Niwot's Codevilla among nation's best swimmers

Niwot High School girls swim coach Sarah Stamp has run out of superlatives for her top swimmer, Mary Codevilla, who appears on the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association 2019-2020 All-American list for the second straight year.

"I would say undoubtedly, probably the most well-rounded, top swimmer that (has) come through Niwot, hands down," Stamp said in describing the outstanding swimmer.

Codevilla's talent is recognized past Niwot with her name splashed throughout the NISCA All-American list. Her sophomore campaign placed her in the top-100 in the nation in three events. Codevilla's time of 4:49.47 in the 500-yard freestyle ranked 17th in the country for the event based on officially recognized times. Her time of 1:47.97 for the 200-yard freestyle was the 21st best time in the U.S., and her 100-yard breaststroke time of 1:03.02 was also in the top 100 at 55th best in the nation.

"It's just such an incredible accomplishment," Stamp said. "To be as ranked as high as she was, and to not get one, not two, but three events that she made the cut in, is just beyond fantastic."

"It's amazing," Codevilla said. "It's such an honor to be up there with all those other amazing girls, and I honestly couldn't have done it without my coach or my team."

She has already accomplished so much in her time at Niwot, but her goggles are still set on winning that elusive team state championship. Codevilla won two individual 4A titles in the 200 and 500 freestyle last year, but despite back-to-back Northern Conference crowns, Niwot has yet to win a state championship. That final accomplishment would be the icing on the cake and she believes her Cougars have a "great shot" in 2021.

"She's all about the team and never loses sight of the bigger picture," Stamp said. "Even though she's so talented in her own right, (she) very much does what's needed for the team and swims the events that help the team get to where we need to go."

Niwot was fortunate enough to complete its season in February and Codevilla kept sharp doing dryland work when the pools were closed down. She has now regained access to a pool and is working towards that state championship and her hopes of participating at the next level.

Her talent certainly has promise at the collegiate level and college coaches began contacting Codevilla as soon as June 15 came around, per NCAA recruiting regulations.

It's still early, but Stamp said Codevilla is keeping her options open for college and with her resume, there should be many.