Competing at the 3A State Swimming Championships this past weekend in Thornton, Glenwood Springs senior Lauren Fetzko claimed her first-ever state championship for the Lady Demons, winning the state title in the 200 Individual Medley with an impressive time of 2:05.84.

Fetzko’s winning time was also good enough for All-American consideration, and it also helped lead the Lady Demons to a third place finish overall in the state tournament.

During the regular season Fetzko was a standout swimmer for Glenwood, playing a big part in leading the Lady Demons to a second consecutive regional championship two weeks ago in Grand Junction as the senior won two individual events and one relay event.

Outside of her state title in the 200 Individual Medley, Fetkzo placed third overall in her second event of the evening — the 100 butterfly — finishing with a time of 57.61 seconds.

Behind Fetzko’s strong individual performance and some other key performances from her teammates, Glenwood was able to finish third overall in the state meet with 173 points behind Aspen (209) and St. Mary’s Academy (187).

Other outstanding performances in Saturday’s finals came from junior Kristen Davis and sophomores Macy Stinson and Sarah Dipangrazio.

Davis swam for personal best times in the 200 freestyle (2:04.60) and 500 freestyle (5:29.40) placing eighth and fifth place, respectively.

Stinson improved her time from Friday’s session by 3.49 seconds and placed 11th in the 200 IM. Stinson continued with a strong finish by placing 10th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:03.81. Dipangrazio also had an outstanding championship by placing fifth in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 100 backstroke with times of 59.66 and 100.93 respectively.

The Lady Demons swam exceptionally well in all three of their relays outside of individual events. In the night’s opening event, the 200 medley relay, Kaitlyn Vanderhoof joined Stinson, Dipangrazio and Fetzko swimming a season best time of 1:52.18 and a third place finish at the championship event.

Vanderhoof, Stinson, Davis and Mae Lang Burns competed in the 200 Free Relay and placed 10th in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:48.54. In the 400 Freestyle Relay, the championship’s final event, Burns joined Fetzko, Davis and Stinson with another season-best time of 3:48.53, placing fourth overall in the event.

Coach Steve Vanderhoof said he was very satisfied with the team performance.

“We had a significant number of personal best times and raced very well each time we got in the water,” Vanderhoof said. “Our relays really swam very well and allowed us to stay close to Aspen most of the night. A victory would have been wonderful, but this third-place finish is outstanding, which I believe is the best finish in school history for the girl’s team.”