Sometimes the best David can do is get in a few good shots against Goliath.
Qualifying all six of the Durango High School boys swim team swimmers for state would be one; Ben Millers best-first-meet-ever dive performance would be another.
The Demons lost to the Grand Junction District 51 Griffins 208-78 on Saturday at the Fort Lewis College pool, but with only six rocks in the sling, that was bound to happen against the much larger team featuring more than four times as many athletes.
What the Demons did with those rocks was what mattered most.
I think we were just smashing it left and right, first-year DHS head coach Tom Joyner said.
Millers performance from the board was right on target. With six dives in his first-ever competition, freshman Miller took third with 158.35 points, while District 51s Tom Houska won the event with 198.34.
But after throwing some cold water on his nerves on Jump 1, Miller got smooth. He scored a 7 and 6.5 on two consecutive dives first a forward dive tuck, then an inward dive tuck, both with clean lines and little splash.
Oh my god, dude, DHS dive coach Mark Fleming said. He set a new record. Hes the first diver Ive ever had score a seven, not to mention two sevens, in his first meet.
Although Millers difficulty ratings generally were lower than the rest of the field, his technical execution was the highest.
(Fleming) likes to say the girls have good form, and guys like to throw big tricks, Miller said.
Keeping it simple made him the only diver to score a 7 on Saturday.
Superhuman, Fleming said.First year diving, its really amazing being new. Its so hard to teach yourself to do some of these things. ... Your body is constantly telling you to do the opposite.Im totally blown away. Cant be happier. Im so excited right now, Fleming said.
Miller, meanwhile, was just cool.
It was pretty good, he said. Youre way up in the air off a springy thing doing flips and spins and stuff. Its awesome.
His shot wasnt the only one that struck true.
Coming into their lone home meet of the year, the Demons had qualified four of their six athletes for the state meet, with first-time swimmer Paul Cross and lone senior Jackson Paine on the outside looking in.
Not anymore.Cross and Jackson pushed two legs of the DHS 200-yard freestyle relay, which trailed after the first leg before taking a half-body-length lead after the second.That lead got longer in the third before Jessie Rubenstein brought it home, winning the race by almost six seconds and slipping under the state qualifying time by about half a second in 1:41.54.
Im really, yeah, Im stoked, Cross said.
Feels great, Paine said. Its good to know weve got that in the bag.The whole team will be heading to Denver in two weeks.Six guys going to state, which I think is an acheivement for them, Joyner said. They work hard for us, and like I said, hard work pays off.
Theyre swimming; everybodys swimming.Rubenstein picked up the only other first place for DHS, in the 100 backstroke, which he finished just above his season best in 58.73.But the Demons also picked up a bevy of personal records:
Bens brother Josh Miller took third in the 200 free in 1:54.84.
Tommy Pannell took second in the 50 free in 26 seconds, and Paine took third in 27.42.
Pannell set his best time in the 500 free in 5 minutes, 49.4 seconds.
Cross set his high mark in the 200 individual medley in 2:43.13.And Ben Miller set a PR in the 100-yard freestyle with a runner-up 55.82, just missing Tyler Fairs 55.61-second win for Grand Junction.
I slipped off the blocks at the beginning, but thats alright. I got my best time, and my stroke was pretty good. Last 25 (yards) I was just going as fast as I could to try to outtouch him, Miller said.
Yeah, its a really good day.
The Demons will compete in the Western Slope District Championships on Friday and Saturday at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.
The CHSSA Class 4A Boys State Swimming and Diving Championships are May 17-18 at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
jsojourner@durangoherald.com
