Frauenfelder twice earns silver at 3A state meet
Frederick sees two individuals with podium finishes
Holy Family’s Cate Chapman swims in the 100butterfly during the Class 3A girls swim and dive state championships at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center on Saturday.
THORNTON >> Lorelai Frauenfelder is just a fan of racing, plain and simple.
That passion showed throughout the Class 3A girls swim and dive state championships at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center on Saturday, during which the sophomore left with a pair of runner-up finishes.
But coming close and still not winning didn’t get Frauenfelder down, especially since she switched to focusing on several new races this season after placing fourth in the 200 individual medley as a freshman last season.
“I’m glad I chose those two races,” Frauenfelder said. “Even though I didn’t win, I was still happy with my times and happy with what I chose. I’m not going to sulk over if I was gonna win or lose. I was happy.”
In the 100-yard freestyle, Frauenfelder’s second-place finish came with a time of 52.59 seconds. That was second only to St. Mary’s Academy senior Caitlin Crysel, who with that victory completed a
Holy Family’s Lorelai Frauenfelder stands on the podium after placing second in the 100freestyle during the Class 3A girls swim and dive state championships.
four-for-four career in that event at state.
“I knew she was going to beat me,” said Frauenfelder, who also finished runner-up in the event last season. “Caitlin’s an amazing swimmer. She’s a senior and before the race started, I knew she was going to beat me. I was just trying to race myself and the other girls in the pool. I was pretty happy with it.”
In the 50 freestyle, Frauenfelder posted a time of 24.03 seconds to finish just behind St. Mary’s Academy junior Riley Mills.
With plenty of potential and already making a name for herself, Frauenfelder hinted at some higher expectations for the coming seasons, whichever events she chooses to focus on.
“We’re just going to keep pushing it back a year, hoping I get first next year,” Frauenfelder said. “Fingers crossed.”
With 218 team points, Holy Family finished fourth in the team competition.
The Tigers — Cate Chapman, Erin Chapman, Frauenfelder and Ivy Wood — placed fourth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:53.13. Holy Family also took seventh in the 200 freestyle relay with Emily Opie, Katherine Ryan, Ellis Musgrove and Makaila Moosbrugger swimming a 1:46.12. In the final event of the night, the Tigers’ 400 freestyle relay team — Wood, Ashtyn Cooney, Chapman and Frauenfelder — placed fourth in 3:43.72.
Cate Chapman medaled in the 100 butterfly, placing ninth with a time of 1:01.70. She also swam a 1:01.16 to take sixth in the 100 backstroke.
For Frederick, sophomore Avery Corliss placed eighth in both the 200 freestyle (2:03.78) and the 500 freestyle (5:29.94). Fellow Frederick sophomore Addisyn Murray placed seventh in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:29.94.
Frederick scored 65 team points to place 19th.
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. >> Julian Strawther is back from his right knee injury, but he’s not necessarily back in the Denver Nuggets’ rotation.
When asked Friday night about the process of transitioning Strawther back to NBA minutes, head coach Michael Malone said the Nuggets plan to stick with their Jamal Murray-led second unit for now — a lineup that consists of Murray, Reggie Jackson, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson and Deandre Jordan.
“Just gotta stay ready. He’s a rookie on a really good basketball team, and he was playing earlier in the year,” Malone said pregame Friday night. “He played well for us. But Jamal was not playing with that second unit, and he is now. It was good to see (Strawther) back on the court, being healthy, ready to go. And if we’re able to get him in any games, obviously it’s a bonus for him. But right now, Reggie, Jamal, Christian, Peyton and D.J. — that’s our second unit. So for a guy like Julian, he’s just gotta stay ready and take advantage of any and all opportunities.”
Strawther, who cracked Denver’s rotation as a rookie sharpshooter with heat-check capability earlier this season, was inactive for 13 consecutive games in January due to a right knee sprain and contusion. He was cleared to play last Friday but didn’t appear off the bench in a win against Portland that night. Strawther was then assigned to Denver’s G League affiliate, where he scored 21 points Wednesday in a win for the Grand Rapids Gold. He rejoined the Nuggets on Thursday and dressed for both games of a road back-to-back.
After Malone’s pregame remarks in Sacramento about the bench unit, starters Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-pope were both ruled out for the second game of the back-toback. (Neither absence is cause for concern, Malone said later.) So Strawther played his first NBA minutes in more than a month, wearing a knee brace for
Kings forward Sasha Vezenkov, left shoots against Nuggets guard Julian Strawther during the second half in Sacramento, Calif, on Friday.
the first time in his life. He had never dealt with a serious knee injury before this, he told The Denver Post.
“I needed to go down there (to the G League) to get some reps for sure,” Strawther said. “I still feel like I need to knock a lot of rust off, just in terms of my timing and my mental, and wearing the brace. It’s all different. It’s all new to me. So just kind of settling in.”
Strawther said he thinks he’ll only need to wear the brace through the All-star break. Then he hopes to be done with it. He shot 3 for 8 from the field and 1 for 5 from 3-point range in his return Friday, a 135-106 blowout loss to the Kings.
As for his minutes going forward, Strawther remained upbeat, pointing out the same context Malone brought up: It’s not supposed to be easy for a rookie to become a mainstay in the rotation of a defending NBA champion roster.
“There weren’t too many conversations (with coaches about minutes),” Strawther said. “It’s just a matter of understanding that getting toward the end of the season, getting closer to battling for higher seeds, obviously the rotation is gonna shorten as the season goes. So whatever coach (Malone) rolls with, that’s what I trust.”
Before Strawther’s injury, Malone was using an all-bench lineup as Denver’s second unit, featuring Strawther and alternating between Jordan and Zeke Nnaji at backup center. The Jordan variation of that unit had a minus-7.4 net rating
in 42 minutes together. The Nnaji variation is still the Nuggets’ third-most utilized five-man lineup this season. In 86 minutes, it has a minus-16.3 net rating.
Since Strawther’s injury, the newer version of the second unit featuring both point guards — Murray and Jackson — has a minus-3 net rating in 72 minutes. Malone has increasingly relied on Jordan at the five to back up Nikola Jokic.
Murray has commonly staggered with Denver’s second unit in past seasons. Malone’s philosophy is generally to keep one of his two best players, either Jokic or Murray, on the floor at all times. For the most part lately, Murray has countered double-teams and other confrontational coverages with impressive efficiency during his staggered minutes, when opposing defenses tend to focus on containing him. He entered Friday night’s matchup at Sacramento with double-digit assists in each of his last three games, good for a 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“It’s what we saw last year during our run to a championship: reading the game, reading how he’s being guarded,” Malone said. “With that first unit, he gets more normal coverage. And then when he’s out there with the second unit, teams get a lot more aggressive with him. Some teams are throwing the box-andone. They blitz him. They trap him. They hit him. … Once you put two on the ball, you’ve done your job. Get off in a timely manner and trust your teammates to make the right play.”