Thompson Valley swimmer Eryn Eddy. (Courtesy of the Eddy family)
Thompson Valley girls swim coach Dale Leonhart, in his second season at the helm, likes the nickname his star senior Eryn Eddy had when he took over the program.
“I’ve only been fortunate enough to coach her for a couple of seasons, but before I got here she already earned the nickname, ‘The Eraser,’ Leonhart said of Eddy’s ability to close gaps as the anchor leg on relays. “She is something else on the rear end of a relay. I’ve witnessed it myself. I’ve watched her literally run people down. I mean, she went 50.7 on the rear end of the 400 freestyle relay at Jeffco last year. We were in lane one and we were in second by a couple of tenths.”
Eddy has been a force in the pool from the time she was a freshman. The University of Virginia signee has claimed four Class 4A individual state crowns with golds in the 100 freestyle in 2012 as a freshman, the 500 freestyle in 2014, and the 200 freestyle in 2013 and 2014.
Thompson Valley is a school with a rich tradition in both girls and boys swimming with 11 team state championships in the sport, five in girls, including four in a row from 2010-2013. The school records read as a who’s who of state champions, All-Americans, and Division I recruits.
Eddy owns five of the records with top marks in the 100, 200, and 500 freestyles individually and as a member of the top 200 and 400 freestyle relays. She’s also the 4A record holder in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:48.34.
For all of Eddy’s success on her own, she’s most proud of her accomplishments with her teammates.
“I think the most exciting thing for me, my favorite thing to do no matter what are the relays,” Eddy said. “I beg and ask Dale if I can be the anchor, because that’s my favorite spot. It’s the most exciting.
"When everything’s down to the wire it’s because of that last place swimmer, so I love getting on the blocks, especially in a tight race when we’re behind," she added. "That’s when everyone’s the loudest and most excited, so I do everything to close the gap and sometimes I’m successful.”
It’s safe to say Eddy’s successful more often than not as the anchor leg of three state championship relay teams. She was the closer on Thompson Valley’s title winning 200 freestyle relay her sophomore and junior year. The Eagles have won five 200-free relay state titles in a row and hold the 4A record in the event with a time of 1:36.54, set in 2013.
Thompson Valley swimmer Eryn Eddy. (Courtesy of the Eddy family)
Eddy lived up to her nickname at the state swim meet last season in the 400-freestyle relay, as well. In the final event of the day, D’Evelyn held the lead through three legs with Thompson Valley in second. Eddy had a lot of ground to make up. She erased D’Evelyn’s lead with 25 meters left and gave Thompson Valley their second straight state title in the event in a time of 3:32.07, just clear of D’Evelyn’s 3:32.66.
Leonhart has been coaching at the high school level at a number of schools since 1971 and been coaching club swimming for the past 55 years. He has high praise for "The Eraser," saying she’s one of the premier swimmers he’s ever had the privilege to coach.
“She’s right up there in the top half a dozen,” Leonhart said. “I had a couple of (Olympic) Trials qualifiers back in the middle 1980s, I’ve had several high school state champions and junior national champions. She’s right there in the top handful. She’s definitely one of the very best.”
Eddy is the top individual returner in class 4A. Evergreen senior Lindsay Morrow, Windsor sophomore Morgan Friesen and Valor Christian junior Brooke Stenstrom all return to defend individual state championships of their own.
As far as 4A team pursuits go, Thompson Valley is expected to be strong with Eddy and fellow senior Mattea Wabeke, a six-time individual state placer and Saint Louis University signee, as the headliners.
But Evergreen, coming off their first state championship in the sport, returns every girl who swam in last season’s state finals. Morrow (North Carolina State), Anna McDonald (Nebraska), Alissa Harmes (UNLV), Bailey Smith (Army), and Josie Pearson (Missouri State) are all Division I recruits in the 2015 class for the Cougars. As such, Evergreen is the team to beat.
In Class 5A, ThunderRidge’s Annie Ochitwa, Loveland’s Brooke Hansen, Arapahoe’s Ella Moynihan, Fossil Ridge’s Bailey Nero and Bailey Kovac, and Rock Canyon’s Abigail Kochevar all are back to defend individual crowns.
Regis Jesuit returns as the defending 5A team champion. The Raiders, who have nine all-state swimmers coming back, have claimed the last two titles and three of the last four. Fairview came within seven points of beating Regis last season, and returns a talented core, as does Fossil Ridge and Cherry Creek.
Girls swimming preview
Class 4A
Defending champion: Evergreen
Runner-up: Thompson Valley
Regular season begins: December 1
State championships: February 13-14, VMAC in Thornton
All-State returners: Eryn Eddy, Thompson Valley, Morgan Friesen, Windsor, Kamryn Holland, Evergreen, Lindsay Morrow, Evergreen, Josie Pearson, Evergreen, Bailey Smith, Evergreen, Brooke Stenstrom, Valor Christian, Mattea Wabeke, Thompson Valley
Class 5A
Defending champion: Regis Jesuit
Runner-up: Fairview
Regular season begins: December 1
State finals: February 13-14, EPIC in Fort Collins
All-State returners: McKensi Austin, Regis Jesuit, Sydney Cutler, Regis Jesuit, Jennae Frederick, Regis Jesuit, Brooke Hansen, Loveland, Abigail Kochevar, Rock Canyon, Bailey Kovac, Fossil Ridge, Amy Lenderink, Regis Jesuit, Ella Moynihan, Arapahoe, Bailey Nero, Fossil Ridge, Annie Ochitwa, ThunderRidge, Lindsay Painton, Regis Jesuit, Emily Protz, Regis Jesuit, Isabella Schultze, Regis Jesuit, Samantha Smith, Regis Jesuit, Taylor Wilson, Regis Jesuit