Colorado State Swim and Dive

At Colorado State University, there are athletic programs like the basketball and football teams that receive most of the attention. Some other programs are not recognized enough, with the swim and dive team being one of them. The team deserves some attention with a promising future and a past full of glory.

The Colorado State University Swim and Dive team had a great season, finishing 5th in the Mountain West while going 14-0 in dual sessions. Standout performances were not scarce this year, with a school record being set in the 1-meter dive and the team missing out on the 400m freestyle school record by 0.92 seconds.

This was the best swim and dive team from Colorado State we have seen in a while. A big part of the team’s winning formula was their freshmen. Out of the 15 swimming events, there were 17 times from freshmen in the top 3 on the team. So, a whopping 38% of the team’s top 3 times in each event were freshmen. That’s just the talent on the swim team, on the dive team they had a freshman Lindsey Gizzi who set the school record in the 1-meter dive.

For the divers at Colorado State, they think they had a productive year, as diver Jozie Meitz had this to say, “This is one of the first years that diving contributed to the team during conference and dual sessions.” With Lindsey Gizzi’s performance being a major factor in the team’s victory over Wyoming this season, which they had not done since 2008.

At Colorado State University, the history of the swim and dive team carries some weight in terms of athletics at the University. With legendary swimmer Amy Van Dyken creating a legacy for the program all by herself.

The 6-time gold medalist returned to Colorado State University this year on National Women’s Day to speak to both the team and the community. This is what swimmer Rachel Saxon had to say about the experience, “It was nice to have someone who made it big time come back. Even though she got injured and she is active around the community and within herself.”

Being the only Colorado State University alumna with her face on a Wheaties box, Amy Van Dyken is in a league of her own…

Looking at the 2022-2023 swim and dive season, Colorado State will be losing six swimmers and one diver to graduation, along with Lindsey Gizzi who has entered the transfer portal. Braeden Shaffer said this, “Losing Lindsey and Katie will hurt the team, but we have a good recruitment class coming in.” Hopefully, this recruitment class can help the team do even better than this year.

Freshman Maya White will try to lead the team into the 2022-2023 campaign as the team's most talented swimmer; she will need to have a big year to make up for the departure of senior Kristina Friedrichs.

The Colorado State swim and dive team is one of great friendships and fierce competition. These aspects of the team should be fun to watch next year.

Jess Albanna practiced her 1-meter dive at the Colorado State University swim and dive facility. The dive she is practicing in this picture is a gainer twist. Photo by: Shelby Styer