Boys swimming: Led by Story, Codevilla, Silver Creek wins 4A title

May 10—THORNTON — Silver Creek junior James Story said he didn't return to Silver Creek's swim team because he was after gold medals.

He missed the guys. "Taking a year off, it was like I didn't see my family for a year," he explained.

Meanwhile, what a reunion it has been.

At the Class 4A state swim championships Friday, Story won two events in his victorious return to the high school pool this spring. Senior Stephen Codevilla added to the legacy of his namesake with the first individual title of his career, and the Raptors cruised to their second team title in four years.

"It takes a team, it takes a family to win," said longtime coach Debbie Stewart, whose team chanted, "Debbie, Debbie, Debbie" after winning the program's third title at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center. The Raptors had been runner-up the previous two seasons.

Out front was Story — quite the story himself.

After a strong debut at the state meet two years ago, he returned to the Raptors this season, after a year away, and capped it with titles in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles.

Last spring, he said his focus was solely on the club circuit. Not uncommon for a swimmer destined for more in the pool after graduation. His want was a place in the national junior championships in the winter. And he was close, he explained through a wry smile. But there will be more opportunities. A realization perhaps aided by his big night.

"I truly missed the guys," he said. "A lot of people wanted me back. And I decided, I like my coaches, like my team and love the sport. So, I decided to try it again. And it was worth it, obviously."

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Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla swims in the 200 Yard Medley...

Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla swims in the 200 Yard Medley Relay during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla takes off from the start in...

Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla takes off from the start in the 100-yard backstroke at the Class 4A state meet Friday. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, right, swims in the 200 Yard...

Silver Creek's Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, right, swims in the 200 Yard Medley Relay during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla gets ready to swim the 100...

Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla gets ready to swim the 100 Yard Backstroke during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's James Story, left, swims in the 200 Yard...

Silver Creek's James Story, left, swims in the 200 Yard Medley Relay during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla swims in the 100 Yard Backstroke...

Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla swims in the 100 Yard Backstroke during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla takes off from the start of...

Silver Creek's Stephen Codevilla takes off from the start of the 200 Yard Medley Relay during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek celebrates winning the Class 4A State Swimming and...

Silver Creek celebrates winning the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship by jumping into the water holding the state banner at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's Justin Leyba checks the team's time in the...

Silver Creek's Justin Leyba checks the team's time in the 200 Yard Medley Relay during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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From left: Silver Creek's Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, Justin Gawrych and Stephen...

From left: Silver Creek's Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, Justin Gawrych and Stephen Codevilla cheer on James Story in the 400-yard freestyle relay on Friday night in Thornton. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Broomfield's Rhys Gibson swims in the 500 Yard Freestyle during...

Broomfield's Rhys Gibson swims in the 500 Yard Freestyle during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Silver Creek's James Story swims in the 200 Yard Freestyle...

Silver Creek's James Story swims in the 200 Yard Freestyle during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Broomfield's Nathan McCracken, left, checks his time after swimming in...

Broomfield's Nathan McCracken, left, checks his time after swimming in the 100 Yard Butterfly during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Broomfield's Rhys Gibson swims in the 500 Yard Freestyle during...

Broomfield's Rhys Gibson swims in the 500 Yard Freestyle during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Broomfield's Nathan McCracken swims in the 100 Yard Butterfly during...

Broomfield's Nathan McCracken swims in the 100 Yard Butterfly during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Broomfield's Burke Frese approaches the start in the 50 Yard...

Broomfield's Burke Frese approaches the start in the 50 Yard Freestyle during the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championship finals at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

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Furthering a widening grin following Story's second individual gold of the night, Codevilla came up to him and called him "his favorite two-timer."

The junior could only laugh when re-telling it, acknowledging that the senior likely meant favorite boys' swimmer. After all, his sister Mary Codevilla won seven individual titles for Niwot before graduating in 2022.

"He's got Mary," Story smiled. "I got to live up to Mary."

At least, Codevilla, himself, doesn't have to anymore. His win in the 100 backstroke made sure of that.

Well, sort of.

"She was like, 'If you win today, you'll be one-seventh as good as me,'" Codevilla said, belting out a hearty laugh. "So, I decided, I got to get it. It was amazing to stand up there and finally feel what she felt. And obviously James won two. It was a great feeling."

Together, Story, Codevilla, Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong and Justin Leyba led the Raptors to a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay. But on a night everything seemed to go the Raptors' way, that did too, and they were awarded gold in the event after CHSAA disqualified previous winner, Mullen, per the official results.

In all, Stewart said the Raptors finished with three school records — by way of Story's 200 freestyle (1:42.08), Codevilla's 100 backstroke (50.05) and the 200 medley relay (1:35.31). They had 12 top-10 finishes and seven in the top five.

Silver Creek won with 329 points. Windsor was second with 267.

Broomfield finished eighth (217), led by a senior class that has continued to push the Eagles up the standings over the last four years. They were 13th in both 2021 and 2022 before finishing 10th last season.

Longmont took 26th.

"The boys as a whole have just improved a ton," said longtime Broomfield coach Emily Austin, who said she now graduates eight seniors, four who scored state points.

Individually in the top eight for the Eagles, senior Nathan McCracken finished fifth in the 200 IM, sixth in the 100 butterfly. Junior Rhys Gibson went fifth in the 500 free and senior Riley Glass was eighth in the backstroke.

Full area results are below.

200 medley relay

Silver Creek, first, 1:35.31; Broomfield, sixth, 1:41.04; Longmont, 18th, 1:48.35.

200 freestyle

James Story, Silver Creek, first, 1:42.08; Rhys Gibson, Broomfield, 10th, 1:47.07; Justin Gawrych, Silver Creek, 11th, 1:47.59.

200 IM

Jake Eccleston, Windsor, first, 1:47.47; Nathan McCracken, Broomfield, fifth, 1:57.97; Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, Silver Creek, eighth, 2:00.21; Lincoln Miller, Silver Creek, 14th, 2:04.96.

50 freestyle

Duncan Salmen, Evergreen, first, 21.17; Burke Frese, Broomfield, ninth, 22.57; Justin Leyba, Silver Creek, 12th, 22.43.

1-meter dive

Carson Harrington, Evergreen, first, 601.50; Rider Neeb, Silver Creek, eighth, 448.20; Levi Walker, Silver Creek, 13th, 405.80; Oliver Fischaber, Silver Creek, 15th, 374.10; Burke Frese, Broomfield, 18th, 351.65; Sam Harding, Silver Creek, 19th, 328.15.

100 butterfly

Duncan Salmen, Evergreen, first, 49.49; Nathan McCracken, Broomfield, sixth, 53.25; Riley Glass, Broomfield, 15th, 56.00.

100 freestyle

James Story, Silver Creek, first, 46.34; Stephen Codevilla, Silver Creek, fourth, 47.49; Justin Leyba, Silver Creek, 10th, 49.44; Vix Douglass, Broomfield, 11th, 49.36.

500 freestyle

Barrett Kerrigan, Cheyenne Mountain, first, 4:38.84; Rhys Gibson, Broomfield, fifth, 4:53.83; Justin Gawrych, Silver Creek, ninth, 4:59.07.

200 freestyle relay

Glenwood Springs, first, 1:26.02; Broomfield, fifth, 1:30.02; Silver Creek, seventh, 1:30.79.

100 backstroke

Stephen Codevilla, Silver Creek, first, 50.05; Riley Glass, Broomfield, eighth, 55.94.

100 breaststroke

Jake Eccleston, Windsor, first, 53.67; Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong, Silver Creek, third, 57.98.

400 freestyle relay

Mullen, first, 3:11.40; Silver Creek, fourth, 3:14.08; Broomfield, seventh, 3:17.62.

Team results

Silver Creek, first, 329; Broomfield, eighth, 217, Longmont, 26th, 6.