The main goal this year was just trying to get Daniel Puls qualified to compete at the Class 4A State Boys Swimming Championships.

"I tapered his swim for the Regional meet (Western Slope Championships)," Montezuma-Cortez High School head boys swimming coach Mark Knox said. "Just getting him qualified was outstanding. At the start of the season, I wasn’t sure we would get anyone qualified."

Puls had a good swim, according to Knox, at State in the 100-yard breast stroke. He swam a 1 minute, 05.38 seconds in the preliminaries.

"He was .8 off his entering time. But that was expected. I knew he was going to swim a little slower at State. He was right where I expected him. That put him in 11th place going into the finals," Knox explained.

Puls came back and swam a 1:05.11 in the finals which placed him 10th. He scored seven points for the Panthers. Puls is the first Cortez swimmer to place at State since 1994 when Scott Mollenkopf placed.

"He swam well. The whole taper business is for one meet and that was for Regionals. I expected him to go a little bit slower (at State) and he did. If he had actually swam his entering time he would have placed seventh," Knox commented.

Puls swam the races of his life in the preliminaries and finals of the 100-yard breast stroke at the recently-held Western Slope Swimming Championships in Grand Junction only the week before.

Puls set a new school record for the event and took first place and qualified for the Class 4A State Swimming Championships at the Eldora Pool and Ice Center in Fort Collins.

Puls, a junior, entered the race with a clocking of 1:09.92 seconds, which he had hit three weeks earlier. That was a school record (previous was 1:11). However, in the preliminaries he shattered that time of 1:06.38 which put him in first place for the finals. He bettered that new standard with a 1:04.50 in the finals. That record has been in the MCHS record books for nearly a decade.

"Next year when Puls is a senior, we will taper him for State," Knox said. "To place 10th is darn good. But next year we will aim for a much higher finish."

Puls worked hard at practice going into State, according to Knox. He swam 4,000 meters the first day, then dropped of to 3,200 the next day. He went 3,000 and swam 1,800 just before leaving. At a pool in Denver, Puls swam enough to stay sharp.

"He was focused for the meet. He was excited during the first day of competition and just glad to be at State. He was excited about making the finals," Knox added.

Puls was chosen Most Valuable Swimmer for the 2000 season. Sophomore Chance Harrison was named Most Improved.

Knox was pleased with the season overall.