Viewmont Girls, Brighton Boys Take Home Utah 5A State Titles

PROVO, Utah, February 19. THE Viewmont High School girls and Brighton High School boys took home the Utah 5A swimming and diving state titles last Saturday at Richards Building Pool on the campus of Brigham Young University. On the girls’ side, Viewmont held off Lone Peak for the team title, 305 points to 293. Brighton came in third at 239.5. The Brighton boys came out on top in their meet with 248.5 points, with Lehi in second (219 points) and Lone Peak in third (211 points).

The girls’ meet opened with a tight battle for the 200 medley relay crown, between Viewmont and Lone Peak. Despite falling behind by about two and a half seconds at the halfway point, Lone Peak pulled ahead on the third 50 and held on for the win, 1:50.59 to 1:50.96. West High School took third in 1:52.03.

In the boys’ medley relay, Herriman’s Levi Lassig got his relay team off to a quick start with a 24.80 backstroke split, and Herriman never looked back, cruising to the win in 1:39.02. Lehi took second in 1:40.94, while American Fork, which led after the first leg thanks to a stellar 24.20 leadoff by Ethan Pollock, rounded out the top three in 1:41.10.

West’s Autumn Wolfgram left no doubt about who the best 200 freestyler was on Saturday, crushing the field with a winning time of 1:54.81. No other swimmers in the girls’ field broke two minutes, though second place finisher Kelly Burnham came as close to breaking the two-minute barrier as possible with a 2:00.00. Brighton’s Katy Daggett squeaked in for third at 2:01.26.

Steven Okelberry of American Fork laid claim to the boys’ 200 free title, dropping more than three seconds from his seed time to post a 1:43.97. Lone Peak’s Parker Freeman sliced six seconds off his seed time to take second in 1:46.11, while Kyle Darling of Hunter High School rounded out the top three in 1:46.89.

In the girls’ 200 IM, Katie Smith of Lone Peak led from start to finish en route to a time of 2:08.20 and the 5A state title. Viewmont’s Mara Smith held off her challengers to take second in 2:13.01, ahead of Cottonwood’s Rachel Anders (2:15.80).

Ethan Pollock made it two wins in a row for the American Fork boys, pulling away from the field on the final 50 to post a 1:55.53 in the boys’ 200 IM. Cottonwood’s Jonah Simon kept it close the whole way but couldn’t quite hang on, touching second in 1:58.46. Brighton’s Brian O’Neal out-touched two other swimmers for third with a 2:01.57.

Riverton joined the winner’s circle in the 50 free with a dominating performance by junior Abbey Sorensen. Sorensen cut more than a second off her seed time to post a 23.51, the only time under 24 and more than a second ahead of second place finisher Amelia Wolfgram of West High School (24.57). Hunter High’s Claire Jackson touched right behind in 24.60 to take third.

Senior Regie Topham of Herriman ended his high school career on a great note with a convincing win in the boys’ 50 free. Topham posted a 21.01 for the win, ahead of Brock Harries of Brighton (21.85). Lehi’s Gavin Doel and Herriman’s Levi Lassig posted matching 22.62s for third.

Lone Peak’s Katie Smith picked up her second individual win of the meet after cruising to a 56.05 in the 100 fly. Smith went out in a blistering 25.83 and held on to win, finishing more than a second in front of West’s Autumn Wolfgram (57.09) and Lehi’s Hannah Hansen (58.84).

At the halfway point of the boys’ 100 fly, the race appeared too close to call, as Westlake’s Jonathan Shawgo, Brighton’s Brian O’Neal and Copper Hills’ Hunter Neal turned virtually even. Shawgo turned on the jets on the third 25, however, blowing by the field on his way to a winning time of 51.79. Shawgo outsplit the rest of the field by more than a second on the second 50 with a 27.40. O’Neal ended up second in 52.88, while Neal took third in 53.65

After finishing third in the 50 free, Hunter’s Claire Jackson looked eager to move up a few spots. The top seed in the 100 free did just that, touching in 53.55 to defeat Riverton’s Maddie Christensen (54.91) and Lone Peak’s Emma Fruehan (55.10).

Meanwhile, American Fork’s Steven Okelberry earned his second win of the meet, this time by a much closer margin. After flipping .09 behind Herriman’s Regie Topham at the 50, Okelberry powered home to win the 100 free in 47.10. Topham touched right behind in 47.17, while Brighton’s Brock Harries also cracked 48 with a 47.57 for third.

After leading by more than three seconds with only a few laps remaining, Lone Peak’s Samantha Patterson looked to have the 500 free title wrapped up. American Fork’s Sam Buker had other ideas, as she staged a late comeback attempt but just came up short at the end. Patterson took the win in 5:20.50, with Buker in second at 5:21.55. Grace Goddard of West High School took third in 5:25.45.

American Fork’s Ethan Pollock doubled up with a second victory in the boys’ 500 free, pulling away from the heat at the 250-yard mark and cruising to a 4:41.21, eight seconds ahead of Viewmont’s Drew Bonner (4:48.30). Hunter’s Kyle Darling, who gave Pollock a run early in the race, held on for third in 4:51.00.

Viewmont put together the top girls’ 200 free relay at the meet as the foursome of Mariah Gassaway, Mckenna Gassaway, Mikell Rapp and Sienna Smith combined forces to post a 1:40.88. Hunter held off a hard-charging Westlake for second, 1:43.03 to 1:43.44.

Thanks to a swift 21.34 anchor leg from Brian O’Neal, Brighton took home the boys’ 200 free relay title in 1:28.35. Lone Peak also broke 1:30 with a second place showing of 1:29.77. Herriman, which jumped out to an early lead after Regie Topham’s 21.21 leadoff, held on for third in 1:30.21.

Riverton’s Abbey Sorensen, who earlier in the meet won the 50 free, took her second individual event with another impressive swim in the 100 back. Sorensen just got in under 57 with a 56.97, just over a second in front of Amelia Wolfgram of West, who came in at 58.12. Lehi’s Elise Struthers rounded out the top three with the only other sub-1:00 swim, a 59.76.

After tying for third in the 50 free, Herriman’s Levi Lassig upgraded to first in the boys’ 100 back, building what turned out to be an insurmountable lead over the first half of the race and hitting the wall in 53.02. Brighton’s Tyler Barrett picked up second in 54.58, while William Purdy of West High School took third in 55.60.

The girls 100 breast belonged to the Gassaway sisters of Viewmont High, as the two both earned spots on the podium. Mariah brought home the win in 1:04.23, while Mckenna made her way onto the podium via a 1:05.95 performance. Lehi senior Hannah Hansen split the two sisters with a 1:05.29 for second.

Meanwhile, Parker Freeman of Lone Peak was the lone swimmer to break 1:00 in the boys’ breaststroke event, touching in 59.79 for the win. Jonah Simon of Cottonwood High touched in 1:01.05 for second, just about four tenths in front of Lehi’s Tyler Blackburn, who finished in 1:01.47.

The 400 freestyle relays wrapped up the meet. In the girls’ race, West’s foursome of Autumn Wolfgram, Lauren Treiman, Grace Goddard and Amelia Wolfgram held off Lone Peak, 3:37.09 to 3:38.54. Viewmont took third in 3:40.53. In the boys’ race, Brighton’s Brian O’Neal, Kyle Hibler, Tyler Barrett and Brock Harries posted a 3:15.66 for the win, with Lone Peak again in second at 3:18.33. Lehi rounded out the top three in 3:19.88.

Results For: Utah High School 5A State Championships

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