Boys Swimming: Silver Creek wraps up regular season at Mountain View Invite

Behind strong performances from seniors Benjamin Willett and Christopher Wingfield, the Silver Creek boys swim team closed out the 2018 regular season with a second-place finish at the Mountain View Invite on April 28. Silver Creek’s team consists of swimmers and divers from both Silver Creek High School and Niwot High School.

Wingfield claimed individual third-place medals in the 200 free (1 minute, 53.53 seconds), and the 100 butterfly (55.18), and picked up fourth-place finishes with the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. Willett, meanwhile, took first in the diving competition, with a season-high 478 points, and seventh with the 200 medley relay A team (1:48.64).

It was a good day for Silver Creek’s dive team, which claimed three of the meet’s top six finishers. In addition to Willett, junior Matthew Teta was fifth overall (410.15), followed by senior Ashton Hubert in sixth (389.75).

Elsewhere, freshman Connor Hassert came up big for the Raptors with a fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:54.81), fourth in 400 freestyle relay, and ninth on the 200 freestyle relay B team (1:51.24). Overall, Silver Creek ended the day with top-eight times in seven of the meet’s 12 events.

The Mountain View Invite capped off busy final week for Silver Creek, which posted a dual win over Thompson Valley on April 19, followed by an 11th-place finish at the competitive Mustang Invite on April 21. On April 24, the Raptors beat second-ranked Windsor 114-72 to go undefeated in head-to-head competition for the year.

The Raptors, who were ranked No. 6 in CHSAA’s most recent Class 4A boys swimming poll, get a bit of a break before the Northern Conference championship meet on May 11-12, where they will be contending for a fourth straight title as well as tuning up for the state championships on May 18. Silver Creek head coach Debbie Stewart was happy with her team’s performance down the stretch, but cautioned that regular season results aren’t always a reliable proxy for the post-season.

“I know they have us high in the rankings, but that doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “Windsor has four guys ranked in all 11 events, but at state you can’t swim all of those events. So, it’s a whole different ball game once you get to State.”

Through last weekend, Silver Creek has 19 competitors qualified for the State meet, including “a couple of strong freshman”, and Stewart is confident this year’s state-bound contingent can propel Silver Creek team back into the top-10. Last year, the Raptors finished 11th overall, down from fifth in 2016 and fourth in 2015.

“Our ultimate goal is to be there in that top-10,” she said. “Being at 19 and with some strong freshmen who are rallying to keep us in that top ten bracket, I feel pretty good.”

Stewart is especially hopeful about the 200 freestyle relay team and her three divers, who are key to the Raptors’ post-season ambitions, according to Stewart. Willett’s 478.00 points at Mountain View is currently the top conference mark of the season, while Teta’s 410.15 is fifth overall. Hubert, who scored 428.20 at the Mustang Invite on April 21, has the league’s fourth-best mark. At last year’s state meet, Willett and Hubert finished 11th and 12th respectively, and Stewart predicts top-eight finishes for both this season.

4/27-4/28, Mountain View Invitational, MV Aquatics Center

Team scores — Fossil Ridge 870, Silver Creek 722.5, Monarch 687, Broomfield 662.5, Loveland 568, Windsor 500, Thompson Valley 327, Longmont 317, Mountain View 217, Estes Park 193, Valley 40.

200 medley relay — 1. Broomfield, 1:39.29; 7. Silver Creek (Willett, Wu, Simon, Dickinson), 1:48.64; 9. Silver Creek (Call, Choong, Hassert, Winn), 1:51.24

200 freestyle — 1. Richard Dauksher, Fossil Ridge, 1:45.14; 3. Christopher Wingfield, 1:53.53; 5. Connor Hassert, 1:54.41

200 IM — 1. Harrison Lierz, Broomfield, 1:54.50; 14. Kendrick Choong, 2:16.92

50 freestyle — 1. Ryan Davis, Broomfield, 22.65; 10. Dakota Casey, 24.20; 17. Noah Simon, 24.58

Diving — 1. Benjamin Willett, 478.00; 2. Cooper Welsh, Longmont, 469.25; 5. Matthew Teta, 410.15; 6. Ashton Hubert, 389.75

100 butterfly — 1. Harrison Lierz, Broomfield, 51.86; 3. Christopher Wingfield, 55.18; 13. Connor Hassert, 59.76

100 freestyle — 1. Richard Dauksher, Fossil Ridge, 47.81; 9. Matthew Winn, 52.88; 15. Liam Kendrick, 54.03

500 freestyle — 1. Benjamin Smith, Thompson Valley, 4:56.69 ; 6. Hayden Dickinson, 5:13.16; 7. Andrew Wu, 5:27.86

200 free relay — 1. Broomfield 1:29.20; 4. Silver Creek (Choong, Curd, Noah Simon, Wingfield), 1:35.43; 8. Silver Creek (Willett, Kendrick, Fischmann, Casey), 1:40.31

100 backstroke — 1. Ryan Davis, Broomfield, 55.06; 15. Weston Call, 1:03.53

100 breaststroke — 1. Ethan Hansbury, Windsor, 1:00.77 ; 13. Jack Ranglos, 1:08:51

400 free relay — 1. Windsor 3:22.28 ; 4. Silver Creek (Hassert, Winn, Casey, Wingfield), 3:29.12