Castle Rock, Parker teams tie in the water

One thing is for certain. Douglas County-Castle View boys swim and dive has a lot of state talent.

But after leading eight points through the 1-meter dive event March 23 at the Castle Rock Recreation Center, the Huskies were unable to hold off Ponderosa’s co-op squad from a 93-point tie. Douglas County played host to the Continental League head-to-head matchup between the Castle Rock high schools and those from Parker.

Winning events for the Douglas County-Castle View aqua hybrid was J.P. Beach in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minutes, 51.26 seconds. Beach also won the 100 with 48.75 seconds. Also taking first was sprinter Jack Jenner in the 50 free with 21.92 and the 100 backstroke with 55.74. Gabe Hummel won the diving event for the Huskiecats with 149.60 points.

In relay events, County-View won the 200 medley relay with Jenner, Andrew Webber, Gabe Chamberlain and Beach, as well as the 20 free relay with Beach, Taylor Morrow, Webber and Beach.

Last season, the Huskiecats sent a handful of its swimmers to state, and this time around, with a change of training, the team expects more to hit state waters. Team captain Tyson Mickelson said he expects at least 2-3 more to qualify than last season.

“Have a lot of older kids who are ready for state,” Mickelson said. “We’ve altered our training. We used to do weights after school, and this year, it’s all swimming. That’s benefited us this year.”

Jenner, also a captain, is already qualified for state this season. It’s his third consecutive year making state marks. Beach and Webber also pre-qualified for this year’s final meet after making marks last season.

Jeremy Goodison qualified for state last year and put up a state time in the 200 free against the Parker co-op swimmers. Chamberlain was also a state swimmer last season and is expected to return.

Mickelson said the team is out to prove something this year.

“Even though we’re a small team, we have a lot of talent,” he said. “We’re ready to prove it to ourselves.”

In this latest effort against a Continental League opponent, County-View’s 200 medley relay team earned state times, as did its 200 and 400 free relay foursomes. Beach marked state times in the 200 and 100. Jenner had state-worthy performances in the 50 and 100 back, while Webber hit state time in 100 breaststroke.