Top Colorado Youth Synchronized Swimmers Head to US Nationals

Denver, Colorado, April 4, 2016 (Newswire.com) - The highest-ranked synchronized swimmers in Colorado travel to Mesa, Arizona this week for the 2016 US National Synchronized Swimming Championships.  These athletes come from two different high-caliber teams: the Rocky Mountain Splash (Splash), based in Denver, and Northern Colorado Synchro (NCO), based in Fort Collins. 

Synchronized swimming (synchro) is a sport that requires a unique combination of strength, precision, and creativity.  The US National Championship meet, held April 5-9 at the Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa, is the most prestigious meet for synchronized swimming in the US.  Besides drawing the best athletes, National Team Members, and Olympians from across the US, foreign federations are likely to attend as well since this is an Olympic year.  All Colorado athletes qualified for this competition at the North Zone Championships held in Fort Collins last February.

"It's a great opportunity and will be a memorable experience for my last year of synchro."

Hannah Lyford, Splash Athlete

Athletes in Colorado have qualified to compete in three different levels of competition at the meet.  Splash's Joanna Liu (age 12) and Greta Richardson (age 12) are the only Colorado athletes to qualify for Phase 3 of the 12 and Under National Team Trials, where the top 16 athletes will earn a spot on this summer's US National Team.  Entering the 13-15 US National Championship events are Erin Bailey (age 15)/Olivia Grambart (age 14) swimming a duet from Splash and Abby Birdsall (age 15) swimming her solo from NCO.  Finally, routines competing in the Junior National Championship events include an eight-person team from NCO, and eight-person team from Splash, and a ten-person combination team from Splash.  The NCO team is the defending 16-17 Age Group routine champions from Junior Olympics last summer.

For high school senior Hannah Lyford, attending US Nationals is a career dream that is finally coming to reality.  "I'm really excited for the meet!" she said at one of her team's last practices this week.  "It's a great opportunity and will be a memorable experience for my last year of synchro."  Lyford has been swimming synchronized swimming for the last six years in Denver, and has been a member of the Splash for the last two.  In Arizona next week, she hopes to "have great swims for team and combo that show the hard work that has been put into them."

For more information, please contact Rocky Mountain Splash Program Director, Janet Redwine, at rmsplashcoach@gmail.com.