Widespread contributions help NHS girls swim and dive at BoCo Invite

From rising freshmen stars to senior leaders, the Niwot High School girls swim and dive team saw strong performances from all four grade levels at the Boulder County Invite on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Niwot freshmen who stepped up in key events included Kyla Cohen, Avery Wood, and Noemi Grooms. Cohen took 17th in the 50-yard butterfly and 23rd in the 100 Individual Medley, while Wood and Grooms had 27th-place finishes in the 50 butterfly and 100 backstroke, respectively.

"They came in and they worked their butts off during the preseason," Niwot Head Coach Ella Thramann said of her freshmen class. "Throughout the season, as the varsity girls came in and as the upperclassmen came in, they kind of saw the competition that they had and people to look to. That's been super nice and refreshing, especially since we've lost so much talent over the years. It's good to have these freshmen come in and show how strong they really are and how much potential they have."

Thramann's rookie swimmers helped Niwot finish ninth out of 13 teams at the Broomfield Community Center. Fairview High School finished first in the team standings, Broomfield High School was second, and Boulder High School took third.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were somewhat shorthanded due to an illness, but those who were healthy capitalized on the opportunity.

"We had some girls still missing due to a sickness that's going around, so that was a little tough," Thramann said. "But a lot of our girls either PR'd (achieved a personal record) or they got first in their heat, which those little wins are really exciting for them."

Looking at Niwot's sophomore class, Mira Stroker's growing confidence in the butterfly has been another bright spot. She finished 18th in the 100 fly with a time of 1 minute, 12.93 seconds.

"Mira has stood out to me these past two weeks with her butterfly getting stronger and really cutting down time," Thramann said. "She cut down 18 seconds from her 100 fly from last season, so a ton of time. She's on my radar right now to see what she does at conference."

In the 50 back, three Niwot juniors cracked the top 10. Ava Altenborg took fourth (32.6 seconds), Lila Repsher was eighth, and Emmy Hostelley ninth. Other juniors who performed well include Phoebe Donovan, who took fourth in the 50 breaststroke at (35.33), and Thalia Milam, who was third in the 1-meter dive (383.85 points).

Devi Burnett and Shefali Joshi stood out among Niwot's seniors. Burnett's best individual finish came in the 100 IM (14th), and Joshi took 12th in the 50 fly.

"She has put in so much work and effort to become one of those top swimmers for my team," Thramann said of Burnett. "She's a great captain, she's great at wanting to do better, and she thrives off of competition. Any time there's a race and her time and another time are close, she's always going to knock it out of the park."

Niwot's relay teams, which Thramann considers a strength of the team, also fared well at the BoCo Invite. Most notably, Burnett, Altenborg, Milam, and sophomore Devin Justice combined to finish ninth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:49.16).

From Friday, Jan. 31 to Saturday, Feb. 1, Niwot will compete in the Granite Peaks League meet at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.

"Our goal for that weekend is to get some state quals (qualifications), especially since we're at VMAC," Thramann said. "I'm hoping our girls that are so close to making state can get it under their belt."