From Deseret News archives:
Skyline boys, girls capture 5A swimming titles
But there has been a changing of the guard, and the new leader is Skyline.
The Eagles made another stake to that claim Saturday afternoon in front of a standing-room only crowd at BYU, winning their fourth consecutive boys championship and their third straight girls title. The boys bested Kearns 507-306.5, and the girls beat the Cougars 542-379.5.
"We couldn't be prouder," said Skyline coach Rod Horton, who received the outstanding boys coach award.
Skyline's Brooks Felton won the 500 free in 4:35.96. Felton narrowly missed out on the 27-year-old mark of 4:34.08 held by Cyprus' Ricky Morley.
"Brooks deserves everything he gets," Horton said.
The win, coupled with his success last night in the 200 free, earned Felton outstanding swimmer honors for the meet. Felton has been a part of the last four Skyline championship teams.
"It's like we're one big family," Felton said. "I was so lucky to have been a part of the program."
George Evans also won for Skyline in the 100 free.
Adrienne Coburn won the 100 breaststroke for the girls side at 1:06.35. Coburn, who swam an excellent meet, couldn't quite reach the state record, held by Molly Lauber at 1:04.78 (1995).
Skyline's KC Albiston broke her own state record in the 500 free at 5:04.01. So dominant was the Skyline girls team in the 500 free that Katie Maasberg and Annie Quinn finished in second and third place. Melissa Wertz also medaled for Skyline, finishing in sixth place.
In his last individual swim, Cottonwood's Matt Clark finally won a state championship. Clark beat Kearns' Albert Kang in the 100 breaststroke, winning 1:01.84 to 1:02.08.
"It's nice to see that hard work and effort actually does pay off," Clark joked.
The win was a fitting end for Clark's career, which saw the Cottonwood captain overcome cancer. He is planning to play water polo next year. His top choice is Air Force, and he is considering Pepperdine, San Diego and Santa Clara.
Hunter's John Harvey came back again to win a race, this time in the 100 butterfly. Harvey won the 200 individual medley on Friday night.
The outstanding girls swimmer award went to Kearns' Jennifer Fredsall. Fredsall won in the 100 butterfly.
Kearns' Natalie Edge also left her mark on the championships. Edge, who is just a freshman, recorded her second individual win in the 100 freestyle.
The Kearns 200 and 400 free relay teams both won and both set state records.
The strong performances of its girls team gave Kearns a 379.5 to 258 advantage over Brighton.
Brighton's Ana Agy won in the 100 backstroke, and Kearn's Todd Bradley won in the 100 backstroke
As for Skyline's future, Horton understands that 5A teams will be gunning for his squads next year.
"After the celebrations are over, that's what we'll be talking about (next year)," Horton said. "Once you start winning, you want to keep winning."
