PrepSwimCo.com has released their first Colorado boys’ high school state rankings of 2017, and the top teams in both Class 4A (small schools) and 5A (big schools) have been dominant early in the season.
The defending state champions (2015, 2016) Fossil Ridge is looking very comfortable sitting at the top of the Class 5A rankings with 397 points. The team is over 100 points ahead of second place Regis Jesuit, who has taken second the last two years. In all the events, the team shows a lot of depth. Fossil Ridge is ranked first in 6 of the 9 individual events, and leads in all three relays. Fossil Ridge is led by defending state champion, Danny Kovac, who is ranked first in the 100-yard backstroke (51.67), and the 100-yard butterfly (50.61). Kovac is first by over a second in both events.
Ponderosa High School, a school that was recently re-classified from 5A to 4A, sits 69 points ahead of Cheyenne Mountain in the projections. Ponderosa placed 10th last year at the class 5A state championship meet.
In the current-season rankings, they lead 2 individual events and 2 relays. Ponderosa shows a lot of depth in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly having five in the top 20. Cheyenne Mountain won the 2016 state championships by over 100 points, but sit in second this year.
The team rankings are calculated like a championship swim meet, with adjustments for athletes ranked in more than two events so that the results are not skewed too much by one athlete or pool. Top 16 in each event score, and times are pulled from MaxPreps. Rob Nasser, the creator of prepswimco.com and head coach of Mountain Vista High School (and formerly of Valor Christian High School), maintains the rankings. The 2017 Colorado Boy’s State Championship meet runs from May 19th and 20th. Class 4A will be held at USAFA, Colorado Springs, and Class 5A will be held at VMAC, Thornton.
5A Team Rankings
- Fossil Ridge 397
- Regis 256
- Cherry Creek 178
- Ft. Collins 162
- Highlands Ranch 126
- Broomfield 121
- Greeley West 112
- Lakewood 103
- Smoky Hill 101
- Legacy 96
- Grandview 86
- Fairview 84
- Arapahoe 82
- Rocky Mountain 76
- Ralston Valley 65
- Palmer 33
- Hinkley 30
- Columbine 28
- Denver East 25
- Chatfield 24
4A Team Rankings
- Ponderosa 293
- Cheyenne Mountain 224
- Lewis-Palmer 210
- Windsor 169
- Thompson Valley 145
- Valor Christian 137
- Evergreen 136
- Golden 116
- Silver Creek 92
- Discovery Canyon 78
- Loveland 76
- Pueblo County 70
- Montrose 69
- Estes Park 63
- Pine Creek 61
- Coronado 55
- D’Evelyn 49
- Green Mountain 44
- George Washington 42
- Standley Lake 36
Really hope this article gets redone after the sectional boys have had a chance to compete. So many top Colorado swimmers missing!