Tigers posts swim win - #lakewoodnews

The gently falling snowflakes outside the window were a marked contrast to the heated competition by athletes from Valor Christian, Lakewood and D'Evelyn in the April 30 triangular swim meet at Carmody Recreation Center Pool.

Lakewood took first place with 121 points. Valor was second with 108 points and D'Evelyn finished third with 90 points. Lakewood is ranked 16th among 5A schools and D'Evelyn is ranked 14th among 4A schools.

"We have a fairly strong team this season that includes a number of returning all-conference swimmers ...," Tigers coach Jennifer Snowberg said before the meet. "We have 35 on the team. While we cover all the events, our distance swimmers are doing well, and our strongest event probably is the 500 freestyle."

Ten to 12 of her athletes, she said, are year-round swimmers.

"There are top competitors who swim just during the high school season, but most of the top athletes in the events swim all year long," she said.

The D'Evelyn Jaguars have 20 swimmers and two divers this year.

"We are a small team but we pack a punch," coach Mark Collings said. "We will be very competitive in the Jefferson County Class 4A league meet as we seek to win our eighth straight league title. We know winning the title won't be easy. And we know we will be challenged by other teams including Valor, Golden, Wheat Ridge and others, but we'll be in there looking to retain the league title."

Lakewood won a number of events at the meet. The first event title went to in the 50-yard freestyle. Other Tiger event winners included Blaise Snowberg in the 100-yard butterfly, Bradley Jackson in the 500-yard freestyle. Tiger teammate Mac Harrison won the diving competition.

Jackson has been swimming the distance freestyle event since his coach put him in it.

"My coach and I found I had a knack for distance freestyle," he said. "My times on each lap are pretty even. I started winning events so I just stuck with it."

Jackson completed the 500-freestyle and immediately took his place on the 200-yard freestyle relay team that finished second.

"The 500 and the 200 relay are two different worlds," he said after completing his leg of the relay. "The 500, you set a pace and maintain it. This is a sprint with a different mindset --; turn on the burners and go as fast as possible."

Stamina is a big part of being able to remain competitive in back-to-back events, he said.

"I swim six to eight times a week so I spend 12 to 16 hours in the water," he said. "In that time, I probably swim 36,000 meters a week. I swim with a club team and, for a change, I put some biking and running with my swimming when I compete in triathlons in the summer."

D'Evelyn' team point total grew as Jaguar swimmers won two events. Jack Moranetz won the 200-yard freestyle and, later in the meet, Moranetz joined forces with teammates Donovan Hoffman, Liam Skelton and Thomas Kyle to win the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Moranetz, a sophomore, said swimming is his sport.

"I really like swimming and I compete in swimming all year," he said. "I like the way, in swimming, you can see yourself getting better when you work hard."

He won the 200-yard freestyle, swam on the relay team and also finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly.

"I like the freestyle and the butterfly, but I really like to swim the breaststroke," the sophomore said. "My goal this year is to swim the 100 breaststroke under one minute. I am close and need to cut about half a second off, but I think I can reach my goal before the end of the season."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Tigers-posts-swim-win,212820