A combined double-digit number of Aurora-area boys and girls swimmers from Grandview and Smoky Hill were elite out of the water during the 2024-25 season.
The National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) honors top student-athletes from across the country as Academic All-Americans, which are defined as graduating seniors and lettered that season with a high school program (in swimming, diving or water polo), while they also must have a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.750 on a 4 point scale or 93.7500% of the grade scale their school uses for 7 semesters/11 trimesters.
The recently issued includes a combined seven honorees from two Aurora-area boys programs with representation from four Grandview swimmers and three from Smoky Hill.
Coach Dan Berve’s seventh-place finish at the Class 5A boys state meet finish got a big boost from the performance of Oliver Schimberg, who won two state championships individual. The University of Minnesota recruit is a multiple-time NISCA swimming All-American who joins teammates Evan Linnebur, Vince McCush and Kire Olofson on the Academic All-American list as well.
Linnebur also made the NISCA All-American swimming list as part of Grandview’s 400 yard freestyle relay team, while he finished 12th in the 50 freestyle and 13th in the 100 freestyle.
Smoky Hill’s Academic All-American contingent is comprised of Coleman Masterson, Eli Neely and Charlie Newton.
Newton scored points for coach Scott Cohen’s Buffaloes — who were 17th in the final standings — individually in the 200 yard freestyle with a 14th-place finish, while he swam on the 12th-place 400 yard freestyle relay team.
Colorado boys swimmers from Colorado Early Colleges D.C. North, D’Evelyn, Fossil Ridge and Windsor also made the NISCA Academic All-American list.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024-25 NISCA COLORADO BOYS SWIMMING ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Aurora selections: Evan Linnebur (Grandview); Coleman Masterson (Smoky Hill); Vince McCush (Grandview); Eli Neely (Smoky Hill); Charlie Newton (Smoky Hill); Kire Olofson (Grandview) and Oliver Schimberg (Grandview)
Other Colorado selections: Joshua Abrahm (Windsor); Bruno Albertoni (Colorado Early Colleges D.C. North); Jacob Barela (Fossil Ridge); Jack Beckman (D’Evelyn); Pierce Bickerton (Fossil Ridge); Matthew Campbell (Fossil Ridge); Landen Dodds (Fossil Ridge); Carlos Gomez (Fossil Ridge); Nathan Goodrich (Fossil Ridge); Nick Langan (D’Evelyn); Brennen O’Neil (Fossil Ridge); Preston Pippin (Fossil Ridge); Greyson Sibson (Fossil Ridge); Mason Tanner (Fossil Ridge) and Owen Walsh (Fossil Ridge)
