Following an impressive showing at the Western Slope Championships at Colorado Mesa University last weekend, Glenwood’s Amy Madsen continued to dominate in the pool at the state championship this weekend in Denver, winning the state championship in the 100 freestyle A final, while also turning in finishes of third place, fifth place, sixth place and ninth place.

On Day 1 of the state meet, Madsen competed in the 11-12 girl’s races, where more than 100 swimmers competed in an event on average.

In the 50 freestyle on Day 1, Madsen placed 15th in the preliminary race before then placing third in the B final with a personal best of 30.09 seconds in the event, which was good for 11th overall in the final race standings.

Following the 50 freestyle race, Madsen then competed in the 200 backstroke, placing ninth overall in the timed final with a time of 2:44.00 before then going on to win the B final in the 400 freestyle with a time of 4:59.48, which would have been good enough for fifth overall in the A final if she would have turned in a better preliminary race time.

After a strong showing on Day 1, Madsen continued her strong run on Day 2, placing sixth overall in the A final of the 200 freestyle with a personal-best time of 2:22.29. After a great performance in the 200 freestyle, Madsen then placed fifth in the B final (13th overall) in the 100 backstroke with a personal-best time of 1:15.82.

On the final day of the state championships, Madsen started off on a high note, placing second in the 100 freestyle preliminary race before then winning the A final with a personal-best time of 1:03.59, lowering her team record in the event in the process.

In the 100 freestyle final event of the meet, Madsen went in the championship final with the second-best time from preliminaries.

After a very competitive first 50 meters, Madsen came off the turn and found herself in second place behind Denver ACES outstanding sprinter Ryan Johnston. Following the race, Madsen mentioned to her coach that, “she was right there and I just started to really kick hard and knew I could beat her to the wall.”

Team records show that Madsen is the first State Champion for Team Sopris.

Coach Steve Vanderhoof explained the significance of the championship, as her competitors were all the 11-12 girls in the state. While high school swimming is broken up into school or team size, club state includes all of the fastest swimmers in the state.

On the heels of the 100 freestyle win, Madsen then placed 12th overall in the 400 individual medley — a timed final event — with a time of 5:49.95.

“Amy had an outstanding swim meet,” Vanderhoof said. “She had best times in five of her seven events and made it back to an A or B final in all her preliminary/final events. Two standout races were the 100 freestyle and 400 freestyle.”

Along with Madsen at the state championships, fellow Team Sopris swimmer Adelyn Newton also made the trip to Denver for the championships.

Competing in the 10-and-under girl’s division, Newton swam in seven total events.

In the 50 freestyle, Newton placed 34th with a personal-best time of 35.61 seconds.

Swimming in the 200 freestyle, Newton recorded a 22nd-place finish with a personal-best time of 2:46.88 before then placing 18th in the 100 freestyle with a personal-best time of 1:15.98.

“Adelyn swam very well, improving her times and moving up from her seeded placement in four of her seven events,” Vanderhoof said. “[100] freestyle was her standout event as Adelyn won her heat by over three body lengths, dropping 3.56 seconds in the process.”

Team Sopris will take a few weeks off in August and then start to prepare for the short course swim season, which starts with the Durango Invitational in September.