{"id":2452131,"date":"2019-12-11T22:56:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T05:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel\/"},"modified":"2019-12-11T22:56:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T05:56:00","slug":"aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen High girls swimming season gets going with new coach Katherine Keel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5438596491228\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-317567-230\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-738x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Aspen High School girls swim coach Katherine Keel\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School girls swim coach Katherine Keel<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-738x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School girls swim coach Katherine Keel\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | The 2018-19 Aspen High School girls swim team.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>The 2018-19 Aspen High School girls swim team.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"The 2018-19 Aspen High School girls swim team.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-2-1024x576.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School swimmer Laila Khan-Farooqi trains at the Aspen Recreation Center pool ahead of the Class 3A state championships last winter in Fort Collins. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School swimmer Laila Khan-Farooqi trains at the Aspen Recreation Center pool ahead of the Class 3A state championships last winter in Fort Collins. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/AHSswimming-atd-121219-1-2-1024x576.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School swimmer Laila Khan-Farooqi trains at the Aspen Recreation Center pool ahead of the Class 3A state championships last winter in Fort Collins. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">As a relatively late hire, Katherine Keel was somewhat thrown into the fire. The new Aspen High School girls swim coach didn\u2019t have much time to prepare nor does she have much of a roster to work with, but she\u2019s ready to lay the foundation for the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not that the program hasn\u2019t been anything but elite in recent years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen you get to high school age a lot of these girls have already committed. Even if it\u2019s just to be a high school swimmer, they want to do this and they are all in,\u201d Keel said. \u201cI feel really capable and competent as far as writing workouts and leading the girls and creating a positive culture of acceptance and hard work. It\u2019s just been a lot of figuring out logistics and connecting all the dots behind the scenes. But it\u2019s starting to make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Skiers opened their season Wednesday in a tri-meet hosted by Glenwood Springs, taking third despite having only four swimmers compete. Glenwood, which won, had 26 swimmers and Summit had 34. AHS finished only three points back of the Tigers and won five individual events and two relays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The numbers are lacking in terms of physical swimmers for Aspen, meaning winning meets or competing for a state championship might be too tall of a task. But the individual talent is not of question for the first-year coach, despite the youth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cJust from a numbers game, this is definitely a rebuilding year,\u201d Keel said. \u201cWe can definitely put up some impressive times and score some points, but I think my biggest focus is at the micro level and kind of building those foundational blocks for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Keel took over for Kathleen Callahan, who stepped aside for family reasons but has helped Keel transition into her role as coach. Callahan guided Aspen to the inaugural Class 3A state championship in 2017, a first for the program. The team followed by finishing eighth in 2018 and fourth last winter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Skiers said goodbye to a deep senior class that included Davy Brown, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/brown-wins-two-state-titles-and-a-relay-as-ahs-swimming-finishes-fourth-at-state\/\">who won a pair of individual state titles in 2019<\/a>. They had no juniors a season ago; therefore, the Skiers have no seniors on this year\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">However, returning are some key contributors from a year ago such as Ava Cherry, Emily Kinney, Kayla Tehrani and Laila Khan-Farooqi. The latter three, along with Brown, won the 200-yard freestyle relay at state last season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe have a really young team,\u201d Keel said. \u201cAlthough I wish we had bigger numbers, I think having a younger team is great because you can kind of set the tone and the intention and the expectation and these girls are going to continue to swim for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Keel, 29, is a native of Tennessee who swam for the University of North Carolina, where she specialized in the breaststroke. She\u2019s lived in Colorado for about seven years, the past two and a half here in the Roaring Fork Valley. She has some coaching background, including as an assistant high school coach on the Front Range.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI was looking for a way to get back to being on deck and back to swimming,\u201d Keel said. \u201cI liked working with the high school girls because I feel like it\u2019s a really impressionable age and there is a lot they can learn. \u2026 They all care about it. They are passionate about it. The desire is there. I don\u2019t have to create the excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>PREP RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Basalt High School wrestling team competed Wednesday at Moffat County, losing 54-18 but going 2-2 in contested matches. Ruben Samuelson (170 pounds) and Jose Castorena (182 pounds) earned the wins for the Longhorns. Basalt\u2019s losses came at 152 pounds and 160 pounds. BHS next is scheduled to compete Thursday at Grand Valley.<\/p>\n<p>The Aspen High School hockey team started its season Wednesday, losing 6-1 at Battle Mountain. The Skiers will try and rebound on Saturday morning when Crested Butte visits Lewis Ice Arena for the team\u2019s home opener.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen High School girls swim coach Katherine KeelCourtesy photo The 2018-19 Aspen High School girls swim team.Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Aspen High School swimmer Laila Khan-Farooqi trains at the Aspen Recreation Center pool ahead of the Class 3A state championships last winter in Fort Collins. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Show [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-19 02:37:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}