Mason Kajfosz is adamant to finish the boys high school swimming season on a decisive note.
“This season has gone really well,” said the Highlands Ranch swimmer. “This is my senior season. It’s exciting but also a little bit sad since it is coming to a close. But I’m really determined to go out on a really good note.
“I’ve been looking really well over the past few weeks with the meets so I’m really excited going into the state meet.”
At the John Strain Memorial meet on April 22, Kajfosz won the 200 freestyle and finished second in the 100 freestyle.
He set a pool record in the 200 with a time of 1:40.68, breaking his own record of 1:41.53 from 2022.
“I felt like it was a really good, strong swim,” said Kajfosz. “I felt strong through the whole race and felt tired afterwards but that is a good thing.”
Kajfosz will be competing in the Continental League championships on May 5-6 and then at the 5A state meet which will be held May 11-12 at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
“At the beginning of the season, I said I wanted to win an event at the 5A state meet and that’s still to come,” said Kajfosz.
In the Continental League championships, Kajfosz will swim in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly individual events but doesn’t know yet which events he will enter at the state meet.
“I’ve tried not to specialize in any particular stroke because I feel like there is always room for improvement in any stroke,” he said.
Last season at the state meet, Kajfosz was third in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 butterfly.
“Unfortunately about midway thought the high school season I was a little bit sick,” explained Kajfosz. “This year I’ve stayed good and healthy. I’ve been able to stay up with my conditioning. I’m fully ready to go into the state meet.”
Defending state champion Regis Jesuit is the favorite to take team honors at the Continental League meet and the Raiders and Cherry Creek are the top teams heading into the state championships.
“We’ve got a really good program at Highlands Ranch and a bunch of up and coming guys who are going to do really awesome things,” pointed out Kajfosz. “The program is heading in a good direction. We’re doing some really good thing right now and we hope to continue what we’re doing.”
Kajfosz will be heading to Purdue next fall.
“I verbally committed last April,” said Kajfosz. “Now that I’ve been accepted by the admissions side, I am still fully intending to go to Purdue for my freshman year of college.
“I am going to be going into the engineering program and Purdue has a great engineering program and I’m looking forward to that and the coach Alex Jerden and I connected really well.