Four years ago, this year’s senior class came into a Regis Jesuit swim program that had just had a lengthy string of championships snapped.
Four state titles later, they depart with the program in excellent shape. They helped make a seamless transition in coaches between legendary boss Mike Doherty and new coach Nick Frasersmith and they helped the team reach arguably its highest level during the finals of the 5A state meet on May 17 at Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center.
The seniors left their stamp all over the finals, capped by a Colorado and 5A state meet record in the 400 yard freestyle from the all-senior team of Hennessey Stuart, Christopher Dawson, Austin Phillips and Mitchell Bruckman in Regis Jesuit’s commanding 220-point team victory.
“There was a lot of pressure on my seniors class freshman year, sophomore year to pick it up and get that state title back,” Stuart said. “And we did and we held ourselves accountable all four years.
“We worked our butts off to drop time every year and I feel like this is one of the fastest meets I’ve ever seen my team have.”
Stuart was a big part of that, as he went 4-for-4 in his races, winning individually in state record fashion in the 100 yard backstroke and also taking the 200 yard individual medley crown.
Junior Quinlan Stuart won his first state title in the 100 breaststroke and teamed with his brother, Christopher Morales and Will Pieseski in a championship-winning 200 medley relay.
Junior Kyle Goodwin won his third straight 5A diving state championship in convincing fashion and set himself up for a shot at an unprecedented fourth.
“Today was so much fun; we were moving up spots and to finish it with that 400 freestyle relay was incredible,” Frasersmith said.
Aurora had two other top-10 teams in Grandview and Smoky Hill, which tied for eighth place with 115 points apiece.
Smoky Hill graduates senior Juhan Hong, who added two more championship finals places to his career haul — 4th in 500 yard freestyle, 6th in 200 yard freestyle — but coach Scott Cohen’s team returns three other athletes who accounted for plenty of points.
Junior Alex Kohlman and sophomore Aidan Mercer in the pool and sophomore diver Devin Bellamy form the nucleus of a team that should remain strong.
Grandview’s relay strength showed up at the state meet, as Triston Mosby, James Boone, Robin Kuebler and Alex Turner posted top-five finishes in both freestyle relays. All four Wolves also scored in at least one championship or consolation final, with Boone and Mosby with two finals appearances apiece.
Cherokee Trail posted its best finish in the 5A ranks in 11th and had a pair of runners-up in seniors TJ Konde and Josh Bedford.
Konde was thrilled to finish second in the 100 backstroke, pumping his fist repeatedly in the water. Bedford was seeded No. 1 in the 100 breaststroke coming into state and he finished second.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2014 CLASS 5A STATE SWIM MEET
Team scores: 1. REGIS JESUIT 410 points; 2. Cherry Creek 190; 3. Fairview 179; 4. Lewis-Palmer 156; 5. Highlands Ranch 146; T6. Fort Collins 122; T6. Boulder 122; T8. GRANDVIEW 115; T8. SMOKY HILL 115; 10. Fossil Ridge 114; 11. CHEROKEE TRAIL 82; 12. Poudre 77; 13. Chatfield 74; 14. Arapahoe 59; 15. Pomona 58; 16. Douglas Co./Castle View 57; 17. Loveland 48; 18. Lakewood 43; 19. Heritage 33; 20. Pine Creek 28; 21. Monarch 20; 22. Standley Lake 18; 23. Denver East 16; 24. OVERLAND 9; 25. Doherty 8; 26. Rampart 7; 27. Ralston Valley 5; T28. Liberty 4; T28. Mountain Range 4; 30. Legacy 3; 31. Fountain-Fort Carson 2
AURORA STATE PLACERS BY SCHOOL
CHEROKEE TRAIL (2): Josh Bedford (9th, 200 yard indiv. medley/2nd, 100 yard breaststroke); TJ Konde (10th, 100 yard butterfly/2nd, 100 yard backstroke); Relays (2) — 200 yard medley: 6th (TJ Konde, Seung Kim, Josh Bedford, Kamden Weis); 400 yard freestyle: 14th (TJ Konde, Garrett Shudinis, Eric Daugherty, Josh Bedford)
GRANDVIEW (4): James Boone (7th, 50 yard freestyle/5th, 100 yard freestyle); Robin Kuebler (14th, 200 yard freestyle); Triston Mosby (7th, 200 yard indiv. medley/6th, 100 yard breaststroke); Alex Turner (14th, 200 yard indiv. medley); Relays (3) — 200 yard freestyle: 5th (Triston Mosby, James Boone, Alex Turner, Robin Kuebler); 400 yard freestyle: 4th (Triston Mosby, Alex Turner, Robin Kuebler, James Boone)
OVERLAND: Scott Stellick (9th, diving)
REGIS JESUIT (15): Cristian Adams (10th, 100 yard backstroke); Simon Barshay (12th, 100 yard butterfly); Nicholas Birney (8th, 100 yard breaststroke); Mitchell Bruckman (4th, 200 yard freestyle/3rd, 100 yard butterfly); Christopher Dawson (3rd, 200 yard freestyle/2nd, 500 yard freestyle); Kyle Goodwin (State champion, diving); Theodore Keorner (3rd, 100 yard breaststroke); Matt Mauser (4th, diving); Christopher Morales (16th, 50 yard freestyle/13th, 100 yard butterfly); Bruce Nerheim (10th, 200 yard indiv. medley/9th, 500 yard freestyle); Austin Phillips (2nd, 200 yard freestyle/4th, 100 yard freestyle); William Pieseski (8th, 50 yard freestyle/11th, 100 yard freestyle); Hennessey Stuart (State champion, 200 yard indiv. medley/State champion, 100 yard backstroke); Quinlan Stuart (5th, 200 yard indivi. medley/State champion, 100 yard breaststroke); Garrett Suter (7th, 100 yard backstroke/13th, 100 yard freestyle); Relays (3) — 200 yard medley: State champion (Hennessey Stuart, Quinlan Stuart, Christopher Morales, William Pieseski); 200 yard freestyle: 3rd (William Pieseski, Christopher Morales, Christopher Dawson, Austin Phillips); 400 yard freestyle: State champion (Hennessey Stuart, Mitchell Bruckman, Christopher Dawson, Austin Phillips);
SMOKY HILL (5): Devin Bellamy (5th, diving); Chris Hartman (10th, diving); Juhan Hong (6th, 200 yard freestyle/3rd, 500 yard freestyle); Alex Kohlman (11th, 50 yard freestyle/6th, 100 yard freestyle); Aidan Mercer (4th, 100 yard breaststroke); Relays (3) — 200 yard medley: 12th (Joey Pucciarelli, Aidan Mercer, Nathan Hoskins, Ethan Evans); 200 yard freestyle: 11th (Alex Kohlman, Connor Salazar, Ethan Evans, Juhan Hong); 400 yard freestyle: 12th (Alex Kohlman, Derek Liu, Aidan Mercer, Juhan Hong)
