The Durango High School girls swimming team is finding its groove just at the point of the season where it matters most.
The Demons won the Cowboy Invite at Gunnison High School on Friday with a dominant performance, as they racked up 518 points, and won by a margin of 184 points over second-place Gunnison, as the hosts had 334 points. On Saturday, Durango finished fourth out of six teams at the Wildcat Invite at Fruita Monument High School with 360 points. Glenwood Springs won the event with 498, Grand Junction took second with 456 and Fruita was third with 405.5.
Head coach Tom Joyner called it a “big weekend” as his team prepares for the district meet next weekend.
“This weekend was super challenging, and for us to win on Friday and do well on Saturday really said a lot,” Joyner said. “Every one of the ladies came out fighting and swam well. On Friday, they were able to drop times or really refine their techniques, and on Saturday, we had a couple of great relays, and really got a taste of what we will be going up against next weekend.”
Sophomore Quinn Schmidt had another stellar performance on Saturday, as she won the 200-yard individual medley by nearly nine seconds. She swam a time of 2 minutes, 20.76 seconds, while Autumn Detor of Fruita was second, with a time of 2:29.59. Schmidt took second in the 200 freestyle, with a tine of 2:03.81, and helped win a relay.
The Demons won the 200 free relay with a time of 1:48.41, as Schmidt, Mina Willemin, Rachel Thilow and Angela McManus, who was the anchor, won by three seconds, with a time of 1:48.41. DHS finished in sixth in the 400 free relay, with a time of 4:20.71, and was third in the 200 medley relay, with a time of 2:02.90.
Willemin was another racer who competed well, as she took third in the 100 free (57.98), and was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.52)
Joyner said one of the toughest parts of the season will be to decide the relays for the district meet.
“I’ve been up since six a.m. just looking at the various heat sheets and relay times we’ve put up this season,” Joyner said. “Sometimes, lightning strikes and you get the team just right, other times, they finish right about where you expect them to, and then, even from time to time, it just doesn’t go as planned. It’s really a chess game, and all of the coaches are going through the exact thing as me right now, and hopefully, we get it right.”
DHS fared well once again on the diving board, as returning state champion Kylie Behn won with a score of 214.85, while her younger sister Alexis, finished third with a score of 187.00.
“Mark Fleming has really been working with them to get them to this point,” Joyner said. “We’ve got a couple qualifiers already, and are hoping to get a few more next week.”
Durango will compete at the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A District Championships on Friday and Saturday, with the preliminaries on Friday and the finals on Saturday at Colorado Mesa University.
“We took 20 ladies up there this weekend, and they all stepped up to the plate and swam really hard,” Joyner said. “We’re really finding our stride and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these next two weeks.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
