FORT COLLINS - Even a sleepless night couldn't slow down Brittney Martinez at the Edora Pool Ice Center on Friday.

As one of the state's most experienced and heralded swimmers, the Grandview senior admitted she still found it hard to calm herself for her final Class 5A state swimming and diving championships.

Luckily for her, a splash or two in the pool will wake one up quickly, especially in the morning hours when the preliminaries begin.

"It wasn't really nervousness but more just being excited," Martinez said. "I really had a hard time getting sleep, but we got in and had a good first relay, so that helped out big. Race after race, things just went really well for us."

Martinez will swim in the championship finals today in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, having earned the first and second seeds in those events, respectively. Although she finished second behind Breann Fuller of Brighton, her backstroke time garnered All- American consideration.

Martinez also anchored the 400 freestyle relay for the Wolves, who turned in the top qualifying time by nearly two seconds ahead of fledgling Regis of 5A. With that mark, the Wolves threw themselves into team-title contention.

Coach Jenny Karlberg was overwhelmed with the quality swims her team put together. The Wolves qualified eight individuals and all three relay teams, making them one of the top qualifiers, along with Fairview, Regis and Cherry Creek.

"The girls did fantastic, and I couldn't have asked for anything better," said Karlberg, in her first year as head coach. "We have a lot of swimmers who finished in the top six for finals, and all our relays made the top six. A top-three (team) finish would be amazing."

Martinez will battle Highlands Ranch senior Samantha Dole in the 100 freestyle, but her less-experienced Wolves teammates also are cashing in.

Sophomore Olivia Martens, in her first season with the team, turned in the top qualifying time in the 100 butterfly, and freshman Christine Wixted finished in the top three in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.

"I'm really excited for (Martens) coming in her first year swimming high school as a sophomore," Martinez said. "She has the guns, and she's gunning for everything. For me, I'm just hoping and praying that it's our turn."

All teams still are looking to catch Cherry Creek, the two-time defending champion and winner of three of the past four titles. The Bruins once again showed an overpowering depth by qualifying 20 slots for the finals.

The Bruins were followed by Fairview (17), Regis (15) and Arapahoe (14), with the diving preliminaries still to take place this morning.

Regis entered the meet as the reigning 4A champion, but jumping into the pool with the state's longtime elite squads was a new experience for the Raiders.

"It can be intimidating with the big schools that are always in the running," Regis coach Nick Fraser Smith said. "I think the girls might have been nervous for it, but they really turned that nervousness around and did what they needed to do in an intense environment.

"We should have some good swims (today)."

Stephanie McNicol and Kristen Schmid lead the list of contenders for Regis. McNicol finished third in the 200 freestyle and will attempt to catch Cherry Creek's Michelle Menezes, who posted an automatic All- American time in the preliminaries.

Schmid, a sprint specialist, will compete with Dole for the 50-freestyle title.

Also among the list of possible two-title hopefuls is Rampart freshman Jenna Gregoire. Her times in the 50 and 100 freestyle were less than four-tenths of a second behind the leaders. The Rams qualified nine slots for the finals.

CLASS 5A STATE PRELIMINARIES

200 medley relay - 1. Cherry Creek, 1 minute, 50.78 seconds; 2. Rampart, 1:50.98; 3. Boulder, 1:51.97; 4. Grandview, 1:52.34; 5. Fairview, 1:52.44; 6. Regis, 1:53.00; 7. Arapahoe, 1:53.11; 8. Mountain Vista, 1:53.93.

200 freestyle - 1. Michelle Menezes, Cherry Creek, 1:53.16; 2. Julie Giehl, Fairview, 1:54.38; 3. Stephanie McNicol, Regis, 1:55.12; 4. Kyla Dahlquist, Mountain Vista, 1:55.73; 5. Jackie Cromer, Lewis-Palmer, 1:56.49; 6. Maddie Gamble, Poudre, 1:56.85; 7. Loren Brandon, Cherry Creek, 1:57.13; 8. Carolyn Pasque, Arapahoe, 1:57.26.

200 individual medley - 1. Maiya Otsuka, Chatfield, 2:08.66; 2. Christine Wixted, Grandview, 2:10.37; 3. Kelsey Clarke, Rampart, 2:10.98; 4. Mikella Zgliczyn- ska, Fairview, 2:13.10; 5. Morgan Kimminau, Cherry Creek, 2:13.45; 6. Kaeli Kluesner, Arapahoe, 2:13.80; 7. Kyrene Clarke, Rampart, 2:14.04; 8. Paige Newell, Arapahoe, 2:14.59.

50 freestyle - 1. Samantha Dole, Highlands Ranch, 24.38; 2. Kristin Schmid, Regis, 24.60; 3. Jenna Gregoire, Rampart, 24.76; 4. Jessica Moon, Air Academy, 24.85; 5. Vanessa Pollitt, Regis, 24.92; 6. Laura Kollar, Fort Collins, 24.96; 7. Katie Thompson, Durango, 25.11; 8. Jessica Schlaack, Thornton, 25.23.

100 butterfly - 1. Olivia Martens, Grandview, 59.33; 2. Jessica Moon, Air Academy, 59.51; 3. Vanessa Pollitt, Regis, 59.59; 4. Katie Keller, Cherry Creek, 59.64; 5. Maiyia Otsuka, Chatfield, 59.81; 6. Breann Fuller, Brighton, 59.87; 7. Lauren Rigg, Fairview, 1:00.06; 8. Sophie Lucas, Fairview, 1:00.46.

100 freestyle - 1. Brittney Martinez, Grandview, 53.49; 2. Samantha Dole, Highlands Ranch, 53.54; 3. Kyla Dahlquist, Mountain Vista, 53.75; 4. Jenna Gregoire, Rampart, 53.85; 5. Kristin Schmid, Regis, 54.01; 6. Carolyn Pasque, Arapahoe, 54.28; 7. Laura Dupuis, Legacy, 54.50; 8. Jackie Cromer, Lewis-Palmer, 54.53.

500 freestyle - 1. Julie Giehl, Fairview, 5:06.39; 2. Michelle Menezes, Cherry Creek, 5:07.46; 3. Loren Brandon, Cherry Creek, 5:07.73; 4. Alyssa Swanson, Regis, 5:11.16; 5. Stephanie McNicol, Regis, 5:11.44; 6. Maddie Gamble, Poudre, 5:14.83; 7. Olivia Martens, Grandview, 5:15.31; 8. Heidi Culver, Green Mountain, 5:15.66.

200 freestyle relay - 1. Regis, 1:39.55; 2. Cherry Creek, 1:39.82; 3. Fairview, 1:40.27; 4. Littleton, 1:41.33; 5. Chatfield 1:41.73; 6. Grandview, 1:42.56; 7. Lewis-Palmer, 1:43.33; 8. Heritage, 1:43.38.

100 backstroke - 1. Breann Fuller, Brighton, 58.28; 2. Brittney Martinez, Grandview, 58.88; 3. Lindsay Zeberlein, Mountain Vista, 59.46; 4. Michelle Price, Poudre, 59.51; 5. Tally Latcham, George Washington, 59.80; 6. Kelsey Clarke, Rampart, 1:00.25; 7. Morgan Kimminay, Cherry Creek, 1:00.50; 8. Taylor Kitayama, Fairview, 1:00.58.

100 breaststroke - 1. Annie Perizzolo, Smoky Hill, 1:05.90; 2. Emily Kuhr, Dakota Ridge, 1:06.27; 3. Christine Wixted, Grandview, 1:06.68; 4. Kristen Hughes, Lewis-Palmer, 1:07.23; 5. Kyrene Clarke, Rampart, 1:07.59; 6. Addie Johnson, Mountain Vista, 1:07.98; 7. Kelly Matthews, Denver East, 1:08.28; 8. Kylie Rathbone, Lakewood, 1:08.34.

400 freestyle relay - 1. Grandview, 3:36.73; 2. Regis, 3:38.55; 3. Cherry Creek, 3:39.09; 4. Fairview, 3:39.65; 5. Chatfield, 3:40.53; 6. Rampart, 3:42.35; 7. Mountain Vista, 3:42.67; 8. Poudre, 3:42.71.

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