Bonnie Brandon
Cherry Creek High School
Impact Statement
“Swimming has given me so much, taught me so much about life and about myself that I don’t ever regret missing out on some things because I had practice.”
Biography
One of the most storied swimmers to come out of one of Colorado’s most storied programs, the 6-foot-2 Brandon went 4-for-4 in the 5A state championships, finishing her career with 14 titles – seven individual and seven in relays. She also won four events her freshman and sophomore years.
Brandon broke her own state records in winning the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle for the second time in her career, and also was a part of the Bruins’ state-record 200 freestyle relay performance in 2011. Her time of 1:59.09 in the medley was 2.8 seconds faster than the record she set in the preliminaries the previous day. And in the 500, her time of 4:43.52 beat the state record she set as a sophomore by more than eight seconds. Brandon also swam anchor legs to help the Bruins to a sweep of the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. She also owns titles in the 50 and 400 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.
The former national record holder in the 13-14 age group in the 200 backstroke, Brandon was the silver medalist at the Junior Pan-Pacific Championships in 2010 and at the Pan-American Games in 2011, finishing third in the USA Swimming National Championships. She is ranked fourth in the United States and 24th in the world in the event. Also an outstanding student with a 4.0 grade-point average, she will attend the University of Arizona.
While at Arizona, Brandon was a six time NCAA All American. She holds two school records in the 200 backstroke and 1,650 freestyle. She was also on the relay team who set a school record in the 800 freestyle relay. Outside of the pool, Brandon also made the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team her last three years.
Brandon battled through injuries after graduation until she stepped away from competitive swimming after the 2016 Olympic Trails. She enrolled in an accelerated nursing program at the University of Arizona.
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