Niwot High girls swim places 15th at state, diver Izzy Fay wins gold

Navigating the Class 4A state championships was a new experience for many on the Niwot High School girls swim and dive team.

Despite their youth, the Cougars held their own with 94 team points, finishing 15th out of 31 schools. Niwot's best individual result came courtesy of junior diver Izzy Fay, who scored a personal record 538.30 points in the state finals to claim her first title.

Although second-year head coach Ella Thramann doesn't work closely with Niwot's divers, she was proud of Fay's achievement.

"To have a diver like that to help our team is amazing for us," Thramann said. "I think she's getting the recognition that she deserves."

The Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton hosted the Class 4A state diving finals on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and the 4A swimming finals two days later.

Competing at her final state meet, Niwot senior Charlotte Heuer produced strong swims in a pair of individual events. After winning two individual titles at the Longs Peak League championships the week prior, she took second in the 100-yard breaststroke (1 minute, 7.29 seconds) and seventh in the tightly-contested 100 freestyle (53.72 seconds).

"I was really proud of Charlotte for getting her individuals," Thramann said.

Heuer, along with junior Devi Burnett and sophomores Ava Altenborg and Thalia Milam, took seventh in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:43.64. That same foursome also swam the 400 freestyle relay but the team was disqualified due to an early start.

Thramann admitted that some of her younger swimmers may have been "overwhelmed" by the bigger stage and increased talent level at state.

"It was tough on a lot of the girls who are new to state because you go into state and you're not used to having so many people be honestly better than you," Thramann said. "That was really overwhelming to the girls and a lot of girls were overwhelmed."

However, Thramann is confident that her younger swimmers will enter next year's state championships with a better mindset.

"Going into next year, now they know what state looks like and how competitive it really is," Thramann said. "They can change their mindset of, 'Okay, yeah, they are better than me, but I'm convinced I can push myself to their level.' Hopefully, they'll get there."

While losing Heuer to graduation is tough, Niwot should bring back plenty of talent next season, including Burnett, Altenborg, Milam, Phoebe Donovan, Hannah Hooven, Shefali Joshi, Emmy Hostelley, and Camilla Wier-Bigelow. Thramann also shared her excitement for next year's incoming freshmen class.

"It's definitely stressful having Charlotte leave because she's our top swimmer, but I think there's a lot of talent that's going to come in next year," Thramann said. "I'm just stoked to see who these freshmen girls are and what they can do."