FORT COLLINS - The highly-anticipated Class 4A state swimming match up between defending champion Ralston Valley and contender Rock Canyon started off with plenty of excitement, another state record, and a whole lot of drama.

After Rock Canyon’s 200 medley relay team broke their own day-old record in the first event of the state swimming championships Saturday at the Edora Pool and Ice Center in Fort Collins, Taylor Curado and Londyn Clawson both jumped back into the competition pool to join anchor Jehan Atoe in a cool down, however, Atoe was the only swimmer allowed to remain in the pool. Colorado High School Activities Association rules state that once a swimmer leaves the pool, that swimmer may not re-enter.

The officials and coaches held a meeting and deliberated for nearly 30 minutes, before it was decided that Curado and Clawson would each be disqualified for their next race. Clawson missed swimming in the consolation heat of the 200 individual medley, and Curado was forced to miss swimming in the championship heat of the 50 freestyle.

The drama stole the Jaguars’ early momentum, and Ralston Valley took advantage to win it’s second state title with 302 points, ahead of Ralston Valley (269-½), Thompson Valley (161) and Estes Park (159.)

“It was more of a misunderstanding on my part, and I take responsibility for that,” said Curado, who managed to come back and defend her 100 butterfly title. “It did more mentally and physically take a toll on us than we thought, and we had to come back from that. But we stayed in it, and we are so happy.

“Finishing second is definitely not a bad thing.”

Along with 100-backstroke champion Kirsten Milberg, Curado, Clawson and Atoe’s time of 1 minute, 4.30 seconds in the 200 medley broke the record of 1:48.98 the Jaguars set in Friday’s prelims, but the Jaguars would have had to be at their best to beat the top-ranked Mustangs, who got big performances from leaders Katie Johnson and Arianne Lujan.

Johnson and Lujan swapped spots in the 200 individual medley, with Johnson taking the title this year and Lujan finishing second. Lujan also finished second to Curado in the 100 butterfly, and Johnson finished second in the 500 freestyle to Fossil Ridge senior Shannon Garlie.

And Johnson said she feels like the drama that unfolded at the beginning of the meet gave the Mustangs momentum.

“We were really nervous because they may have had an edge coming into today,” said Johnson, who along with Lujan also helped Ralston Valley finish second to Rock Canyon in the 400 freestyle relay. “We knew that it was going to be really, really close between us and them, and having that happen early on, it helped us calm down and gave us some confidence heading into the rest of the meet.

“It was a lot of fun, and more fun than last year because we get to repeat, and that is really hard to do.”

Estes Park twins Kenzie and Lauren Hewson had impressive meets, with Kenzie winning the 100 freestyle and Lauren winning the 100 breaststroke, before combining to give Estes Park the crown in the 200 freestyle relay.

“This was a perfect ending for us,” Lauren Hewson said. “It was so unbelievable for us to share this together.”

Kenzie, who finished second in the 50 freestyle, agrees. “This ending is just amazing for us. Finishing with best times, first places, it’s almost overwhelming.”

Kenzie Hewson surprised Mullen senior Caroline Shea in the 100 freestyle. Shea, who won the event last year and won the 200 freestyle Saturday, thought she had won the race before looking at the clock and seeing the times. Hewson recorded a 53.05, to Shea’s 53.08.

“I thought I had it, I really did,” Shea said. “I was worried about one of the other girls, so she surprised me. But still, I had my best time, I had a great meet. I was really nervous for today, and it was just so great for me.”

Moffat County senior Kelsey Conci won the 50 freestyle, the event she finished second in last year.

“Seeing that first place in the 50 free, that was awesome for me,” said Conci, who also finished second in the 100 backstroke. “I’ve been working for that race for four years, so I am so happy to win that one.”

CLASS 4A STATE SWIMMING FINALS

TEAM SCORES - Ralston Valley 302, Rock Canyon 269.5, Thompson Valley 161, Estes Park, 159, Mullen 115.5, La Junta 115, Windsor 102, Broomfield 95, Montrose 94, D’Evelyn 86, Fossil Ridge 79, Cheyenne Mountain 70, Pueblo Centennial 67, Mountain View 63, Niwot 60, Moffat County 55, Silver Creek 50, Gunnison 39, Eaton 34, Mountain Range 33.

200 MEDLEY RELAY - 1, Rock Canyon (Kirsten Milberg, Londyn Clawson, Taylor Curado, Jehan Atoe) 1:48.30 (old record of 1:48.98 set by Rock Canyon 2/15) (AAA); 2, Ralston Valley, 1:48.84 (AAA); 3, Estes Park 1:49.28 (AAA); 4, Windsor, 1:54.30; 5, Broomfield, 1:54.68; 6, Montrose, 1:54.98; 7, Niwot, 1:55.78; 8, Thompson Valley, 1:56.90.

200 FREESTYLE - 1, Caroline Shea, Mullen, 1:54.10; 2, Shannon Garlie, Fossil Ridge, 1:54.35; 3, Kirsten Milberg, Rock Canyon, 1:54.62; 4, Jessica Holley, Rock Canyon, 1:54.97; 5, Paige Fischer, Ralston Valley, 1:55.77; 6, Summer Cook, Mountain Range, 1:57.40; 7, Madeleine Smith, D’Evelyn, 1:59.06; 8, Kirsten Queen, Windsor, 2:00.21.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY - 1, Katie Johnson, Ralston Valley , 2:06.31 (AAA) 2, Arianne Lujan, Ralston Valley, 2:07.35 (AAA) ; 3, Lizzie Bergquist, Thompson Valley, 2:10.14; 4, Emily Stucky, Montrose, 2:11.64; 5, kellyn Craig, Denver South, 2:12.56; 6, Brianna Willoughby, Fountain Fort Carson, 2:12.57; 7, Kia Dobie, Broomfield, 2:13.55; 8, Jessy Badaracco, Platte Canyon, 2:14.04.

50 FREESTYLE - 1, Kelsey Conci, Moffat County, 24.48; 2, Kenzie Hewson, Estes Park, 24.57; 3, Tesse Maciejko, Gunnison, 24.97; 4, Lindsay Banning, Silver Creek, 25.17; 5, Kim Schemahorn, La Junta, 25.20; 6, Jullie Simmons, Mullen, 25.25; 7, Sierra Grove, 25.31; 8, Agatha Oleksiak, D’Evelyn, 25.67.

1-METER DIVING - 1, Jamie Bristol, Mountain View, 440.05; 2, Erin Lionberger, Longmonth, 415.25; 3, Allie Meisner, Broomfield, 414.20; 4, Justine Boddy, Thompson Valley, 398.10; 5, Kelly White, Evergreen, 386.35; 6, Emily Kasyon, Cheyenne Mountain, 371.95; 7, Genna Bradley, Moffat County, 354.50; 8, Alyse Strampel, Rock Canyon, 347.45.

100 BUTTERFLY - 1, Taylor Curado, Rock Canyon, 57.18; 2, Arianne Lujan, Ralston Valley, 57.24; 3, Rachel Snyder, Ralston Valley, 57.84; 4, Kia Dobie, Broomfield, 59.73; 5, Madison Krall, Pueblo Centennial, 1:00.17; 6, Emily Stucky, Montrose, 1:00.54; 7, Jessy Badaracco, Platte Canyon, 1:00.76; 8, Shelby Remillard, Cheyenne Mountain, 1:01.62.

100 FREESTYLE - 1, Kenzie Hewson, Estes Park, 53.05; 2, Caroline Shea, Mullen, 53.08; 3, Jessica Holley, Rock Canyon, 53.56; 4, Tesse Maciejko, Gunnison, 53.86; 5, Jehan Atoe, Rock Canyon, 54.71; 6, Jordan Quick, Ralston Valley, 54.89; 7, Sierra Grove, Glenwood Springs, 54.92; 8, Kim Schemahorn, La Junta, 55.18.

500 FREESTYLE - 1, Shannon Garlie, Fossil Ridge, 5:05.26; 2, Katie Johnson, Ralston Valley, 5:07.88; 3, Sumer Cook, Mountain Range, 5:12.12; 4, Ruthi Pappas, Ralston Valley, 5:12.60; 5, Paige Fischer, Ralston Valley, 5:12.85; 6, Madison Krall, Pueblo Centennial, 5:18.09; 7, Madeleine Smith, D’Evelyn, 5:25.78; 8, Kirsten Queen, Windsor, 5:26.96.

200 FREESTYLE RELAY - 1, Estes Park (Lauren Hewson, Brit Walter, Sarah Almond, Kenzie Hewson), 1:39.79; 2, Mullen, 1:42.02; 3, Ralston Valley, 1:42.45; 4, Rock Canyon, 1:42.73; 5, Niwot, 1:43.74; 6, D’Evelyn, 1:43.79; 7, Thompson Valley, 1:44.04; 8, Pueblo Centennial, 1:44.14.

100 BACKSTROKE - 1, Kirsten Milberg, Rock Canyon, 58.56; 2, Kelsey Conci, Moffat County, 58.64; 3, Jehan Atoe, Rock Canyon, 59.19; 4, Jordan Quick, Ralston Valley, 1:00.12; 5, Brianna Willoughby, Fountain Fort Carson, 1:00.69; 6, Lizzie Bergquist, Thompson Valley, 1:00.82; 7, Mackenzie Norlin, Windsor, 1:01.03; 8, Karoline Fry, Delta, 1:01.05.

100 BREASTSTROKE - 1, Lauren Hewson, Estes Park, 1:06.06; 2, Londyn Clawson, Rock Canyon, 1:07.81; 3, Danielle Gleason, La Junta, 1:08.34; 4, Melissa Phelps, Cherokee Trail, 1:08.47; 5, Kellyn Craig, Denver South, 1:08.51; 6, Angie Wolfrum, Skyline, 1:08.69; 7, Katie Wedel, Pueblo South, 1:09.04; 8, Allison Scott, Windsor, 1:09.25.

400 FREESTYLE RELAY - 1, Rock Canyon (Jehan Atoe, Taylor Curado, Kirsten Milberg, Jessica Holley), 3:35.62; 2, Ralston Valley, 3:35.96; 3, Thompson Valley, 3:41.76; 4, Mullen, 3:42.88; 5, La Junta, 3:42.96; 6, Montrose, 3:45.36; 7, Estes Park, 3:46.28; 8, D’Evelyn, 3:49.38.

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