Niwot finishes second in REX Coaches Invite

Senior swimmer Mary Codevilla’s Niwot legacy grew a little larger following a pair of historic races at the REX Coaches Invite on Dec. 18.

Codevilla, a Notre Dame commit, has been swimming for the USA National Junior Team and the REX Invite was her first meet of the season with Niwot. Her senior debut was a good one as she broke a pair of school records at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center in Thornton. Her time of 2:02.56 in the 200 IM and 50.71 in the 100 freestyle were both Niwot bests.

Unsurprisingly, both of Codevilla’s record times had her finishing first in both events. Codevilla’s efforts helped Niwot finish second in 4A at the meet with 155 points, well ahead of Golden’s third-place finish of 30 points. Heritage won 4A at 269 points.

Second-year head coach Kyle Bachrodt was “pleasantly surprised” with the results.

“Our team right now is very happy with second place and to win in 4A by the margin that we did, is nothing to scoff at,” Bachrodt said.

Codevilla wasn’t the only top-three individual finisher for Niwot, however, as sophomore Jamieson Legh, who also swims for the junior national team, placed third in the 100 fly (56.75).

With Codevilla swimming her final high school season, Bachrodt is confident that Legh is ready to take the lead next year.

“Yes, she's (Legh) younger, but she is fully prepared to fill in those shoes -- and Mary wears big shoes,” Bachrodt said. “She's set the bar high, but Jamieson is, whether she knows it or not, she is ready and she is primed to take on that torch, to be the next in line for Niwot.”

The Cougars earned 70 of their 155 points with strong finishes in their two relay races. A team of Legh, Codevilla, Stephanie Mow and Rowan Lavigne placed third (1:37.98) in the 200 free and eighth in the 400 free (3:42.82).

Bachrodt said that Niwot was missing a few of its fastest swimmers, including Charlotte Heuer, and it was encouraging to see others step up.

“Relay swims, as a team, I think that we surprised ourselves,” Bachrodt said. “Our 200 free relay especially really swam their hearts out and they did something that I wasn't expecting.”

Junior Julianna Strope swam in the 100 breaststroke and shaved nearly three seconds off her preliminary time to finish 23rd (1:09.79). Another junior, Mow, also had top-30 finishes in both the 50 free and 100 back.

Niwot will use the next few weeks to continue breaking in the new SVVSD pool at Silver Creek in preparation for the Mustang Invite at the VMAC on Jan. 8.