Once the Class 5A state meet arrives, the Regis Jesuit boys swim team pays no attention to seedings.
Projected to finish eighth in the team standings during the May 20-21 meet at the United State Air Force Academy based on pre-meet seedings, the Raiders went out and instead snatched themselves a trophy with a runner-up finish behind Fossil Ridge.
Sophomore Elijah Warren won a state championship in the 100 yard breaststroke and teamed with senior Simon Barshay, junior Alexander Strepman and fellow sophomore Ty Coen to win the title in the 200 medley relay for Regis Jesuit, which racked up 252 points to finish comfortably behind the SaberCats in the standings.
Coach Nick Frasersmith’s Raiders also got a pair of third-place finishes from Coen and a variety of championship and consolation finals swims as Regis Jesuit made the most of its 28 state qualifiers. The Raiders grabbed three top-six relay performances in all at the meet.
Bolstered by the performances of senior diver Devin Bellamy and senior Aidan Mercer, coach Scott Cohen’s Smoky Hill team made a return to the top 10 at the 5A meet with a ninth-place total of 82 points.
Bellamy came in as the favorite to win the state championship in the diving competition, but Bear Creek’s Octavio Lopez put on a show on his way to the state title with a score of 604.65 points.
Bellamy ended up with a total of 532.05 to finish third. He was named 5A Diver of the Year and his coach, Erik Seaver, received 5A Dive Coach of the Year.
Mercer broke a 20-year-old team record in the 200 yard individual medley with his time of 1 minute, 54.70 seconds and he also grabbed sixth place in the 100 breaststroke as well. The Buffaloes also piled up points in all three relay events.
Grandview grabbed 35 points for 18th, as senior sprinter Robin Kuebler won the consolation heat of the 50 freestyle and finished 11th in the 100, while the Wolves managed to score in two relays.
Divers accounted for all the points for both Cherokee Trail and Hinkley, as Eric Lammon earned 13 for the Cougars with a sixth-place finish and sophomore Byron Mayo’s 16th netted a single point for the Hinkley co-op team.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
