BOCOPREPS’ EVENT OF THE WEEK: BOULDER COUNTY SWIM INVITE
Friday (diving competition starts at 3:30p.m. at the Broomfield Community Center); Saturday (swim events start at 9 a.m., also at the BCC).
Monarch is the headliner for this weekend’s Boulder County Invite, touting the Class 5A defending champion 400yard freestyle relay, as well as this year’s top-ranked
200 freestyle swimmer, Gavin Keogh.
Fairview, though, with 10 top-10times in the state this spring, may quickly steal its share.
The Coyotes edged the Knights in last year’s seventeam Boco invite, then went on to win the 400freestyle relay en route to an areabest, fourth-place finish at the 5A state meet.
Keogh, the reigning Daily Camera boys’ swimmer of the year, was part of the state-winning relay and finished second in the 5A 100backstroke. He currently holds Colorado’s best time of the spring in the 200freestyle at 1minute and 40.93 seconds.
If he swims this weekend, he gives the Coyotes a shot at winning the town invite for a second straight year.
But even then, a fully-loaded Fairview squad would be tough to overcome.
The Knights have a strong core, led by expected state placers in Wesley Schlachter, Layton Sealman, Soren Koschmann and James Kershaw. Schlachter has the state’s fourth-fastest time in the 200 freestyle (1:42.85), which is only less than two seconds back of event-leader Keogh.
He also has the fourth-best mark in the 500freestyle (4:43.75) — five spots in front of teammate Kershaw (4:49.89; ninth) — and has been part of two of the state’s top-10relays this spring — the 200 medley (1:37.25; eighth) and the 400freestyle (3:09.78; fourth).
Both Schlachter (200 free, 500free) and Keogh (100 free, 100backstroke) won two individual events at the Boco Invite last year. Elsewhere for the Knights, Sealman is currently fourth-best in the 50free (21.05) — five spots ahead of Monarch’s Ethan Difronzo (21.27; ninth). He’s sixth in the 100free (47.03) — four spots ahead of Koschmann (47.36; 10th). Koschmann is fourth in the state in the 100 back (51.81).
Outside of the team favorites, DK Nakashima has the state’s fifth-fastest time in the 200individual medley (1:54.19) and the eighthbest mark in the 100breaststroke (58.03) for Legacy. The Lightning finished 10th at last year’s 5A state meet, two spots better than Fairview, but have lost to both Monarch and the Knights in duals this season.
From 4A, Silver Creek and Broomfield both come into the weekend with 10top-10 marks in the classification. Stephen Codevilla has 4A’s fourth-best time in the 100 backstroke (53.29) for the Raptors. James Story has the sixth-best time in the 100free (49.24) and the eighth-fastest mark in the 100butterfly (54.58). He also has the classification’s ninth-best times in the 200 IM (2:03.80) and 50free (22.28).
Rhys Gibson has the top 4A time in the 200free (1:46.75) for the Eagles. He is also sixth in the 100backstroke (54.30) and eighth in the 500 freestyle (4:57.54). Gibson’s teammate, Nathan Mccracken, is fifth in the 100free (49.20), seventh in the 500free (4:57.00), eighth in the 100backstroke (55.10) and 10th in the 100 butterfly (54.97).
Silver Creek’s Rider Neeb is the only local diver inside the 5A or 4A top 10. His 11-dive score of 422.70at last month’s Greeley West Invitational is ninth-best in 4A.