Glenwood Springs High School is building a perennially elite swim program, and the boys team added another milestone to their resume during the boys 4A CHSAA state swim meet, on May 9, held at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thorton. 

The Demons scored 243 points during the state meet, falling just nine points shy of a podium placement. The team brought 16 swimmers to state — the most in program history — and found success across the board.

Their impressive showing at the state meet capped off an incredible spring swim season, and the Glenwood Demons varsity boys swim team was honored with all-state selections up and down the roster. 

“The boys swam extremely well, we had a lot of fun,” head coach Steve Vanderhoof said. “The highlight of our season is normally conferences, but we brought 16 boys to state this season, and they swam well across the board.”

Every member of the Demons 200 yard freestyle relay team was honored with an all-state nod. Senior William Jones and his 200 yard freestyle relay partner, junior Breck Boyd, were both named to the first team all-state roster. Jones in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and relay, while Boyd was honored in the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and freestyle relay. 

“I definitely surprised myself and my team,” Jones said. “I couldn’t be more content with the results. Being on the all state roster is definitely the cherry on top. Overall, the end of the season, and my high school swimming career, was a huge success in my book.”

Vanderhoof said that it is motivation through example when it comes to his 200-meter freestyle relay team. The Demons were unable to defend their gold medal in the event, but still had a strong showing, finishing second (1:25.70). 

“There is a lot of peer pressure to perform well,” Vanderhoof joked. “When you see your friends competing and having good performances at meets, you want to do something similar. They lean on each other to perform, and it’s really fun to watch.”

Senior Luke Thorton earned a second team nod in the relay along with junior Brian Malloy in the 200 yard individual medley, 100 yard breaststroke, and the relay. Freshman Andrew Mallow was an honorable mention in the 200 yard individual medley. 

“The camaraderie is what fuels us all to do our best,” Jones said. “At Glenwood, we swim for our team, not for ourselves, and I’ve found that this mindset is what has allowed us to make great strides this season. We almost doubled our state attendance from last year, where we had 9 swimmers, with 16 swimmers this year. It was because everyone wanted to give our team the best shot at state this year, which was really fun.”

The Demons earned top finishes through individual and team events in Thorton during early May. 

Jones finished the 500 freestyle in 4:38.81, enough for a silver medal in one of his last high school races. His relay partner and first team rostermate, Boyd, tore up the 100 meter backstroke (52.04), also finishing second. Brian Malloy finished fifth in the 100 yard breaststroke (58.72), and the team took fourth in the 200 yard medley relay race (1:34.98). 

“William has been a leader for us all year, and he was our swimmer of the year,” Vanderhoof said. “To see him jump up from third or fourth into second during the final (500 yard freestyle) race, finishing with his best time, and then to see the elation on his face was super fun.”

Although Jones and other important seniors won’t be returned for the 2026 spring swim season, Vanderhoof is already itching to get back in the pool with his team. 

“We have so many kids from so many different schools that they can’t all be at every meet,” he said. “But man, these kids are so fast. We will be back next year.”