Catalina Foothills Sweeps Arizona 4A DI Titles; Arcadia, Sunnyslope Split DII

By Jason Marsteller

TEMPE, Arizona, November 8. OVERALL, four team titles went out to deserving squads during the Arizona 4A state championships held Oct. 27-28. Catalina Foothills High grabbed both 4A division I titles, while Arcadia and Sunnyslope split the division II titles with Arcadia taking the women's title and Sunnyslope winning for the men.

In the division I meet, Catalina Foothills dominated with a pair of state titles. On the men's side, CFHS posted 329.5 points for the win, while the women amassed 419 points. The rest of the top five teams for the men fell as follows: Rincon-University (296), Sabino (249), Chaparral (213) and Sahuaro (198). Meanwhile, Chaparral (358), Pinnacle (298), Millennium (173) and Sahuaro (153) made up the rest of the top five for the women.

The top swimmer at the meet proved to be Sahuaro freshman Caitlin Leverenz. At the end of the competition, she finished with a pair of overall state records. First, she set the standard in the 200 IM in 1:59.64. Leverenz also took down the overall record in the 100 breast with a 1:01.57. The effort erased the 1:02.82 previously posted by Mesquite's Christina Olson in 2005.

A total of four other 4A state records fell with Sahuaro senior Ben Aaberg getting the party started in the 200 IM with a 1:50.82. That time cleared the 1:51.22 set by Rincon's Paul Oman in 2002. Aaberg also eclipsed the 100 free record with a 44.81. That performance erased the 45.43 set by Sabino's Matt Barnard in 2004.

For the women, Catalina Foothills senior Ellie Doran captured the 500 free standard in 4:48.50 to break the 4:49.60 set by Arcadia's Kalyn Keller in 1999. In the final relay of the meet, Catalina Foothills' contingent of Doran, freshman Karima Chuk, junior Abby Corcoran and senior Molly Houlton claimed the 4A state record with a 3:30.89 in the 400 free relay. That time surpassed the 3:31.25 previously clocked by the school in 2005.

In division II, Arcadia High won the women's title with 374 points, while Sunnyslope took home top honors for the men with 360.5 points. Sunnyslope (279), Cactus Shadows (206), Phoenix Christian (190) and Notre Dame Prep (173) rounded out the top five on the women's side, while Flagstaff (261), Mingus (253), Cactus Shadows (153) and Phoenix Country Day (130) finished 2-5 for the men.

Although no state records fell in the division II meet, Arcadia junior Lindsey Stevens, senior Katherine Pickard and Flagstaff senior Zach Lemons shined with a trio of state titles each.

Stevens opened up with a win in the 200 free in 1:53.29, before winning the 500 free in 5:00.39. She then served as the anchor leg of Arcadia's 400 free relay win in 3:39.26. Pickard led off that relay after winning the 200 IM in 2:06.43 and the 100 fly in 57.12.

Lemons' individual titles came in the 200 IM (1:57.39) and the 100 breast (1:01.16), while he also served as the anchor leg of Flagstaff's 400 free relay win in 3:26.62.

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