Niwot swimmers among top in state

The Niwot girls swim team extended its streak of dominating dual victories to three with a 151-35 win over the brand-new team from Frederick High on Feb. 11. Along the way, Cougar swimmers posted a slew of season-best times and solidified their case as one of the top contenders for the Class 4A title in 2021.

"That's one of our strengths at Niwot, the versatility of our swimmers," first-year coach Kyle Bachrodt said following the meet at Carbon Valley Recreation Center. "They can really swim any stroke across the board and swim it well."

That was the case from both Cougar veterans and newcomers on the day, meaning the outnumbered Warrior swimmers weren't able to mount much of a fight. Niwot handily won the top spots in 12 out of 12 events, ceding only third place in the 200-yard freestyle.

But that didn't mean the races lacked drama. Also on the line are berths to the upcoming Class 4A championships, which are limited this year to the top-20 swimmers in each event. That prompted a number of swims Bachrodt termed "standout," as well as nine new state-qualifying entries for Niwot.

Topping that list was the 100 backstroke, won by Niwot newcomer Jamieson Legh in 57.83 seconds, now the fastest time in Class 4A and the 4th fastest time in all classes. Afterwards, she said that it was "a really nice surprise" to look up and see her winning time at the end of the race.

"I swim club, and that's one of my best events, for sure, and so I know how to race it. But I hadn't quite gotten the hang of it this high school season, so I really wanted to be able to drop a much faster time. I just knew that if I went out there, and I really tried to focus on my turns and my underwater especially, but I didn't actually think I would do as well as I did."

Legh, a sophomore transfer from Lyons, also has qualifying times in the 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 butterfly. She also swam the first leg in Niwot's 200 freestyle relay against Frederick, another state-qualifying entry.

Joining the sophomore on the relay were veterans Mary Codevilla and Emiley Yie, who are responsible for many of Niwot's state entries so far in 2021. Against Frederick, junior Codevilla and senior Yie combined for four more, not including two relays.

Three-time state champion Codevilla was again impressive, posting wins in the 200 IM (2:08.59) and 100 freestyle (53.59), both the second-fastest in Class 4A. Currently, she holds the fastest 4A times in two individual events (200 and 500 freestyle), the second fastest in three events (200 IM, 50 and 100 freestyle), and the third fastest in one (100 breaststroke). She has yet to compete this season in the 100 butterfly or 100 backstroke.

Fourth-year veteran Yie was also impressive on the day, picking up wins in the 50 (25.40) and 200 freestyle (1:56.62) races, the latter good for second overall on the state qualifying list, right behind Codevilla. That brings her total of state berths to five (with 200 IM, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle), putting her well on a path to finishing her high school swim career with some state championship hardware.

"She's incredible," Bachrodt said of Yie, the varsity's lone representative from the Class of 2021. "It's not easy having a new head coach come in, especially if you've had one coach for your first three years. And her and I have certainly gotten along, and there's a lot of respect there on both sides. And she's very supportive of her teammates, which is amazing."

Yie admitted that dealing with both COVID-19 and the departure of longtime Niwot coach Sarah Stamp has been "hard," but likes Bachrodt's approach with the young swimmers, and feels he's navigated the "weird" season successfully so far.

"I feel like Kyle came in here and did a really good job," she said. "Even with the shortened season, he really got us going. And I thought he did a really good job bringing up the underclassmen, and bringing them into the team."

Indeed, along with Legh, freshman Mia Prok has also collected some state-qualifying times this season, in 50 and 100 freestyle, and 200 IM. Sophomore Lexy Bullen also has a qualifying time in 100 breaststroke, and several others have posted times just outside the top-20, potentially giving Bachrodt a deeper line-up for the championship meet.

"We have a lot of young swimmers who are very positive, very supportive of their teammates, and it's only making our program stronger," he said. "I'm blown away at the maturity of our team, and the leadership, and the positivity and intensity that they bring to practice and to meets every single day."