The top swimmers from the city got a good measuring stick just before winter break at The REX Coaches Invitational, which saw four Aurora area programs finish in the top 14 standings of the large school programs.
Regis Jesuit earned the victory in impressive fashion, bolstered by event champions in senior Maya Kriz (1-meter diving) and senior Charlotte Burnham (100 yard breaststroke) plus an assortment of other strong performances (story, here and full results, here).
Coach Nick Frasersmith’s team appears to have the depth to make a run at unseating rival Cherry Creek when the state championship meet arrives in February. Burnham swam a winning time of 1 minute, 3 seconds, in the 100 breaststroke at the REX meet, which is just a bit slower than the 1:02.40 that yielded last season’s state title, while she dropped a 23.42 in the 50 freestyle (not her usual event) that put her second.
The Raiders figure to have a diving advantage as Kriz and Sarah Mann gave them two in the top five in the standings, while two others picked up poitns.
Cherokee Trail won its first four dual meets and coach Kevin Chatham’s team — which also won the championship of the Legacy Lightning Invitational — grabbed the No. 5 spot in the final standings the REX meet. The Cougars topped rival Grandview for the first time in a dual meet earlier and finished one spot in front of them at the Coaches Invitational in a battle within a meet that is likely to continue at the Centennial “A” League Championships and state meet in February.
Strong relays, standouts in senior Sarah Woren, junior Ella Drakulich and the addition of junior Ava Zadigan (a transfer who had to sit out last season) give Cherokee Trail a powerful mix, while coach James Boone’s Grandview team features a number of quality senior swimmers — including Amelia Brown, Keira Vail (a Hoyt Brawner Award nominee) and Kaitlyn Hafer — plus a standout diver in junior Addison Campbell.
Sophomores Cameryn Walkup and Mya Noffsinger lead the way for coach Scott Cohen’s Smoky Hill team, which finished 14th at the Coaches Invitational. The Buffaloes won their first three dual meets of the season and posted a runner-up finish at the Denver East Angel Invitational.
Eaglecrest had no finalists as the REX meet, but coach Jillian Fehringer had multiple relay teams qualify.
Rangeview got on the scoreboard via a diving place by junior Hailey McDonald and coach Robin Allen’s Raiders will look to extend its dominance over the Aurora Public Schools Championship meet later in January.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
