The Cortez Water Dragons will host the Scottie Aschermann Memorial Seasonal Club Championships from Friday, Aug. 1 to Sunday, Aug. 3 at the Cortez Municipal Swimming Pool.
The last time the team hosted the meet was in 2022. This will also be the first seasonal state meet under the team’s new head coach, Sarah Brock.
This swim meet, the closing chapter of Colorado’s summer swimming season for seasonal swim teams, is expected to draw a dozen competitive seasonal swim clubs from across the state.
The championship, themed “Sky’s the Limit” to align with Cortez’s concurrent balloon festival, will feature 46 Water Dragon swimmers competing in 204 events. Last year, 37 qualified in 125 events.
“For this year, I wanted to get 50 swimmers in 200 events, and we have about the same team size, and we got 46 swimmers in 204 events,” Brock said. “I’m just proud of that. They worked really hard this year.”
Four of the Water Dragons, Boaz McCabe, Leslee Martinez, Breckyn Berdzar and Rhett Berdzar, have qualified for every event in their respective age groups, and will compete their full roster at the meet. Breckyn Berdzar, 10, recently placed second for the girls 10 and under High Point award at the Western Slope Championships in Grand Junction behind first place Katie LeRoux (Durango Swim Club).
“It’s so fun to watch them blossom throughout the year, the whole season,” Nikki Berdzar said. “Just to see them go from when we’re indoor at the Rec Center and then when we get outside, we get this boom of excitement to be at the outdoor pool. To watch them all blossom into their own self and have their own goals of what they want for the season, it’s really neat to watch.”
Another highlight of this year’s seasonal state meet is the increased number of participation from Water Dragons, as they are able to compete in their home pool rather than traveling a far distance. Last year’s meet required Cortez swim families to drive to Gunnison to compete.
The Cortez Water Dragons secured hosting rights for this year’s meet through a bidding process at the Western Slope League meeting in 2024, with final approval granted in February of this year.
This year, the team also benefited from first-time sponsorships and a successful fundraiser, supported by local sponsors Vibrant Pet, First Southwest Bank, Cortez Elks Club, Blondies Trophy Room, Tucker Transportation, Major Mortgage, Cortez Retail Enhancement Association, Misfit Addiction Counseling, Keesee, Mona Makes, Sunglass, Kokopelli Cabins, LOR Foundation and Walmart. These contributions enabled the purchase of new lane lines and the replacement of outdated equipment, some of which Berdzar shared was over 20 years old.
“It’s been such a great season, and we’re really looking forward to just continuing to make it better,” Berdzar shared.
Even with over 80 swimmers registered this season, coaches Berdzar, Piper Baxstrom, Lauryn Ball, Karen Maisey and Stephen Tarnowski, led by Brock, have been able to help swimmers set personal goals and build confidence while finding their strengths in the pool.
“We had some kids that were scared of distance, but realized they were more of a distance swimmer,” Brock said. “One girl did the mile, and she swam it twice and loves it. And she’s only 11 (years old). We really saw a more diverse team instead of everyone doing the 50 free.”
Brock also emphasized the community is welcome to attend the swim meet.
“I don’t know if people realize they can come to a swim meet,” Brock said. “People are totally invited to come and cheer on. There’s no fee, and we would love the community support.”
