When Martin Jasken returned to the deck as the head coach of the Loveland High swim program in 2022, the Red Wolves’ girls team had finished 28th with only 10 points at the 4A state meet the season prior.
He was welcomed back with a strong freshman class who are seniors this season and have steadily worked their way up the team leaderboard at the state meet.
That group, which includes state qualifiers Lainey Wadlington, Brooklyn Miller and Lexi Musslewhite, finished seventh at state last season and are looking to lead the team to an even higher spot this year when they swim this weekend at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.
This year’s group of state qualifiers is the largest for Jasken since he his return. In addition to the three seniors, juniors Kate Irby and Ella Gervais, along with sophomores Gracie Greer and Lilian Licon and freshmen Hadley Rogers, Jordan Ruder and Katie Sallee will all swim at least one individual event beginning with Thursday’s preliminaries.
Finals for Class 4A will be contested Friday.
Just like his first freshman class in 2022-23, Jasken has been excited about what this year’s youngest class has done and its potential to keep the Red Wolves prominent for the next few years as well.
“They’re really, really consistent, good depth, hard workers, great attitude,” Jasken said. “They’re very close friends because of club, with our senior class. So, as a result, what you have is … this great connection that allows for the scaffold for the next year, and we can just kind of roll on and that’s the nice thing about it. It allows us to get into the mindset of team-wise, culture-wise, workwise, just to reload instead of having to rebuild.”
As far as this weekend goes, the three freshmen all have a chance to qualify for the finals in their respective events. Ruder is seeded 14th in the 100-yard butterfly and 15th in the 50 freestyle. Rogers is seeded 10th in the 100 backstroke and 11th in the 500 freestyle, and Sallee is seeded 38th in the 100 breaststroke.
Musslewhite has the highest seed in an event at fifth in the 100 backstroke. However, instead of swimming in one of her signature events, the 200 individual medley, she will swim the 100 freestyle, where she is seeded 33rd. She came down with an illness just before the Christmas break and has only been back in the pool a few weeks.
Also for the Red Wolves, Irby is seeded 25th in the 500 freestyle and 30th in the 200 freestyle, Wadlington is seeded 23rd in the 500 freestyle and 31st in the 200 freestyle. Greer is seeded 11th in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. Miller is seeded 12th in the 100 butterfly and 19th in the 50 freestyle, Gervais is seeded 15th in the 100 butterfly and 37th in the 50 freestyle, and Licon is seeded 25th in the 100 freestyle.
Loveland is seeded sixth in the 400 freestyle relay, eighth in the 200 freestyle relay and ninth in the 200 medley relay.
Mountain View will also be looking to make a jump in the 4A standings after finishing 21st last season.
The Mountain Lions have four individual qualifiers as well as all three of their relays.
Sophomore Parker Clark is seeded 11th in the 200 IM and 17th in the 100 breaststroke. Senior Brooklyn Wright is seeded 16th in the 100 butterfly and 17th in the 200 IM. Senior Kelsey Lapp is seeded 13th in the 100 backstroke and 19th in the 100 freestyle, and senior Harper Pecosky is seeded 21st in the 100 breaststroke.
“I am very excited,” Clark said. “I think the end of the season is the best because you feel the best and you’re in the best mindset because you know you can do it. It’s going to be exciting to not just have a couple of people at state, but even a bigger team.”
Mountain View diver Madeline Clark will be in action Thursday morning in the 4A diving competition. Her score of 433.50 at the Longs Peak League meet last weekend is the eighth best 11-dive score in 4A this season, according to MaxPreps.
The Mountain Lions are also seeded 15th in the 400 freestyle relay, 16th in the 200 medley relay and 24th in the 200 freestyle relay.
In Class 3A, Thompson Valley’s best odds for podium finishes will come from its divers, Marabelle Balliet and Brileigh Hale. Both divers put up personal-best scores at last weekend’s Longs Peak League meet. Balliet’s 11-dive score of 442.72 is the third best in 3A this season, according to Max Preps, while Hale’s score of 432.15 is the fifth best.
“I’m so excited,” Balliet said. “It’s going to be so fun. I love state. Everyone is always in a really high mood, and it’s just a really fun meet and it’s one of my favorite meets the entire season.”
Individually, the Eagles will be represented by Tessa Bottke, who is seeded 17th in the 50 freestyle and 20th in the 100 freestyle. Isabelle Marr is seeded 23rd in the 100 butterfly and 30th in the 100 freestyle. The Eagles are seeded 14th in the 400 freestyle relay, 18th in the 200 medley relay and 19th in the 200 freestyle relay.
Also in 3A, Berthoud’s lone individual qualifier is senior Peyton Ross, who is seeded 19th in the 100 breaststroke. The Spartans are seeded 25th in the 200 medley relay and 26th in the 200 freestyle relay.
Swimming prelims in Class 3A are scheduled for Friday and finals for Saturday. The 3A diving competition will be held Saturday morning.
