One of the best overall girls swimming seasons across Aurora finished on a high note at the Class 5A state meet, where three local teams finished in the top 12 and two earned their way into the top six.
As has happened often, Regis Jesuit swimmers earned the majority of the spots on the 2021-22 Sentinel Colorado All-Aurora Girls Swim Team — which is determined by state performance — while two other strong Aurora programs have representation as well in Cherokee Trail (Skylar Brgoch) and Grandview (Megan Doubrava).
The Raiders’ All-Aurora contingent is led by a state champion in senior Emma Weber, who captured her third 100 yard breaststroke state title in four years and also earned All-Aurora positions in the 200 yard individual medley individually as well as with the 200 yard medley and 400 yard freestyle relay teams for coach Nick Frasersmith’s Regis Jesuit team.
Weber — a University of Virginia signee — remained Colorado’s most dominant breaststroker. She was the only prep swimmer in the country to break the minute barrier in 2021 and while she wasn’t able to duplicate the feat as a senior, her championship-winning time of 1:01.65 won by more than a second. Weber also won the state championship in the event when she was a freshman, then swimming for Fairview.
Weber was unable to defend her 2021 state title in the 200 yard IM, but she was Aurora’s only championship finalist and placed seventh in the event.
Weber opened the meet by combining with fellow seniors Grace Dale and Allie Sanchez and junior Sophia Frei on the third-place medley relay and joined fellow senior Faith Marsicek and juniors Frei and Samantha Aguirre on a fifth-place 400 yard freestyle relay that bested Cherokee Trail by just 0.48 of a second in the championship finals.
Dale earned All-Aurora slots in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyles in which she placed fifth and ninth, respectively, after coming in seeded 15th and 17th. Though she wasn’t completely happy with the performance, the Tulane University recruit bettered her seed times in both events significantly, including dropping a second and a half in the 100 free.
Dale also swam legs on the 200 medley and fourth-place 200 freestyle relay.
Frei earned the All-Aurora spot in the 100 backstroke with a fifth-place finish that represented an 18-spot climb from pre-meet seeding as she dropped five seconds and she was part of the 200 medley and 400 freestyle teams. Sanchez, fellow senior Amelie Colsman and junior Rosie Jump earned All-Aurora honors with relay teams as well.
Regis Jesuit dominated on the diving board with three top-nine finishes in the state championship. The Raiders’ charge was led by senior Chiara Lopach, who finished in third place with a season-best score of 462.25 points.
Brgoch, a Washington State signee, capped an outstanding career with Cherokee Trail by earning All-Aurora honors in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Brgoch came into the meet seeded to make the championship final in both events and she brought that to fruition with a sixth-place finish in butterfly and seventh-place result in the 200 free.
While her butterfly time in the finals (56.27 seconds) was a little off her season-best time of 55.90, Brgoch bettered herself in the 200 free with a 1:54.36 (vs. 1:54.99 seed time). She also helped two relay teams for coach Kevin Chatham’s Cherokee Trail place in the top 12.
Grandview had an outstanding season that saw it finish in sixth place as a team. Coach Karen Ammon’s Wolves made the championship finals in all three relays and had at least one championship or consolation finals scorer in the other eight individual events.
The 500 freestyle definitely proved to be the purview of Grandview this season as only four Aurora swimmers qualified for state in the event and both of the Wolves’ qualifiers — Doubrava and Brynn Koehler — earned second swims.
Doubrava exceeded both her pre-meet seeding in place and time when she swam a 5:09.75 — coming in with a 5:14.34 seed time — that easily won the consolation heat and put her in 11th place (projected 13th). Her finals time would have put her ninth in the championship finals.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2021-22 SENTINEL COLORADO ALL-AURORA GIRLS SWIM TEAM
First team
200 yard medley relay — Sophia Frei, Emma Weber, Allie Sanchez, Grace Dale, Regis Jesuit
200 yard freestyle — Skylar Brgoch, sr., Cherokee Trail
200 yard indiv. medley — Emma Weber, sr., Regis Jesuit
50 yard freestyle — Grace Dale, sr., Regis Jesuit
1-meter diving — Chiara Lopach, sr., Regis Jesuit
100 yard butterfly — Skylar Brgoch, sr., Cherokee Trail
100 yard freestyle — Grace Dale, sr., Regis Jesuit
500 yard freestyle — Megan Doubrava, jr., Grandview
200 yard freestyle relay — Grace Dale, Faith Marsicek, Amelie Colsman, Rosie Jump, Regis Jesuit
100 yard backstroke — Sophia Frei, jr., Regis Jesuit
100 yard breaststroke — Emma Weber, sr., Regis Jesuit*
400 yard freestyle relay — Sophia Frei, Faith Marsicek, Samantha Aguirre, Emma Weber, Regis Jesuit
* — State champion
Second team
200 yard medley relay — Ava Zadigan, Paige Dailey, Peyton Belcher, Skylar Nollenberger, Grandview
200 yard freestyle — Samantha Aguirre, jr., Regis Jesuit
200 yard indiv. medley — Sophia Frei, jr., Regis Jesuit
50 yard freestyle — Faith Marsicek, sr., Regis Jesuit
1-meter diving — Mia Henninger, soph., Regis Jesuit
100 yard butterfly — Annelise Thomas, sr., Smoky Hill
100 yard freestyle — Keira Vail, soph., Grandview
500 yard freestyle — Brynn Koehler, jr., Grandview
200 yard freestyle relay — Rebecca Hildebrand, Kya Guikema, Skylar Nollenberger, Keira Vail, Grandview
100 yard backstroke — Allie Sanchez, sr., Regis Jesuit
100 yard breaststroke — Olivia Roumph, jr., Regis Jesuit
400 yard freestyle relay — Skylar Brgoch, Emme Metzmaker, Morgan Walker, Sarah Woren, Cherokee Trail
Honorable mention: Samantha Aguirre, jr., Regis Jesuit (100 yard butterfly); Peyton Belcher, Grandview, soph. (100 yard butterfly); Addison Campbell, fr., Grandview (1-meter diving); Kenna Cashman, sr., Regis Jesuit (200 yard indiv. medley.100 yard breaststroke); Paige Dailey, jr., Grandview (100 yard breaststroke); Kya Guikema, jr., Grandview (200 yard freestyle); Kaitlyn Hafer, soph., Grandview (100 yard breaststroke); Madeleine Hemstreet, sr., Grandview (1-meter diving); Rosie Jump, Regis Jesuit (200 yard indiv. medley/100 yard breaststroke); Maya Kriz, soph., Regis Jesuit (1-meter diving); Greta Leege, sr., Regis Jesuit (100 yard butterfly); Sarah Mann, soph., Regis Jesuit (1-meter diving); Faith Marsicek, sr., Regis Jesuit (100 yard freestyle); Emme Metzmaker, soph., Cherokee Trail (200 yard freestyle); Allie Sanchez, sr., Regis Jesuit (100 yard butterfly); Annelise Thomas, sr., Smoky Hill (100 yard backstroke); Keira Vail, soph., Grandview (50 yard freestyle); Sarah Woren, soph., Cherokee Trail (50 yard freestyle/100 yard freestyle); Ava Zadigan, fr., Grandview (200 yard indiv. medley/100 yard backstroke)
Relays: Morgan Walker, Ella Drakulich, Mckenna Mazeski, Emily Sovern (200 yard medley relay) and Skylar Brgoch, Ella Drakulich, Mckenna Mazeski, Sarah Woren (200 yard freestyle relay), Cherokee Trail; Kya Guikema, Rebecca Hildenbrand, Ava Zadigan, Keira Vail (400 yard freestyle relay), Grandview
OTHER WINTER SPORTS 2021-22 SENTINEL COLORADO ALL-AURORA TEAMS
— Winter Sports All-Aurora 2021-22: Talent pool plenty deep on All-Aurora Boys Basketball Team
— Winter Sports All-Aurora 2021-22: Duo from state champion Grandview paces All-Aurora Girls Basketball Team
— Winter Sports All-Aurora 2021-22: Double-digit state placers appear on All-Aurora Boys Wrestling Team
— Winter Sports All-Aurora 2021-22: State champion Blythe Cayko leads All-Aurora Girls Wrestling Team
— Winter Sports All-Aurora 2021-22: Raiders, Bruins mix nicely on All-Aurora Ice Hockey Team