Fairviewsenior sweeps events

thornton » Harvardbound Michael Zarian, the only swimmer to win the maximum two individual titles a year ago, repeated the feat Saturday at the Class 5A boys swimming championships at Veteransmemorial Aquatic Center.

The Fairview senior breezed to victories in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 butterfly for his fourth and fifth career individual prep titles. He won the 200 IM by more than three seconds over runnerup Harrison Lierz of Broomfield and beat second-place Danny Kovac of Fossil Ridge 47.75 to 48.33 in the 100 fly.

Zarian also helped Fairview finish second in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays behind Fossil Ridge, which won the team title. Fairview finished fourth, behind runner-up Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek. Highlands Ranch was fifth.

Zarian, ranked 17th nationally by Swim Swam among 2017 college recruits, won the 500 freestyle state title as a sophomore and the 500 free and 200 IM as a junior.

“I’m just trying to represent Fairview the best I can,” Zarian said of his five individual championships. “You can’t control the outcome that much, but you can always control the effort. I always try to give my best effort for Fairview.”

Having won the 500 free the previous two years, Zarian went for a new challenge and replaced the 500 with the 100.

Knights coach Lauren Sampl said Zarian — who carries an honors-based 4.8 grade-point average — is one of the best student-athletes she has known.

“He can swim anything. He could have won just about any event. We’d love to use him in every event,” Sampl said. “Michael pretty much holds all of our team records.”

Zarian recently published a book, “Success as a Teen Athlete: A Guide to Reaching Your Athletic Potential,” available at Amazon. When asked about his favorite experience from swimming in high school, he said: “It’s the team, no question. It’s not about the rewards or the recognition. High school is about the team.”