Fossil Ridge leads local finishers at 5A state swim meet as Rocky, Poudre set school bests

There were no state titles this year for Fort Collins swimmers in the Colorado Class 5A boys swim championships Friday night at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center.

But there was still plenty to celebrate, and Fossil Ridge led the way yet again with a sixth-place team finish.

The SaberCats followed up a Front Range League conference meet title by battling through a "week of sicknesses" to still record a pair of top-5 individual and seven top-10 overall finishes.

"After we look back on it and see what went into it, we'll be proud of what we did in the second day of the meet after a rough start in prelims," said Fossil Ridge coach Matt Murray.

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SaberCats sophomore Brennen O'Neil topped out with a fourth-place spot in the 200-yard individual medley and a seventh-place finish in the 500 freestyle, also swimming on Fossil's 200 free relay team that came in eighth.

Junior Ryan Stahl was also a force for Fossil, placing fifth in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 butterfly while also swimming on the SaberCats' seventh-place 400 free relay team in an electric final race.

Both swam personal records, with O'Neil recording a time of 1:53.71 in the 200 IM and Stahl touching at 50.54 in the 100 fly.

"They had really good races today," Murray said. "Sound from a technical perspective and just strong performances but still room to grow and get better."

And that was a theme for Fossil Ridge this season.

The SaberCats lose only one senior (Cole Nero) who competed in state finals and will return a deep roster of underclassmen next year and beyond.

"We're coming back with a bunch of sophomores and juniors we're excited about," Murray said. "There's a core group of swimmers here that we hope will be back near the top of the rankings."

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Rocky swimmers close in school-record style

Speaking of core groups, a four-team Rocky squad that included Sam Lofstrom, Henry Lasher, Alden Vieira and senior standout Matt Gramlich finished the meet in record-setting fashion.

In the always-buzzing final race of the meet, the Lobos 400 freestyle relay squad led through nearly two legs and set a school record with a fifth-place finish and time of 3:06.96.

That was nearly three seconds faster than their preliminary time in the event and clipped the school record by 0.24 seconds, unleashing a big celebration for the close-knit Rocky crew.

"Awesome way to end it," said Rocky Mountain coach Joel Thompson. "They swam an amazing race, just got out super strong, and we're thrilled getting top 5."

It was a mirror to how they started the event, as the same unit (minus Lasher, plus Matt Lofstrom) took fourth place and another school record in the 200 medley relay at 1:32.25.

Freshman Sam Lofstrom also set a new school best in the 100 fly at 50.68 seconds. His brother, Matt, also had a new school record of 57.27 seconds in the 100 breaststroke.

Top Fossil Ridge finishers

• Brennen O'Neil: 4th (200 IM); 7th (500 free); 8th (200 free relay); 13th (200 medley relay)

• Ryan Stahl: 5th (200 free); 6th (100 fly); 7th (400 free relay); 8th (200 free relay)

• Jake Barela: 7th (400 free relay); 8th (200 free relay); 12th (50 free)

• Owen Walsh: 7th (400 free relay); 13th (200 medley relay); 13th (100 back)

• Cole Nero: 7th (400 free relay); 17th (200 IM); 17th (100 back)

• Lincoln Hoffman: 8th (100 fly); 8th (200 free relay); 13th (200 medley relay)

• Ryan Lautzenhiser: 13th (200 medley relay)

• Pierce Bickerton: 15th (500 free)

• Matthew Campbell: 16th (100 breaststroke)

Top Rocky Mountain finishers

• Matt Lofstrom: 4th (200 medley relay); 5th (400 free relay); 6th (100 breast, new school record)

• Sam Lofstrom: 4th (200 medley relay); 5th (400 free relay); 7th (100 fly, new school record); 11th (50 free, won B heat)

• Matt Gramlich: 4th (200 medley relay); 5th (400 free relay); 7th (100 free)

• Alden Vierra: 4th (200 medley relay); 5th (400 free relay); 10th (100 fly)

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Top Fort Collins finishers

• Karter McNutt: 12th (200 medley relay); 17th (400 free relay); 19th (500 free); 20th (200 IM)

• Axel Erickson: 12th (200 medley relay); 17th (400 free relay); 18th (100 breast)

• Danny Rinchiuso: 10th (200 IM); 12th (200 medley relay); 14th (100 breast); 17th (400 free relay)

• Jack Devincenzi: 12th (200 medley relay); 17th (400 free relay); 18th (500 free)

Top Poudre finishers

• Micah Moore: 13th (200 free relay); 14th (200 IM, school record time); 16th (100 fly); 18th (200 medley relay)

• Josh Rogers: 13th (200 free relay); 18th (200 medley relay); 18th (50 free)

• Henry Johnston: 13th (200 free relay); 18th (200 medley relay)

• Luke Foster: 13th (200 free relay); 18th (200 medley relay)

• Prelims: Poudre set a new 200 medley relay school record time of 1:40.75

Correction: A previous version of the story incorrectly listed the Rocky Mountain 400 freestyle relay participants due to an error on CHSAA's results page.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fossil Ridge swimming leads Fort Collins teams at 5A state championships