(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
THORNTON — On a day that finally felt normal, the boys swimmers and divers made themselves extraordinary.
After Regis Jesuit’s Quinn Henninger put together the best diving performance in state history, the swimmers decided they weren’t going to be shown up. Cherry Creek started the day off with a state record in the 200-yard medley relay and the momentum kept rolling.
The Bruins finished the day with 530 points to claim the Class 5A boys swimming championship and put together an overall dominant performance at the Veteran Memorial Aquatic Center.
“We thought 2019 was a very dominating team, but this team was more dominating,” coach Chris Loftis said. “Not to mention 2020 that didn’t even take place.”
The two-year gap between state swim meets was tough on all teams, not just the state champions. But Thursday finals felt like a normal day. The stands were packed and the fans were loud.
And they had plenty of reason to be.
Following the diving and medley relay marks falling, the third state record of the day to fall might’ve garnered the biggest reaction throughout the VMAC. Heritage senior Alex McMahon didn’t just set a record in the 50 freestyle, he did it by achieving a major milestone for all Colorado boys swimmers. His 19.82 was the first time that the 20-second mark had been broken in the event.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“It’s always been a goal of mine,” McMahon said. “I used to be a distance swimmer and I switched to sprints maybe a little less than a year ago and since I made that transfer, I knew that I wanted to go for a 19.”
Right on his heels was Cherry Creek’s Bryce Ortanes who was just over 20 seconds at 20.02. But Ortanes wasn’t going home empty-handed. Far from it. He was a big part of the winning medley relay team then anchored the 200 freestyle relay team that also set a state record at one minute, 22.05 seconds.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Ortanes said. “I’m swimming by the people I call my family. It’s been great having four years under (Loftis) and with the brothers behind me. It’s been great.”
This is the 12th state championship for the Cherry Creek boys team. They held off a tough Regis Jesuit team who finished with 400.5 points.
And perhaps the best part for the coaches and the competitors was being able to do it with friends and family in the stands, rooting them on every step of the way.
“Once we knew that this was open to spectators, the meet was different,” Loftis said. “Our guys – and a lot of alumni know – that there is not a more high pressure meet in Colorado than this one. Those fans bring out the best in everyone, but especially our guys today.”
It’s hard to argue that swimmers across the board weren’t at their best. In all, five state records fell from the start of the day to the time that Columbine’s 400 freestyle relay team finished the race in 3:00.37.
It all started early when Regis Jesuit’s Henninger got things rolling with his diving performance in which he finished with 642.8 points, almost 31 points better than Regis alum Kyle Goodwin.
“My goal was just to 11 dives and not miss on one of them,” he said. “Consistency was the biggest goal for me.”
And it paid off for him. His diving display set the tone for a record-setting day that everyone in attendance likely won’t forget anytime soon.