Home

Steamboat Springs — Cole Worsley's modesty is rivaled only by his competitiveness.

So while the Steamboat Springs High School senior, who swims for the Moffat County High School swim team, talks about how fast other swimmers are or how his times aren't where he wants them to be, there's a subtle but noticeable tone in his voice hinting that big things are on the horizon.

Worsley takes to the pool today and Saturday at the State Swimming Championships at Mountain View High School in Loveland.

The prelims start at 4 p.m. today, and the finals begin at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Worsley enters the pool as the only defending champion in Class 4A - he won the 100-yard butterfly last year - and with aspirations and a real chance at coming away with two state titles.

"He's pretty driven to do his own thing," said Patti Worsley, Cole's mom and Moffat County's swim coach. "I can say things to him as a coach, and I can say things to him as a mom. Sometimes, it's hard to differentiate between the two. He knows what he wants. He wants to win. Cole will do whatever it takes."

Judging by his body of work, Cole has a legitimate shot to come away from the weekend as a dual champion.

He is ranked first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.96 seconds - far from his personal best time of 20.6. In the 100 butterfly, he is ranked fifth with a time of 53.93, but he has swam a 49.9 in the past.

"The key is just going all out," Cole said. "When you die, you just keep going. You have to fight the battle."

Cole said his focus is on getting through today's prelims first and then focusing on Saturday's finals. It's an interesting balance, he said. Although he doesn't have a lane preference and admits that being the top qualifier can cause some mental hurdles, all he wants is chance against the field Saturday.

A benefit he'll have will be the swimsuit he wears. All year, Cole has swam in a Speedo, but for Saturday and potentially today, he'll wear one of his brother Blake's suits.

Blake just finished up his swimming career with the University of Denver.

"First of all, he has to get through to the finals," Patti Worsley said. "It's hard to say. There is such a difference now with all the suits now. It really can change the way you swim. But I expect he'll do pretty well."

Cole also will swim the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays with teammates John Kirk, Chance Peterson and Charlie Griffiths.

All three will be making their debuts at the state meet and will hope to qualify for Saturday's finals or semifinals of the events. The top eight teams from prelims qualify for the finals, with the next eight qualifying for the semifinals.

"For them to get where they are is a huge accomplishment," Patti Worlsey said about the relay squad. "They worked really hard to get here."