(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
FORT COLLINS — When a team wins a title, they bring it home.
Fossil Ridge didn’t have far to travel on Saturday. In fact the Sabercats, by claiming the Class 5A state championship in girls swimming and diving, kept the crown at their own facility, Edora Pool Ice Center in Fort Collins.
“All our home meets are here and this is where we train,” Fossil Ridge coach Tasha Marchant said excitedly. “It makes it even sweeter.”
Any time a team wins a state championship, the joy is unequivocal for athletes and coaches alike. Any time a team runs over everyone else for the crown in the way Fossil did, the feeling for the opposition might be astonishment.
For Sabercat senior Bailey Nero, the meet was a wonderful bookend to a decorated career. Fossil Ridge won the school’s first title in the sport in 2012, Nero’s first year in the program. The Sabercats piled up 347 points on Saturday as Regis, who had won three of four 5A crowns, placed second with 277 points. Fairview was third with 226.5.
“Freshman year, it was a surprise to be state champions,” Nero admitted. “We talked about it, but we weren’t sure if we really had the talent to get there. This year, we all knew we had the potential to be champions. It was just a matter of being a team as a whole.”
As a whole, the squad won two of three relays and three individual events in claiming first in five of 12 events overall.
“I’m so happy for the girls,” Marchant said. “They set their focus at the beginning of the year. We revisited our goals and objectives throughout the season and they reminded me that we were almost there. It’s nice to see them accomplish everything that they wanted to accomplish.”
Nero certainly accomplished a lot for her team and for herself in her final swims as a Sabercat before competing for Auburn University.
First, she swam a strong third leg of the winning 200-medley relay (1:43.03). Then, she beat a game Brooke Hansen of Loveland, a two-time state champion entering the weekend, in the 200-individual medley with a blistering 1:59.20. Next, Nero enthralled the crowd with an all-classification record in the 100 butterfly. Her time of 53.22 seconds was more than one full second faster than the previous record of 54.25. To cap it all off, the senior anchored the winning 400-free relay in 3:25.26 as Fossil nipped Regis’ 3:25.49.
“I’m pretty happy with how I swam,” Nero said. “I’m really excited about the 200 IM. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to whip that out, but I’m pretty happy about that. It’s fun to get the record in the fly too.”
“She’s just obviously top-notch,” Marchant added. “She’s first of all, a great person. The girls really look up to her and she loves to compete and she likes to win. She brings good positive energy to the team. Those kinds of girls are priceless.”
Asked if she knew a 53 in the 100-fly was possible, Nero’s coach didn’t hesitate.
“She’s got a lot of fast swimming still ahead of her. Nothing totally surprises me, but it was fast and it was fantastic.”
Bailey Kovac, a sophomore, added to her growing legacy at the school as well with a state championship in the 100 breaststroke, defending her title in the event from last year.
ThunderRidge’s Annie Ochitwa, a senior and future Arizona Wildcat, defended crowns of her own with victories in the 50 free (22.86) and 100 free (49.60). Her 50 was the fourth fastest in Colorado history, while her 100 was second fastest as she held off Loveland’s Hansen (49.97). Hansen’s time ranks fifth best ever.
Arapahoe’s Ella Moynihan won the 200 and 500 freestyle races and Regis Jesuit’s Mckensi Austin was first in diving with a 5A record performance of 540.305 points. The junior also won diving a year ago.
Fossil Ridge has earned both of the school’s state championships in girls swimming.