The Glenwood Springs Demons varsity boys swim team dominated the fifth-straight Southwestern Conference Championship meet in Grand Junction in early May. 

The Glenwood Springs Demons varsity boys swim team racked up 275.5 points during the tournament May 2-3, more than doubling the second place D51 Griffins 120 points. 

“We knew we were going to be strong on the Western Slope,” Glenwood Springs head swim coach Steve Vanderhoof said. “The transition now is trying to take all that momentum and carry it to the state meeting.”

Vanderhoof said it is a good feeling to secure another regional title, but his focus shifted instantly to the state meet, which will be held over the weekend at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center in Thornton. 

“This was our fifth year (winning) in a row. We all jump in the pool as a team and celebrate. But we aren’t really talking about conferences anymore. All the focus turns immediately to state. That’s been our culture, and it’s paid off,” he said. 

The Demons cut through the water like dolphins as they cruised to another conference championship by taking first in nearly every single event. 

Thanks to the strong performance throughout the season, the Glenwood Springs swim team qualified 16 different athletes for the state competition, seven of which qualified during the conference championship. Having 16 different athletes competing at the state competition is far more than any other year that Vanderhoof had at the helm.

“Only four kids didn’t qualify, three of which were freshmen, and one of which was injured,” Vanderhoof explained. He went on to mention that he was pleasantly surprised by the number of underclassmen that qualified for the state meet, though admitted to finding a little difficulty with the amount of kids still locked in. 

“We qualified seven kids at regionals for the state meet. A lot of those kids didn’t think they’d qualify for states, so their whole focus was on regionals. Now, literally, days later, we’ve got to turn it back on and keep it going. It’s difficult. I haven’t really experienced that in this volume.”

He said that helping kids find their way to a good mental spot before the state tournament is very important as practices have shifted from endurance training to technique adjustments. 

“We’ve been talking about how to prepare mentally. We’re as good as we’re going to get conditioning-wise, so we’re focusing on technique and the little things that will cut some time off. It’ll be fun. It’s unknown territory for me.”

There are many unknowns the team will face during the weekend’s state meet, but the 200-yard freestyle team will be a breath of familiar air. The 200-yard freestyle team took home the gold during the 2024 state meet, setting a school record in the process, finishing the race in 1:26.02. The group, consisting of seniors Luke Thorton and William Jones, and juniors Brian Molloy and Breck Boyd, is the exact same group that raced together a year ago. 

“We are defending champions in the 200-free relay, and I have the exact same relay coming back,” Vanderhoof said. “It would be fun to repeat. I think we’re seeded third at the moment.”

The state tournament is going to be held Friday and Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center in Thornton. The 16 qualified Demons will have their work cut out for them as they will face the best swimming competition in the state over the weekend.