{"id":2454481,"date":"2020-02-12T23:04:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T06:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/the-small-but-mighty-aspen-girls-swim-team-heads-to-state-with-high-hopes\/"},"modified":"2020-02-12T23:04:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T06:04:01","slug":"the-small-but-mighty-aspen-girls-swim-team-heads-to-state-with-high-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/the-small-but-mighty-aspen-girls-swim-team-heads-to-state-with-high-hopes\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018small but mighty\u2019 Aspen girls swim team heads to state with high hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5094339622642\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-320877-754\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/AHSswimming-atd-021320-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/AHSswimming-atd-021320-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | The Aspen High School girls swim team, from left, Lilly Huggard, Ava Cherry, Emily Kinney, Laila Khan-Farooqi, Kayla Tehrani and Gemma HIll pose on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, at the Aspen Recreation Center pool. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"3.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"18\">\n<p><strong>The Aspen High School girls swim team, from left, Lilly Huggard, Ava Cherry, Emily Kinney, Laila Khan-Farooqi, Kayla Tehrani and Gemma HIll pose on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, at the Aspen Recreation Center pool. (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\/2020\/02\/AHSswimming-atd-021320-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"The Aspen High School girls swim team, from left, Lilly Huggard, Ava Cherry, Emily Kinney, Laila Khan-Farooqi, Kayla Tehrani and Gemma HIll pose on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, at the Aspen Recreation Center pool. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/AHSswimming-atd-021320-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/AHSswimming-atd-021320-1-1-738x1024.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\/2020\/02\/AHSswimming-atd-021320-1-1-738x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School girls swim coach Katherine Keel\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/the-small-but-mighty-aspen-girls-swim-team-heads-to-state-with-high-hopes\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/the-small-but-mighty-aspen-girls-swim-team-heads-to-state-with-high-hopes\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Given the choice, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-high-girls-swimming-season-gets-going-with-new-coach-katherine-keel\/\">first-year coach Katherine Keel<\/a> would rather have a small group of talented swimmers than a large group of mediocre athletes. So the \u201csmall but mighty\u201d squad she inherited in her first season leading the Aspen High School girls swim team is everything she could have hoped for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Despite sending only five to the Class 3A state championship meet this week, the Skiers are expected to be among the contenders for the team title at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center in Thornton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThey are going to exceed their own expectations as well as mine, probably, with what they do,\u201d Keel said. \u201cIt will be cool to be on deck with the team and they are all seeded in really strategic and high positions, so I think it\u2019s going to turn out really well from a points perspective. I\u2019ve had people ask, \u2018Oh, do you think you can win?\u2019 And I think at this point I\u2019m going in with high expectations for individual times and goals as well as how we do as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen\u2019s group of five headed to state is mostly underclassmen. Three sophomores \u2014 Kayla Tehrani, Laila Khan-Farooqi and Ava Cherry \u2014 as well as freshman standout Lilly Huggard are the foundation for a bright future. The team\u2019s veteran presence comes from junior Emily Kinney. There are no seniors on the roster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">AHS does have a sixth swimmer in sophomore Gemma Hill, although she won\u2019t travel with the team this weekend to state because of skiing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI would say it\u2019s more of a joint leadership effort between all of us because it\u2019s such a small team, you don\u2019t really need a leader,\u201d Kinney said of being the only upperclassman. \u201cWe are pretty powerful. We know we are small but mighty and we are close as a team, so we support each other and build each other up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Despite the youth, Keel said the Skiers operate more like a veteran team due to all their years in the pool. Maybe new to the high school scene, each has developed through the Aspen Swim Club from a young age and has been to plenty of big meets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This has made the transition to a new coaching staff this season much easier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThey might be young as far as age and year in school, but they\u2019ve been swimming for a while, so they know the drill,\u201d Keel said. \u201cThey are all pretty well-seasoned swimmers, so they\u2019ve been on deck at big meets. They\u2019ve swam in fast heats. So it hasn\u2019t been that hard. If anything it\u2019s been channeling their focus and attention, but a lot of that comes with time and age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the final CHSAANow.com poll ahead of state, released Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/chsaanow.com\/2020-02-10\/girls-swimming-rankings-cherry-creek-and-evergreen-take-over-as-top-ranked-teams\/\">Aspen was ranked No. 4 in 3A<\/a>, behind only No. 1 Evergreen, No. 2 Salida and No. 3 Glenwood Springs. Evergreen is the defending state champion, while AHS finished fourth as a team last winter. Longmont took the 3A crown in 2018 when Aspen finished eighth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In 2017, the first year 3A had its own classification in girls swimming, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-high-girls-swim-team-wins-3a-state-title\/\">Aspen won the program\u2019s lone state championship<\/a> behind senior superstar Kennidy Quist \u2014 who now swims for Harvard \u2014 and rising star Davy Brown, currently a freshman swimmer for Colorado Mesa University. AHS didn\u2019t have a lot of numbers that season, either, reason for the 2020 team to have hope going into the weekend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cConsidering there are only six of us, I think it\u2019s kind of a challenge to go out and win the meet. It\u2019s kind of a tall order,\u201d said Tehrani, who will compete in the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle at state. \u201cI\u2019m pretty excited. I\u2019m going in placed higher than I was last year, which is kind of setting the bar high for me, but I think I\u2019m going to try and get over the nerves and rise up to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Kinney and Cherry will compete in both the 100 breast and 200 IM; Khan-Farooqi the 100 free and 200 free; and Huggard the 100 back and 200 IM. AHS also has two relays qualified in the 200 medley and 200 free, with Keel saying the swimming foursome won\u2019t be picked until they get to Thornton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On top of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/brown-wins-two-state-titles-and-a-relay-as-ahs-swimming-finishes-fourth-at-state\/\">Brown\u2019s two individual titles in 2019<\/a> (200 IM, 100 back), Aspen also won the 200 free relay championship last winter with Brown, Kinney, Khan-Farooqi and Tehrani swimming. The Skiers should contend for the win in both relays again this weekend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt is possible. It doesn\u2019t have to be a huge team,\u201d Keel said of competing for the state championship. \u201cAs far as pulling their weight in meets, we went into the season knowing a lot of this was going to be mostly individual-based because of our size, but I don\u2019t want to understate the power of what each of them can do because collectively, we can, I would say, do very well at state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The 3A state swim meet gets underway with prelims on Friday. Finals get underway Saturday afternoon.<\/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\/the-small-but-mighty-aspen-girls-swim-team-heads-to-state-with-high-hopes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Aspen High School girls swim team, from left, Lilly Huggard, Ava Cherry, Emily Kinney, Laila Khan-Farooqi, Kayla Tehrani and Gemma HIll pose on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, at the Aspen Recreation Center pool. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Aspen High School girls swim coach Katherine KeelCourtesy photo Show CaptionsHide Captions [&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-2454481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 15:55:42","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\/2454481","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=2454481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}