THORNTON — Cherry Creek got off to a strong start to the season, taking first place in seven events to win the annual Dick Rush Colorado Coaches Invitational on March 30.
David Turner took first in the 50- and 100-freestyle to help the Bruins take home the Class 5A team title with 318 points, Fairview (183) was second, followed by Arapahoe (181.5), Smoky Hill (170) and Highlands Ranch (159).
Jake Markum also won the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly for Cherry Creek.
Standley Lake finished 13th at the invite with 50 points, and was led by Eric Ung’s first place performance in the 100 breaststroke.
“Coaches (Invite) is a great look at state competition, this year was no different,” Standley Lake coach Megan Madsen said. “We have two of the best guys in the state on the Gators’ swim team so it is fun to watch them really compete. Eric is a senior who is looking to win the 100 breaststroke this year at state. Trent Kindvall is a junior who has placed third in the state the last two years in diving. We are excited for the rest of the season.”
Ung took first in the 100 breast at 1 minute, .09 seconds, but needed a strong finish to hold off Rampart’s Thomas Stutzriem.
“The 100 breast ended up being a very close race,” Madsen said. “He had an incredibly strong second 50, which placed him in the lead. He will need to drop a second or two before the end of the season to be in the running for a state title. I believe he will do this as he just came back from a large sectional meet and is still in a taper state.”
Kindvall had a great showing in the diving competition for the Gators, finishing second with a score of 423.80. Arapahoe’s Alan LaBang took first in diving with 487.45 points.
The 13th place finish was the Gators highest placing at the Coaches Invite in the four years that Madsen has been the coach at Standley Lake and was the highest among the 5A Jeffco schools.
Fairview’s Max Phillips took first in the 200 free, while Arapahoe’s Alan LaBang won the diving competition, Highland Ranch’s Nathan Mueller was first in the 500 free and Carter Griffin of Ponderosa won the 100 backstroke.
