Seniors honored after L-P downs Cheyenne Mountain in girls' swimming

In any other dual swim meet, a team loss would take the luster off any personal performance. On Thursday at Cheyenne Mountain, senior diver Kathleen Hale took something extra out of a 186-129 setback to Lewis-Palmer.

“This was more sentimental than anything,” said Hale, one of a handful of seniors honored after the meet, complete with tiaras and bouquets of roses. “It was my last home meet, and I just wanted to look back and be able to say I tried my hardest, and I did, and I’m happy with that.”

Hale, a 4A state qualifier last year who’s headed back next month, took a slim lead over Rangers freshman Jaycie Brown heading into the sixth and final dive.

While Brown performed a front double tuck with all three scores in the 6s, Hale could only muster a 4, 4.5 and 5.5 out of the judges as she finished second by 8.35 points.

“In some meets, you want to get a certain score,” Hale said. “This was a personal win. I love having competition to push me. That makes sure I try my hardest. As it turned out, this was my highest score at a six-dive event.”

Hale’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Brown, who finished second at last weekend’s Hornet Invite in Pueblo.

“I do watch the other divers, and watching her (Kathleen) is something I enjoy,” Brown said. “She’s such an amazing diver. She’s always right there at the top, and having her there really helped me pull through at the end.”

In addition to diving, the Rangers took top honors in eight other events. Swedish foreign exchange student and junior Frida Berggren led the charge by claiming individual honors in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 backstroke and led relay victories in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle.

But with times slower than performances earlier in the season, Berggren still has the Colorado Springs Metro League meet and the 5A state meet next month for redemption.

“I felt really good at warm-ups, but then at the meet, my times weren’t the best,” Berggren said. “Overall, I just wanted to swim and have fun."

Indians sophomore Sydney Buckley took first in the 50 freestyle, where she nipped L-P junior Karin Roh by 0.11 seconds, and the 100 freestyle, denying Rangers senior Laura Day her second win after having triumphed in the 200 individual medley.

The Rangers claimed victory in all three relays. Other L-P individual titlists were Roh (200 freestyle) and Katie Roh (100 breaststroke). Cheyenne Mountain sophomore Emily Bauer won the 500 freestyle.