FORT COLLINS - Katie Johnson wants her Ralston Valley swim teammates to be the ones "rocking out" at the Class 4A state championships tonight. To do so, the Mustangs must weather the depth of Rock Canyon.

During the preliminaries Thursday at the Edora Pool Ice Center, Johnson and the Mustangs put themselves in position to hold true to their word of not finishing second again.

After finishing a distant second to Regis last season, Johnson said the Mustangs are focused to not have a repeat performance. With how the Mustangs swam Thursday, a team championship seems realistic.

"We feel like we've done everything we can for ourselves to get up there," Johnson said. "Every girl came back with swims faster than they were placed. We are extremely confident right now."

Ralston Valley attained top qualifying times in four events, the most of any squad. The 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams finished just ahead of Rock Canyon, but individual performances by Arianne Lujan and Johnson vaulted the Mustangs favorably.

Lujan posted an automatic All-American time in the 200 individual medley, then followed that with a top time in the 100 butterfly. In the butterfly, she edged Rock Canyon's Taylor Curado for the top spot.

Johnson, meanwhile, finished second in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle. The distance freestyle should be a heated race when the finals begin at 5 p.m. tonight - the top three swimmers were separated by less than 1 1/2 seconds.

"We have a lot of close races like that," Johnson said. "But (today is) when we'll go all the way."

Individually, the biggest news might have been that two-time champion Emily McDonald of Glenwood Springs could not defend her titles because of a rotator cuff injury suffered toward the end of the season.

McDonald was favored to defend the sprint freestyle events, but opted not to strain herself and cause possible long-term problems.

Her coach, Michelle Brune, said it was the best thing for her considering she will be swimming in college next season.

"She kind of feels that she's going out on top because it is so hard to defend," Brune said. "The pressure of defending titles on a bad shoulder is just not a good mix. I'm happy about the fact she finished the season, and she's going to have a good year next year."

With her absence, Moffat County's Kelsey Conci excelled.

Predicted to finish in the top three in the 50 freestyle, Conci pulled a mild surprise by topping the field with a 24.42-second swim.

The excitement of Conci's top time also carried over to the 100 backstroke, where she finished second.

"I wanted to try and beat Emily one last time, but it helped me for her to not be here," Conci said. "I knew I had a good chance of winning the 50, but that gave me so much momentum for the other race.

Conci, Lujan and Johnson belong to an elite group of swimmers who have a shot at two titles. Mullen's Caroline Shea (100 and 200 freestyle) also posted top qualifying times.

The returning champion in the 200 has Mullen right in the team mix despite its disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay.

CLASS 4A STATE PRELIMINARIES

200 medley relay: 1. Ralston Valley, 1 minute, 51.97 seconds; 2. Rock Canyon, 1:52.15; 3. Estes Park, 1:55.59; 4. Windsor, 1:55.59; 5. Niwot, 1:55.75; 6. La Junta, 1:56.55; 7. Mullen, 1:57.18; 8. Broomfield, 1:57.42.

200 freestyle: 1. Caroline Shea, Mullen, 1:55.21; 2. Brandie Kavalec, Mountain View, 1:56.26; 3. Kirsten Milberg, Rock Canyon, 1:56.82; 4. Shannon Garlie, Fossil Ridge, 1:57.60; 5. Kim Freeman, D'Evelyn, 1:58.22; 6. Kirsten Queen, Windsor, 1:58.71; 7. Summer Cook, Mountain Range, 1:58.94; 8. Julia Derk, Greeley West, 2:00.91.

200 individual medley: 1. Arianne Lujan, Ralston Valley, 2:07.74; 2. Katie Johnson, Ralston Valley, 2:10.22; 3. Joy Bunting, Greeley West, 2:10.30; 4. Kia Dobie, Broomfield, 2:11.22; 5. Ellie Freeman, St. Mary's Academy, 2:12.12; 6. Jessy Badaracco, Platte Canyon, 2:16.80; 7. Krysta Sparks, Montrose, 2:18.14; 8. Melissa Phelps, Cherokee Trail, 2:18.92.

50 freestyle: 1. Kelsey Conci, Moffat County, 24.42; 2. Tesse Maciejko, Gunnison, 24.95; 3. Patricia Nelson, Fossil Ridge, 25.03; 4. McKenna Gustafson, Thompson Valley, 25.31; 5. Kim Schemahorn, La Junta, 25.35; 6. Lindsay Banning, Silver Creek, 25.39; 7. Kenzie Hewson, Estes Park, 25.43; 8. Sierra Grove, Glenwood Springs, 25.45.

100 butterfly: 1. Arianne Lujan, 58.50; 2. Taylor Curado, Rock Canyon, 59.01; 3. Mariah Coler, Cherokee Trail, 1:00.12; 4. Ashley Valdez, Greeley Central, 1:00.16; 5. Tia Totura, Rock Canyon, 1:00.94; 6. Madison Krall, Pueblo Centennial, 1:01.18; 7. Katie Wedel, Pueblo South, 1:01.84; 8. Tracy Mangone, D'Evelyn, 1:02.40.

100 freestyle: 1. Caroline Shea, Mullen, 53.88; 2. Tesse Maciejko, Gunnison, 54.71; 3. Kim Schemahorn, La Junta, 54.75; 4. Patricia Nelson, Fossil Ridge, 54.77; 5. Kenzie Hewson, Estes Park, 54.94; 6. Kim Freeman, D'Evelyn, 54.97; 7. McKenna Gustafson, Thompson Valley, 55.01; 8. Agatha Oleksiak, D'Evelyn, 55.24.

500 freestyle: 1. Kia Dobie, Broomfield, 5:10.35; 2. Katie Johnson, Ralston Valley, 5:11.43; 3. Summer Cook, Mountain Range, 5:11.93; 4. Shannon Garlie, Fossil Ridge, 5:14.67; 5. Madison Krall, Pueblo Centennial, 5:19.22; 6. Elysa Gresham, Pueblo South, 5:24.13; Kirsten Queen, Windsor, 5:26.57; 8. Paige Fischer, Ralston Valley, 5:27.70.

200 freestyle relay: 1. Mullen, 1:41.55; 2. D'Evelyn, 1:42.10; 3. Estes Park, 1:42.29; 4. Fossil Ridge, 1:43.58; 5. Ralston Valley, 1:43.87; 6. Gunnison, 1:44.29; 7. Niwot, 1:44.37; 8. La Junta, 1:44.44.

100 backstroke: 1. Brandie Kavalec, Mountain View, 58.72; 2. Kelsey Conci, Moffat County, 58.85; 3. Kirsten Milberg, Rock Canyon 58.86; 4. Jordan Quick, Ralston Valley, 1:01.26; 5. Ashley Valdez, Greeley Central, 1:02.40; 6. Chloe Beaupre, Niwot, 1:02.93; 7. Gina Rhue, Cheyenne Mountain, 1:03.21; 8. Mackenzie Norlin, Windsor, 1:03.33.

100 breaststroke: St. Mary's Academy, 1:04.28; 2. Joy Bunting, Greeley West, 1:05.57; 3. Lauren Hewson, Estes Park, 1:07.68; 4. Melisa Phelps, Cherokee Trail, 1:08.91; 5. Katie Wedel, Pueblo South, 1:08.93; 6. Londyn Clawson, Rock Canyon, 1:10.12; 7. Danielle Gleason, La Junta, 1:10.42; 8. Krysta Sparks, Montrose, 1:10.56.

400 freestyle relay: 1. Ralston Valley, 3:39.61; 2. Rock Canyon, 3:41.77; 3. Estes Park, 3:44.15; 4. Greeley West 3:45.09; 5. La Junta 3:45.44; 6. D'Evelyn 3:45.48; 7. Fossil Ridge 3:46.73; 8. Pueblo Centennial, 3:48.09.

Facts, figures

• When: Today and Saturday.

• Where: Edora Pool Ice Center, 1801 Riverside, Fort Collins.

• Schedule - Today: Class 5A preliminaries, 9 a.m.; 4A diving preliminaries, noon; 4A swimming and diving finals, 5 p.m. Saturday: 5A diving preliminaries, 10:30 a.m.; 5A swimming and diving finals, 3:30 p.m.

• Tickets: All-sessions pass, $14; diving only, $10; combined preliminaries or finals, $7 each session; child-student, $5 each session.

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