 25. Valor Christian 21; 26. Ponderosa 15.5; 27. Fountain-Fort Carson 9; 28. Lewis-Palmer 8; 29. Arapahoe 6; 30. Palisade/Grand Junction/Fruita 5; 31. Brighton 2; T32. Lakewood 1; T32. OVERLAND 1
