Olympus swimmers produce strong results at state swim meet

When the Utah High School Activities Association added a sixth classification and realigned the regions this school year, swim team coaches knew it would create some competitive regions and classes. 

This was certainly the case in Class 5A, where some of the state’s top programs went head-to-head this season. State powers such as Skyline, Brighton, Cottonwood, Viewmont, Timpview and others collided at the 5A state meet Feb. 9 and 10 at the South Davis Recreation Center.

Despite the heightened competition, the Olympus boys and girls teams put together similar numbers as they have the past few seasons in Class 4A. The Titan boys placed seventh, while the girls put together their best showing at state since 2013 by finishing in fifth place. The girls’ 158 points were just nine fewer than third-place Timpview. The boys were just a point behind sixth-place Box Elder. 

Cottonwood won the state title on the girls’ side, while Brighton took home top honors for the boys. 

To finish in the top seven on both sides, it requires a number of individual swimmers to perform well in their respective events. Olympus swimmers more than held their own at the 5A meet.

In the 200-yard medley relay, Olympus’ Nicole Strong (sophomore), Bella White (senior), Alyssa Kotter (freshman) and Emma Lofgran (senior) teamed up to place sixth with a time of 1:52.69. 

The Olympus boys got 34 points from its 200 freestyle competitors alone. Senior Talmage Corey placed fourth, swimming in a time of 1:44.79, while sophomore Alex Cromar was solid as well, placing sixth with a time of 1:47.06. Senior Bjorn Vagen and senior Blake Goodsell were 12th and 16, respectively. 

White and freshman Daria Wozniak placed eighth and 12th, respectively, in the 200 individual medley. This race challenges participants’ skills in the free, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. White swam in 2:13.71, and Wozniak clocked in at 2:17.49. Wozniak was also 13th in the 50 free, finishing the thrilling sprint in 25.39 seconds. Meanwhile, White produced the one of the three best individual performances of the day for any Olympus swimmer. She was runner-up in the 100 fly with a time of 58.76. Kotter was 11th with a time of 1:01.37. 

Vagen showed off his talents in the 100 fly for the boys. He came in ninth with a time of 54.80 seconds.

In the 500 free, the longest and most taxing event of the meet, Kotter placed eighth. She finished the marathon race in 5:24.63. Junior Sam Sanderson (11th place) and sophomore Regan Marberger (16th) also earned points for the girls in the 500 free. Cromar equaled White’s second-place finish by coming in second in the 500 free for the boys. He swam the race in 4:51.97, less than nine second behind the first-place finisher. Goodsell was seventh for the boys in the event, clocking in at 4:56.55. 

The girls did well in the 200 free relay. Wozniak, Strong, Sanderson and Lofgran teamed up to finish fourth in the race. They did their parts to turn in a time of 1:40.95, just 2.37 seconds behind the winning team. The boys earned 10 points in the event by coming in 12th. Senior Roberto Porras, junior Ryan Garstang, senior Matthew Clinger and Goodsell joined forces to swim the race in 1:34.63.

In the 100 back, Corey became the third Titan on the day to place second in an event. He finished in 50.65 seconds, just .7 second behind the first-place swimmer. His time was good enough for All-American recognition. Garstang earned two points in the event by placing 15th. 

Strong came in seventh for the girls in the 100 breast, finishing with a time of 1:10.15. Later in the day, the 400 free relay team of Sanderson, Wozniak, Kotter and White were behind just four opponents in the race, competing the event in 3:39.84. The boys group of Goodsell, Vagen, Cromar and Talmage were third in the same event, just two second out of first place with a time of 3:15.25.