Team spirit gives Brighton a boost

According to Brighton standout swimmer Ana Agy, if you offered her a team state title or said she could remain part of her 2006 squad — a team that's likely fighting for second place — she wouldn't hesitate to take the latter.

The Bengals' team unity was on full display at the Region 2 championships, held this past Friday at the Fairmont Aquatic Center.

"What we really noticed," said Agy, who's contending for Swimmer of the Year honors, "is that Brighton came together for the first time in years. . . . I'd rather be a part of that than any team championship. The team's been so close this year."

That togetherness has helped whittle the gap between Brighton and Skyline. The Eagles beat Brighton fairly comfortably on both sides at the Region 2 meet — Skyline's girls won 433 points to 337 and the boys won 385-310 — but Brighton appears to be closing the distance with the Eagles.

"It's not close by any stretch of the imagination," said Brighton coach Todd Etherington, "but we're very competitive."

On the girls side, the Bengals face the reality that nobody in 5A has the immense depth to compete with Skyline. Behind that depth, Skyline's girls team cruised to the region championship.

"The (girls) meet was never in doubt," Skyline coach Joe Pereira said.

Coaches may only enter four swimmers into each individual event at state, and because of that rule, a handful of Skyline's swimmers with qualifying times won't be able to swim next week at BYU.

"I'm leaving some girls home," Pereira said.

Ironically, the Eagles unofficially set three state records at the Region 2 meet.

Skyline's girls 200-yard medley relay team (1:48.29), KC Albiston in the 500 free (5:01.69) and Sara Nicponski in the 100 breast (1:04.77) each bested the state record, though the marks won't count because they didn't occur at the state meet.

Albiston and Nicponski are just two swimmers from a deep pool of talented Eagles.

Swimmers like Anna Crandall, Kristina Evans, Katie Maasberg and others should all make a big splash at the state meet.

The boys side will be a little trickier for the Eagles. They're ranked No. 1 and likely will win the state championship comfortably, but the team isn't as formidable as it's been in past seasons. Also, it's uncertain whether Nate Swallow will participate at the state meet.