Two Aurora area athletes earned event wins at the Centennial “A” League Championship meet Feb. 7, the last tune-up for area teams ahead of the Class 5A girls state swim meet.
During the championship finals contested at Arapahoe High School, Cherokee Trail junior Natalie Daum won the 100 yard breaststroke and Smoky Hill senior Mya Noffsinger took the 100 yard backstroke as the top results in a successful performance for a handful of local teams in the field.
Grandview did not have a champion, but edged Cherokee Trail by 1.5 points (609-607.5) to finish in third place in a meet won handily by Cherry Creek (966.5) with Arapahoe (768) second. Smoky Hill finished with 598 for fifth place, followed by Eaglecrest (176) and Overland (33).
Complete results from the 2026 Centennial “A” League Championships, here
The Wolves’ depth made the difference in their finish, which was led by a runner-up finish from junior Baylei Polk in the diving competition, while the 3-4 finish of junior Makenna Dyk and sophomore Paige Gust in the 50 yard freestyle also proved impactful.
The Cougars started the meet with a strong performance in the 200 yard medley relay, as Daum, seniors Lily Rosh and Giavelle Salsig and junior Emir Saliger placed second behind a Cherry Creek team that set the league and pool record.
In her first Centennial “A” League meet (she was at Regis Jesuit the previous two seasons), Daum lost the 100 freestyle by .14 of a second, but dominated the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1 minute, 2.33 seconds. She bettered the existing league record of 1:02.35 and the pool record of 1:02.62, both of which were held by former Arapahoe standout Ryan Johnston.
Rosh and senior Aria Clouse scored in two event finals apiece for coach Kipp Meeks’ Cherokee Trail team.
Smoky Hill had an outstanding meet that was highlighted by the 100 backstroke in which Noffsinger touched the wall first in a time of 57.94 seconds, and was followed by teammate Caroline Kaiser in 59.12. It was the first league title for Noffsinger, who also finished second to record-setting Kate McKinnon of Cherry Creek in the 100 butterfly.
Senior Cameryn Walkup finished as the runner-up in both the 200 and 500 freestyles — events she won at the meet the previous season — and was voted Centennial League Swimmer of the Year, while the Buffs’ Scott Cohen took home Coach of the Year accolades.
Eaglecrest had a championship finalist in junior Mila Huseby (who placed sixth in the 100 butterfly), while junior Sadie Ballou scored in the consolation finals of both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke for coach Jillian Fehringer’s Raptors.
Overland got a pair of 13th-place finishes to lead the way, which went to junior Kayden Gutierrez in the diving competition as well as junior Sabina Jeram in the 200 individual medley.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
