Codevilla leads Niwot to third place at Class 4A championships

The Niwot swim and dive team didn't claim the top prize at the 2021 Class 4A championships on March 12, but neither did they come home empty-handed. Four Cougars turned in medal winning individual performances on the day, and junior Mary Codevilla even made history with a record-setting time in the 500-yard freestyle.

Unfortunately, that wasn't quite enough to overcome Heritage and Mullen in the team standings, and Niwot ended falling just short of its ultimate goal. Afterwards, first-year coach Kyle Borchardt praised his youthful team's "maturity," and said he is already looking forward to leading them on another title run in 2022.

"I'm incredibly proud of our team, and how well that young team came out and swam," he said after Niwot finished third overall, just 15 points out of second place. "It really shows a lot of what we have to look forward to in the future, being that we only had one senior swim today, and the rest are younger."

Among those who have another year to get faster is Codevilla, who turned in another all-state performance for Niwot. The junior started her day by successfully defending her state title in the 200 freestyle, with a personal best time of 1 minute 47.63 seconds.

Her history-making turn came in the day's longest race, the 500 freestyle. It was apparent within a few laps of the event's 20 total that Codevilla wasn't just on a state title winning pace, but a record-breaking one, and then she delivered with a time of 4:51.98, beating the former top mark in Class 4A by nearly three seconds (4:54.65).

"I actually felt terrible," Codevilla said about her record-breaking swim, which beat her own previous season best time by four seconds. "After the 200 freestyle, I thought 'Boy, this is going to hurt,' and I really had to dig deep to get that one."

Codevilla also helped lead the Cougars to second place in the 200- and 400-yd freestyle relays, adding crucial points in the final team standings.

"She still has not hit her potential yet," Borchardt said of the junior standout, who wears a bright green tutu between races to help ease the tension. "I've known Mary for a number of years from afar, and what she's done this year, I want to say it surprised me, but it didn't at the same time. When you talk to her, you would never guess the competitive and serious side of her, because she's very light-hearted and very nice and friendly, and a true teammate. So that intensity turns on when she hits the water, and it's just something to behold."

Sophomore Jamieson Legh, a newcomer to the team in 2021, also had a memorable day, taking second overall in the 100-yd butterfly, with a time of 55.75, and third overall in the 100-yd backstroke (57.39). She also swam for two Niwot relays. Emiley Yie, competing in her fourth and final championship meet, finished fifth overall in the 200 freestyle (1:54.80) and fourth in the 200-yd individual medley, and was also on two relay teams. Later, Codevilla said the senior will definitely be missed next season.

"Emiley's my training partner, and she pushes me every day. And honestly, I credit my best times to her because she pushes me so much every day."

Niwot junior Grace Shaw also took home two individual medals on the day, with an 8th place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:55.95), and fourth place in the 500 freestyle (5:09:97). Also competing for Niwot at state were freshman Mia Prok (200 IM, 100 freestyle, relays), and returning state swimmers Lexy Bullen, Rowan Lavigne, and Steph Mow, plus first-year qualifiers Charlotte Heuer and Juliana Strope.

"I'm incredibly proud of our team and incredibly proud of our girls," Borchardt said. "I couldn't ask for a better group of girls. They really made my life so much easier. A big thank you to them, to our parents and just Niwot in general. It's such a great community."

(See additional photos here.)