Dahle, Beutler honored as top swimmers of meet

PROVO — All season long, Cottonwood senior Jill Dahle had been hoping to go a 1:57 in the 200 free at the 4A state swim championships.

So she didn't know quite what to think after she finished her 200 free race on Friday and realized the time "1:54.91" had been posted next to her lane number.

"Maybe they're just kidding," she thought to herself.

They weren't.

Dahle finished second to East star sophomore Winifred Lau in the event, and the race helped propel her to 4A girls Swimmer of the Meet honors a day later. The Cottonwood senior outdueled Lau on Saturday morning in the 100 fly, dropping over two seconds and picking up enough power points to beat out East senior Shelby Bull to the individual award (269 points to 264).

On the other side, Snow Canyon junior Joe Beutler, who broke the state record in the 200 free Friday, added to his swelling list of record-breaking swims by setting a 4A record Saturday in the 500 free. Those two swims helped him beat out talented Mountain Crest sophomore Jake Taylor to 4A boys Swimmer of the Meet honors (289-277).

Dahle followed up her 200 free swim by racing past Lau over the final 25 yards of the 100 fly en route to 11 more power points than her and five more than Bull.

"I tried to work really hard this season, and it paid off," said Dahle. "It wasn't unexpected, but it was a really pleasant surprise."

She hasn't decided where she will attend college but plans to swim at the next level.

Meanwhile, Beutler continued to demonstrate how solid he is when the pressure of a high-school state meet is on.

As a freshman and sophomore, he racked up back-to-back 3A boys Swimmer of the Meet titles. This year, it didn't matter that Beutler's school was moved up a classification.

He just swam away with his third Swimmer of the Meet title anyway.

"It's something that (helps) gets me motivated," he said.

Next up for Beutler will be his attempt to qualify for this summer's Olympic trials in the 400 IM and 400 free.

And before he returns to BYU's pool for his final prep appearance next winter, he'll work to figure out where he will swim after high school. To date, Stanford, Cornell and some Ivy League schools have contacted Beutler. Interestingly, however, despite the fact he has been a huge BYU fan his entire life, the Cougars' swim program hasn't shown any interest in him.

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com