Cheyenne Mountain opened the 4A state swimming and diving meet with strong performances from its swath of competitors at Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center.

Hailey Birkby led the defending champion Red-Tailed Hawks during Thursday’s prelims and finished first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.72 seconds. Birkby finished second in the 50-yard freestyle at 24.23 in Thornton.

The Red-Tailed Hawks opened the event with a fourth-place finish in the 200 medley relay at 1:51.37. Cheyenne Mountain closed Thursday in second place in the 400 freestyle relay at 3:40.44.

Lewis-Palmer also had a respectable day and Paige Ehresman placed sixth in diving with a score of 464.35.

Grace Perry placed first in two prelim events as the Rangers sophomore grabbed the top spot in the 200 free at 1:49.41 and at 55.19 in the 100 fly. Riley Vick clocked in at 1:00.78 in the 100 fly to qualify for finals.

Bryn Baker was one of two freshmen in the 500 freestyle to qualify for finals and Baker clocked in at 5:14.13.

The Rangers’ 200 freestyle relay trimmed more than two seconds from their best time but missed first place by .02 and earned second in prelims at 1:39.83. Broomfield finished first in the event with a time of 1:39.81. Lewis-Palmer’s 400 freestyle relay took third at 3:41.08.

Rampart’s Mya Bland qualified for finals in two events and nearly trimmed a second from her 200-yard freestyle time at 1:53.32. In the 500 freestyle, Bland cut more than five seconds from her personal best and placed third at 5:06.57.

Air Academy’s Roxanna Rampe went top four in two events and touched the wall second in the 100 fly at 1:00.44 and fourth in the 200 individual medley at 2:14.48. Rampe’s time in the 200 IM marked a season best and was more than three seconds quicker than her seed time.

For Friday’s events, 4A finals are slated to start at 5 p.m. and 3A prelims will begin at 9:30 a.m. with diving.

Discovery Canyon is the reigning 3A defending champion after winning the school’s first girls swim title in 2025.

Thunder sophomore Alaia Sloan is the only area 3A athlete seeded No. 1 in an event. Sloan enters Friday with the top spot in the 100 butterfly at 56.09, which is more than two seconds swifter than Kent Denver’s Valerie Williams, who is second at 58.23.

Sloan also ranks first in the 100-yard backstroke at 57.35. She’s just .13 ahead of St. Mary’s Academy’s Reese Hilgers, who is second at 57.48.