Heritage, the top-ranked Class 4A girls swim team in Colorado, proved a point in a dual meet on Jan. 21.
The Eagles used its entire varsity lineup to notch a 177-138 win over Class 5A power Regis Jesuit, currently ranked third in the state’s top classification rankings.
“There were some great races between Regis and Heritage,” said Heritage coach Tom Byorick. “Lord knows, we’ve come to this place many times and it was all we could do to get a win or two. It was great to come in and have a good performance.
“We still have some things to work on. Overall our kids had a real good energy. This was the best competitive dual meet we’ve had all year.”
Heritage is the defending Class 4A state champion and appears to have a strong team for the 4A state meet that will be held Feb. 10-11 at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
“We are a smaller school and going up against a private school like Regis, we kinda always did not not know if we could beat Regis or Creek because they are always good teams,” said Heritage junior Sophia Capp, who won two individual events and was on a winning relay team.
“So showing how we raced against Regis,” she continued, “it was really incredible for all of us. It boosts our confidence a little bit that we are one of those top teams.”
Byorick quickly pointed out that those Heritage swimmers who did not win a race are vital.
“I was really impressed with some of the character and toughness of our third- and fourth-place kids on our team,” he said. “That third and fourth spot is important in a dual meet but also in chasing a team title. I know we have some talent up top and know we have depth, it’s just that we have to make sure we get everybody firing in the right direction, and against Regis we showed we could do that.”
Capp won the 200 individual medley with a season-best time of 2:06.20 and also was first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.48.
She was on the 200 freestyle relay team with Caroline Dimig, Elise Ramadan and Kenzie Myco, which won in 1:39.64. She was also on the 400 freestyle relay team, which was second behind the Regis foursome of Emma Weber, Faith Marsicek, Allie Sanchez and Grace Dale.
“I’ve been working on my IM and I was happy with that time,” said Capp. “It was a lot of fun. And for me, the more fun, the less stress. To hang out with the team, it’s just so much fun.”
Capp’s teammate, junior Aislyn Barnett, captured the 500 freestyle in 5:20.68.
Weber, a senior and University of Virginia recruit, was the headline performer for Regis, which won six individual events. She won the 100 breaststroke, the 100 butterfly and was on the winning 400 freestyle relay team.
