A Niwot champion goes out on top

Earlier this season, Cougars swim coach Kyle Bachrodt said that senior Mary Codevilla "can win any race that she swims," and at the 2022 Class 4A state swim championships on Feb. 11, she proved that true. In a stunning career finale, the speedy senior picked up her sixth and seventh individual state titles in two events not usually on her slate.

"I got a little bit more leeway in deciding what I wanted to swim, and I wanted to have some fun and try to challenge myself," she said of the decision to compete in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke for only the second time this season. "So I went out and did it. I'm just really happy."

Codevilla took first overall in the 50 free with a career-best time of 23.07 seconds, and then set a new Class 4A record in the breaststroke with another career-best of 1:00.844. She also powered Niwot to runner-up finishes in the 200- and 400-yd freestyle relays, and was later named Class 4A swimmer of the year. In her four seasons with the team, she captured a total of seven individual titles, an individual runner-up title, and set two Class 4A records, making her one of the most decorated swimmers in state history.

"We all love watching Mary swim a 200 and a 500 freestyle, but watching a 50 is very exciting," Bachrodt said. Of her seven championships, three are in the 200 or 500 freestyle. "And watching her get another state record is incredible. As a senior, Mary has earned every right to swim whatever she wants, and I trusted in her from the start. I didn't care what event she won, I knew she would win. "

Despite all of that, it was a bittersweet night for Codevilla, as her memorable high school career came to a close. The tears flowed freely after the night's final event, as she bid goodbye to longtime Niwot teammates and prepared to exit Thornton's Veterans Aquatic Memorial Center for the last time as a Cougar.

"This year was about having fun and enjoying the team and achievements as much as I could," Codevilla said. "I'm so proud of these girls, and how we've come together as a team this season, after such a hard season last year, and I'm going to miss them so much."

Though Codevilla's performance got the headlines, she wasn't the only Cougar with achievements to celebrate. Junior Jameson Legh picked up where she left off in 2021, posting two individual runner-up finishes: in the 100 butterfly, where she finally broke the 56-second mark, and 100 backstroke. She also swam both of Niwot's runner-up relays, along with Codevilla, junior Steph Mow, and sophomore Charlotte Heuer.

"I was really, really happy with all my swims, and I was super excited to go best time in the 100 Fly," she said of her performance. "It was an awesome night for sure."

In other action, Heuer took fifth overall in the 100 freestyle, with a time of 53.31, beating her previous best time by nearly two seconds; she also placed 15th in the 200 individual medley. Mow, making her third state meet appearance, took 13th in the 50 freestyle, and also swam the freestyle leg of Niwot's 200 medley relay, which finished 10th overall. Finally, juniors Juliana Strope and Rowan Lavigne finished 18th and 19th respectively in the 200 IM. All of that added up to 238.5 team points and fifth place overall in the Class 4A team standings.

"I really wanted to enter this meet not thinking about times or places, I wanted us to swim as a team," Bachrodt said. "And we did. They swam their hearts out, and we had personal bests in just about every race tonight. We also had some of the fastest swims in Niwot history tonight. I couldn't be happier."

Bachrodt knows he will have a big hole to fill next season without Codevilla to set the pace, but said that the next class is ready to assume the helm. He was also happy to see some of his other young swimmers get state meet experience, which will pay off down the road.

"A big topic of conversation tonight was 'we're building'," he said. "We have our culture set, now we're building for the future. Let's build confidence in Jameson, Steph, and Charlotte, and in growing. Just because Mary's leaving doesn't mean Niwot swimming is going away."

To see full results from this year's Class 4A state swim championships, visit CHSAAnow.com. See more photos here.