BROOMFIELD >> In a double dual that saw Fairview boys swimming dominate Wednesday at the Broomfield Community Center, seniors Soren Koschmann and Wesley Schlachter stood out among the small crowd.

The Knights, with talent abound, beat Longmont by a 230-44 score, then defeated Broomfield by a slightly smaller margin at 217-76. Broomfield won its dual against Longmont with a 192-64 decision.

On the individual scale, Koschmann took home the proverbial gold in the 50-yard freestyle (21.99 seconds) and the 100 back (56.14) and served as the anchor for Fairview’s 200-yard medley relay-winning squad alongside Leo Yin, Matthew Parcells and Schlachter (1 minute, 43.49 seconds). Koschmann later won the 400 free relay with a 3:25.84 time with help from Justin Cady, Liam Eleazar Kelley and Finn Mutuc.

Koschmann credited his rigorous training schedule for his fast times at this early juncture in the season, and he has already qualified in all the events he has intended to, save for the breaststroke. He thinks he has a shot at winning the 100-yard freestyle at the Class 5A state meet later this spring and believes it will take a low 45-second or high 44-second mark to win the gold.

“I’ve been training a lot with my club team ever since December,” he explained. “I mean, there’s kind of no breaks. We had our championship meets, and then when high school season started up, I just kept up the grind. The work’s been paying off, and I hope to continue training until state.

“I think my power is probably my biggest thing. I’m working on my turns to match my power, of course, but I think underwaters are more of a weakness for me, actually, that I want to get better at.”

Schlachter, for his part, impressed more on the individual scale, claiming victory in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.57) and the 100-yard butterfly (54.94), then chipped in gold in the 200 free relay (1:34.20) with Mutuc, Ryan Reid and Paul Urbanowski to pad his 200 medley relay win.

A jack of all trades

After missing out on a breaststroke state qualification during his freshman season, Broomfield senior Rhys Gibson decided he wouldn’t be snubbed again. In every season since, the Eagles standout has met the mark in all of the events featured at the state meet — save for the 1-meter dive.

This year, he made it a challenge to keep things interesting.

“This year, I wanted to see how fast I could do it, so I think I knocked it out in, like, three or four meets,” Gibson said, adding that he tried four different events at each competition until all of his times were state-worthy. “I’m pretty proud of it. There are obviously going to be boys out there who are going to do all kinds of crazy things, but for me personally, I think it’s an accomplishment to qualify for all of them.”

On Wednesday, Gibson won the 200 free (1:48.51).

He leads a team that graduated a lot of club talent last year but believes the many newcomers can build their strength and speed throughout the season thanks to the Eagles’ strong camaraderie.

Deep breath

Leading up to Wednesday’s meet, Longmont sophomore Caleb Phelan had been enjoying plenty of success in the water. He’d qualified for all but three of the individual events and was chasing another qualification in the 500 free. The 100 fly and 100 breast have also been eluding him.

He fell short of the pertinent 500 time, but still managed to touch the wall in fourth place at 5:43.18. He added third in the 100 breast (1:10.92), sixth in the 200 medley relay (2:04.02) and seventh in the 200 free relay (1:51.21) for good measure.

Although he didn’t compete in it Wednesday, he tends to favor the 100 back “because I’m good at it,” he said with a laugh. “I get to breathe the whole time when I swim it. I like being able to breathe constantly.”

Despite that, Phelan has worked long and hard on his underwaters because he knows they can bring times down significantly. His job at the city of Longmont helps prepare him for what he’ll need amid competition.

“Lifeguarding helps because you have to hold your breath for that,” he said. “When someone’s dying actively underwater, you have to save them because it’s the right thing to do. A lot of times, they’re really far underwater, and you have to hold your breath for a long time to bring them up, because people are heavy.”

He’s been lucky through his work, never having to rescue someone in a hairy situation, but he said the practice he’s put into the life-saving method has sharpened him for meets.