Josalyn Magie propels herself through a butterfly stroke during the Girls 13-14 200-meter IM race at the Cortez Summer Open, May 29-31 at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
Youth swimming program returns plenty of veteran athletes from 2025 third-place state showing
CORTEZ – For any youth athletic program, turnout isn’t a sign of passing interest, but of a long-standing community investment that’s bearing its fruit.
The Cortez Water Dragons have earned the bumper crop of youth athletes who’ve dedicated countless laps in the Cortez Recreation Center indoor and municipal outdoor pools over the recent months – or in many cases, years.
Head coach Sarah Brock and her coaching staff have a good thing going, and while top placements only tell a small part of the tale, they’ve become a fun added byproduct of a program that’s bringing out the best in their nearly 100 participants.
“Out team is growing in numbers, skills, diversity of events and community support,” said Brock, who joins Nikki Berdzar, Karen Maisey and Stephen Tarnowski on the coaching staff in charge of the eager swimmers.
The Water Dragons used strength in numbers to pile up over 4,000 team points and a comfortable first-place team showing in their lone home meet of the season – the Cortez Summer Open that took place at the Cortez Municipal Pool over the weekend of May 29 to 31.
Last summer, the Water Dragons took third-place in their home pool in the Seasonal State meet – competed between programs that aren’t year-round – an accomplishment that has the Dragons hungry for more later this summer when they compete in the Western Slope championships in mid-July, then the state championships in Alamosa over the weekend of July 31 to Aug. 2.
Parker Pearson (left) and Leslee Martinez dive into the water for the girls 11 & over 1500-meter freestyle race on Saturday afternoon at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
Makenna Dreier (left) and Parker Pearson take off during their heat of the girls 12 & under 100-meter freestyle. at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
River Anderson makes his way through the breaststroke component of the boys 12 & under 200-meter IM race at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
Parker Pearson (left) and Leslee Martinez take a breath during their mile-long swim at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
Fynn Anderson competes in the 400-meter long course freestyle swim at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
Noah McCabe completes a butterfly stroke during the boys 12 & under 200-meter IM race at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
Grady Decker takes a breath during the breaststroke lap of the boys 12 & under 200-meter IM swim at the Cortez Summer Open at the Cortez Municipal Pool. (Erika Alvero/Special to The Journal)
With only half the season in the books, the Water Dragons are already ahead of the curve, with 50 different swimmers having posted state qualifying times across 216 events – a number that exceeded their total from the end of last season.
With the large numbers, the Water Dragons have also focused on maintaining a family atmosphere, which helps the new swimmers “get their feet wet” when tackling their first competitions.
“We have beautiful team camaraderie, the seasoned swimmers take the younger swimmers under the wing to help make sure their first swim meet isn’t so overwhelming,” said Brock, “and while swimming is largely an individual sport, it helps them realize they’re also part of something much bigger.”
The Cortez Summer Open served as a showcase to community the depth of the Water Dragons program, with 12-year-old Noah McCabe taking high-point winner for the boys in the meet, while 10-year-old Cora Brock accumulated the most points among the girls among over 170 athletes in the meet.
Several athletes tried their hand at the 400-meter freestyle, with McCabe, Breckyn Berdzar, Fynn Anderson, Avery Hendry, and Ben Carpenter all finishing in the top three in their respective age groups, while Parker Pearson and Leslee Martinez took top-two finishes in the 1500 meters.
“It’s been fun to watch them push themselves to try the “scary events” early in the season,” Brock said, “we can see their confidence grow while still keeping the sport fun.”
During their meet, the Water Dragons honored Carpenter, along with Miles Anderson and Weston Webb, longtime swimmers who had become “big brothers” in the program as they round out their Water Dragons careers.
As with the many nonprofit youth sports programs in the region, the Cortez Water Dragons lean heavily on the community to support the costs of operating under the umbrella of USA Swimming, which includes insurance, coach certification, pool usage fees and maintenance – all of which make sponsorship critical to sustain the competitive learning environment that the Water Dragons have created.
For more information about the Water Dragons’ season or to get involved as a sponsor, head to their Facebook (Cortez Water Dragons) and Instagram (cortez_waterdragons) pages online.
