Brighton doesn't win but makes a splash in 5A

On the one hand, Brighton swim coach Todd Etherington couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Based on seeded times, his Bengals were favored to overtake Kearns for second place on both sides at the 5A state swim championships, held last weekend at BYU's Richards Building.

Brighton was sluggish, though, during the first day, and it eventually cost it second place.

That isn't how Etherington will remember the meet, however.

Rather, he'll look back and think about how Brighton rebounded from its initial struggles en route to a bevy of great swims on the second and final day of competition.

"I wish we would've swam like that (the first day)," he said. "I thought we were great."

Brighton finished the meet third behind champions Skyline and runners-up Kearns on both sides. Individually, Brighton's Ana Agy and Luc Monson were awarded Swimmer of the Year honors.

What was the difference between the two days?

"(The first day) they were very tight," said Etherington. "They knew what the possibilities were. They worried about what other teams were doing, instead of what they needed to do."

Brighton had refocused itself when the second day began, and the turnaround commenced, beginning with Agy, who's signed with Arizona.

She opened the second day by breaking the state record in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing at 0 minutes and 54.86 seconds. Later, she won the 100 backstroke and finished with enough points to edge Skyline's Sara Nicponski for Swimmer of the Year.

Last weekend's meet was a breakthrough of sorts for the Brighton standout. She's been a main leader on a tightly knit senior class, and Etherington was thrilled to see her emerge as Swimmer of the the Year in her final high school meet.

"I can't put her into words at all," he said. "I think I could say that about all my seniors this year."

Another one of those would be Monson. After finishing second in the 200 free, he rebounded to win the 500 free in impressive fashion, winning at 4:40.95.

Monson's name hadn't been mentioned at all as a candidate for Swimmer of the Year, and his coach echoed those sentiments when asked afterword if he thought Monson could win the award.

"I didn't think he could go 4:40 in the 500," said Etherington. "That's something I've been looking for from him for a while."

Added Monson: "It was a really nice surprise."

The senior said he'll likely swim at Seattle University next year.

Agy and Monson led Brighton's turnaround, but there were several others who were outstanding, too. Cody Reed, James Lamarre, Ali Siggard, Ashley Spicer, Kelley Taylor, Sierra Phillips and others all contributed to the turnaround.

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