Chlorinated champs in 5A
Monarch wins 400 free relay state title; Coyotes take fourth
An exhausted Gavin Keogh, Monarch’s uber-fast sophomore swimmer, slammed the pool’s bulkhead repeatedly in the closing moments of the Class 5A boys swimming finals, trying to will teammate Ethan Difronzo to hold onto the lead and finish.
Keogh swam in three of the last four events Friday night — something he told his coach he wanted to do. And now he felt like he was mustering his final bits of energy in hopes that the rising swim power at Monarch could finish its best season in decades with gold. Success.
The Coyotes won their first state title in recent memory behind their underclassmen core, taking fourth as a team at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center. Before their title sprint in the meet’s finale, they’d finished runner-up in the 200 freestyle relay and Keogh’s 100 backstroke by a combined .58 seconds.
“I was just like ‘Get here. Get here’,” Keogh recalled yelling to the team’s 400 free anchor, Difronzo. “We were all screaming at the top of our lungs. I know our voices won’t be here tomorrow. And it was so thrilling to look at the scoreboard to see we got first.”
The win saved the Broomfield and Boulder areas from being shut out of 5A gold — something that has happened just once in the last decade.
Before it, Keogh finished second in the 100 backstroke by a mere fingernail or two — touching in 49.98 seconds, just behind Grandview’s Oliver Schimberg (49.87).
That silver came after he was part of another on the team’s 200 free relay, which took second to Regis Jesuit by less than a half-of-a-second in 1:23.94.
Sophomores Keogh and Difronzo and freshman Charlie Zuhoski ended up totaling six top-nine finishes in individual events for the Coyotes.
Keogh and Difronzo were fifth in the 200 IM and 100 freestyle, respectively. Difronzo and Zuhoski were ninth in the 50 and 100 freestyles.
“They are incredible,” coach Amber Austin said of her team. “They know this sport. They’re the people who make this happen both in and out of the pool. Like yes, I’m here to orchestrate and make sure everybody is doing what they’re supposed to be doing and keep them somewhat organized. But they’re the ones who make it happen and it’s just so impressive.”
Legacy seniors Tegan Barrier and Sam White, coming off a state title in the 200 freestyle relay a year ago, just missed out on another.
The reigning champ relay finished third behind Regis Jesuit and Monarch. Barrier finished second in the 50 free, White took sixth in the 200 IM and both were also a part of the 200 medley relay that took seventh.
The Lightning, a year after placing a programbest third, finished 10th.
Fairview finished 12th with six top-10 finishes. Layton Sealman took fourth in the 100 freestyle, Calvin Hammond fifth in dive, Joseph Levtov eighth in the 500 free and Soren Koschmann ninth in the backstroke. The Knights’ 400 free relay finished fourth.
Regis Jesuit won its 24th state title in boys swimming, now doubling second-place Cherry Creek with 12.