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City Meet Brings Spartans Bold and Bronze

TJ finishes 3rd behind East, GW

By Michael Mankoff

As the school year comes to a close, so is the Thomas Jefferson Spartans' Swimming and Diving Team; however not before they managed to have great success at the 2008 City Meet this last weekend.
    Spectators, as well as athletes packed the pool at Manual High School to witness North, Kennedy, East, George Washington, and TJ battle it out for the city title. During the regular season, the Spartans defeated all but George Washington, and had high hopes of de-throning the Patriots and gaining supremecy as city champions. Although the swimming team performed very well, GW and East finished the day with a one, two, finish leaving the Spartans in a very respectable 3rd place with the bronze. The Angels from East barely edged out the Spartans for second place finishing only 4 points ahead of the TJ boys. "We had a good chance to finish second as everyone swam well, that didn't happen… but we did have two more guys qualify for state," noted an optimistic Marc Houghton, who has already qualified for the state meet next weekend. "Almost everyone swam their best times Read more

Primed and Ready: Swimming Continues Success

Well Oiled Machine Ready for Homestretch.

By Michael Mankoff

Photo By Ryanne Mollo

Chalk up another successful meet for the Thomas Jefferson High School Boys' Swimming and Diving Team; they are now an undefeated 3-0 in league and coming off a 15th place finish at the Jefferson County Invitational last weekend.
    With victories earlier in the season against league foes East, Kennedy, and North, the undefeated Spartans are swimming towards their first city title since 2005. This coveted feat seems feasible thanks to many different parts of the team coming together just like Head Coach Cindy Allen had hoped, "We are finally realizing our potential, and it's exciting to watch." The most exciting part for the Spartans that has come together is their relay teams. With the 200 yards free-style team (Marc Houghton, Taylor Hartmon, Seth Perry, and Tate Sheiman) qualifying at the Jeffco Invitational on April 19th, all the Spartans relays have qualified for the state meet at the end of the season. "It feels good to know some of my teammates are going to be able to join me at state this season," said Houghton. Last season, he was the only Spartan swimmer to participate in the State Meet, finishing 4th in the 200 yard Read more

Spartan Swimmers Top Rival East

Boys Continue Early Season Success
by Michael Mankoff
photo by Ryanne Mollo

     April 2, 2008 was a night to remember for the Spartan Swimming and Diving team.
    The air was filled with excitement Wednesday night in the Thomas Jefferson pool as the swim team took on league rival East High School. The night lived up to the high expectations with the smashing of state qualifying times which led the Spartans to victory, 99-80. "The win was huge," described Head coach Cindy Allen who hopes that the momentum from the victory will carry throughout the rest of the season. "It was a big stepping stone, I think the athletes realize now the opportunity they have to win the city."
    East finshed second last year in league and have had some success themselves this year, which made the win that much more enjoyable for the Spartans who seem to be en fuego since the season commenced in early March. "All season long our young guys have played a big role in the team's success," noted senior swimmer Marc Houghton. The highlight of the night, however, was the Medley Relay team that qualified for state with a time of one minute and fifty-two seconds, which smashed the qualifying time by a full four seconds. The team consists of Taylor Hartmon, Seth Perry, Tate Sheiman and Houghton as well.
    However, the Medley team is not the only relay team that has qualified for state from the mighty Spartans' roster this season. Prior to Wednesday, the 400-freestyle team managed the feat less than two weeks ago at the Arvada West meet. "Qualifying two relays this early in the season is a really big accomplishment for TJ swimming," an excited Houghton remarked. The 400-free team consists of all the same swimmers as the Medley team replacing Sheiman with strong swimmer Daniel Smith.  Characterizing the win as anything short of amazing would be an understatement as the mighty swim team looks to continue their winning ways.
    Next up for the Spartans will be the Kennedy Commanders on April 9th at Lincoln High School at 4:15pm.

Swimming Steps Up to the Blocks

Boys Swimming and Diving makes a splash.

By Michael Mankoff

This year the Thomas Jefferson swimming and diving team has a lot of new, young talent as the Spartans embark on a new and exciting season.
     On Monday, March 17th, the team had their first home meet against Arvada West, taking on current Wildcat head coach, and former TJ swimming Coach Jeff Cook. The reunion was a great first meet for TJ, as they came out with an exciting one point victory by the score of 92-91.  The meet was was full of highlights, and the biggest event was the 400 freestyle relay, where the team of four boys qualified for state.  With only one qualifier last season, and already four in their second meet of the year, the team is very excited for what lies ahead.
     Whether the swimming team is on the road or in the comforting waters of the TJ pool, senior swimmer Marc Houghton will be giving his all to prove he is among the elite in the state. “I’ve been swimming year round to prepare for this season, and as a result, my times have been better than ever before,” said Houghton, who finished 4th in the state in the 200 meter freestyle as a Junior. Now with two of the opponents that finished ahead of him graduated, Houghton will strive to gain supremacy in the event this season. Read more

Boys' Swimming Schedule

Varsity Schedule

 

Date	Opponent	Location	Time	Result
3/12/08	West	West	4:15pm	PPD
3/17/08	Arvada West	Home	4:15pm	W 92-91
3/20/08	DPS Relay Meet	Manual	4:15pm	2nd Place
3/29/08	Mountain View Meet	Mountain View	10:00am	23rd Place
4/2/08	East	Home	4:15pm	W 94-80
4/3/08	Dive Meet	Manual	4:15pm
4/9/08	Kennedy	Lincoln	4:15pm	W
4/16/08	North	North	4:15pm	W
4/19/08	Jeffco Invite	Smoky Hill	TBD	15th Place
4/23/08	George Washington	Home	4:15pm	L 57-120
4/30/08	Montebello	Home	4:15pm	W
5/9/08	League Meet Preliminaries	Manual	4:15pm	—–
5/10/08	League Meet Finals	Manual	10:30am	3rd Place
5/15-17/08	4A State Tournament	EPIC	TBD

 

Coaches

 Head Coach: Cindy Allen

Assistant Coach: Aimee Witulski

Roster

 

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