Day of bests nearly reels in 4A state swimming title for Cheyenne Mountain

THORNTON • Cheyenne Mountain made a momentous leap Saturday at the 4A girls’ swimming state meet at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.

It still wasn’t quite enough to overtake Thompson Valley.

On the strength of a state record in the 200 medley relay to go with school records in the 400 relay, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke, the Indians amassed 282 team points — 18 fewer than Thompson Valley — proudly posing with the runner-up trophy after Cheyenne Mountain's best finish since 2004.

The Indians placed fourth in 2011 with 205 team points and third a year ago with 226.

“We fought for it, they worked for it and they earned it,” Indians coach Kate Doane said. “Our upperclassmen came in here with a plan to bring a trophy home. We broke five school records, and we are very happy. This is more than I dreamed of.”

Click here to see a photo gallery from the 4A state swim meet

The Indians got off to their patented fast start, literally, in the 200 medley relay by setting a state record for the second time in less than 24 hours. The foursome of Emily Bauer, Katie Roach, Sydney Buckley and Olivia Gach stopped the clock in 1 minute, 45.89 seconds, slicing nearly 2 seconds off the mark of 1:47.80 set the night before in preliminaries.

“That first relay, we were all so pumped,” said Roach, a senior who also ended her career with runner-up finishes in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. “We wanted to carry that through the rest of the day. I think it worked pretty well.”

Indians junior Morgan Wice notched a third-place finish in the 50 free, while Buckley, a junior, defended her title in the 100 butterfly. Buckley later touched third after Roach in the 100 breaststroke.

The team ended the day with a 3:36.65 in the 400 freestyle relay, a school record. Just the day before, the Indians clocked a 3:39.68 in the preliminaries, which at that time marked the best time in school history.

“There was a lot of adrenaline in that last race,” said Roach, one of three seniors. “For a few of us, that was our last race in high school. Why not go out with a bang?”

As a college student – Roach has narrowed her choices to Brown or Notre Dame – she hopes to see her former teammates hoist a much larger trophy soon.

“I’m excited for my team for next year and the years ahead, even though I won’t be here,” Roach said. “I still want them to do well. We have a great team coming back and some good, young talent on the way.”