FORT COLLINS • Austin Smith was short on air because of a cold, but managed enough of it to pick up speed Saturday.

The Rampart junior finished fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Class 5A state swimming and diving meet.

“I just needed to take it out as fast as I could today,” said Smith, who credited Rams coach Dan Greene with coming up with that strategy.

“There’s always room to improve, but I think I did that pretty well today. … I actually wasn’t feeling well earlier, so to come back and pull this kind of time for my breaststroke was a huge accomplishment.”

Smith’s time of 1:00.43 was a personal-best, as was his place-finish, which tied him with Coronado sprinter Jonathan Eng for the top performance among area athletes.

The breaststroke was the only event with two area competitors in the finals at Edora Pool Ice Center. Pine Creek junior Justin Holmes finished in 1:01.48 to place seventh in the event.

Greene said it had been at least four years since two individuals from Colorado Springs had placed that high.

“I swam my lifetime best yesterday,” said Holmes, who was seeded ninth going into the state meet and fourth after prelims. “So it’s really hard to come back and repeat that again today. It was still my second-best ever today. … I can’t really complain.”

Eng, a senior and the only local to qualify for the finals in two events, finished fifth (47.77 seconds) in the 100 freestyle and seventh (21.99) in the 50 free.

“Yesterday I set a bunch of personal bests and was real happy,” Eng said. “Came back today and tried to do better. I’m happy with my times.”

Eng, who swam just two years for Coronado after moving from North Carolina two years ago, also helped the Cougars’ 200 freestyle relay team set a school record with a time of 1:28.99, good for seventh place.

“He’s just a real quality swimmer all the way through,” Coronado coach Bob Bell said of Eng. “He’s a real competitor. He likes to race people, as you could see from (the 200 free relay). He’s a team player. He went 21.16 in the relay — that’s eight-tenths faster than in the 50.”

Doherty senior diver Taylor Stewart-Theifoldt, the only other area athlete to make the finals, placed seventh — a personal-best for the three-time state qualifier.

Lewis-Palmer lost to Wheat Ridge 4-0 in a state tournament semi-final game Saturday, May 22, 2010, at Englewood High School. Photo by KEVIN KRECK, THE GAZETTE