The Glenwood Springs High School boys swim team finished its 2024 season with a fourth-place finish at the Colorado 4A Boys State Swimming and Diving Championships this past weekend. This performance followed a fourth consecutive Western Slope League Conference Championship earlier this year.
Held at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton, the Demons were comprised of 21 players from six area schools and exceeded head coach Steve Vanderhoof's expectations. They were led by standout performances from junior William Jones and sophomore Breck Boyd.
“I swam better than I expected,” Vanderhoof said, noting that he expected to finish between fifth and 10th due to the team's lack of athletes to compete. “We always compete against these strong schools at the state championships and the numbers (of swimmers) are important in determining the scores, so finishing fourth says a lot about how we competed. There is.”
The team's success was highlighted by a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of William Jones, Luke Thornton, Brian Molloy and Breck Boyd set a new school record with a time of 1:26.02. This record time marked the third time this year the team has broken the school record originally held by the 2021 200-yard freestyle team. The Glenwood 400-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Jones, Boyd, Molloy, and a mix of Jackson Toshinski and Quinn McSwain, also placed sixth.
Individually, Jones secured a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and set a new school record with a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (4:39.94). Boyd once again made history, setting new school records in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke with a time of 21.19 seconds and finishing second.
Other top-10 finishes included Molloy, who placed seventh in the 200-yard individual medley.
Vanderhoof reflected on the importance of the team's performance.
“Everyone competed and gave it their all,” Vanderhoof said. “You could see the kids were chasing something this weekend and history was made as a result. We'll be back with a strong team next year, so we're excited to see what the future holds.”
