MURRAY — When you have only a handful of swimmers on your team, each of them becomes especially important.
But that isn't why senior Annie VanLeeuwen has been such a vital part of Cyprus' girls team.
It's the way she leads.
The Pirates have just seven female swimmers, but with VanLeeuwen anchoring the side, they managed to finish fourth last week at the Region 6 championships, held at the Murray Park Center.
"We have such a small girls team," said first-year coach William Koppelman, "that every girl is important and Annie has led the way . . . We move up because we have that inspiration."
VanLeeuwen finished first in the 100-yard freestyle and 200 free.
Behind its outstanding depth, Murray cruised to the Region 6 boys championship, besting East 474 points to 352. East claimed the girls title, winning over the Spartans 416-375.50.
Each of Cyprus' teams finished fourth.
Koppelman, who spent the previous two seasons as an assistant at the University of Utah, said he's pleased with the progress of both his teams.
Region 6 swimmers will be concluding their seasons today and tomorrow at the 4A state meet, held at BYU's Richards Building. The first eight events will begin at 4 p.m. today, while the remaining 14 will occur Saturday morning, starting at 11 a.m.
The depth of the Spartans' boys team has kept them ranked No. 1 all season, and last week's region meet was a perfect example why.
Murray won just one individual event on the boys side, yet they managed to win by more than 100 points.
A team can qualify a maximum of four swimmers for each individual event at state, and it appears Murray will come extremely close to getting four in each category.
"It shows you the character of this team," Swim said of qualifying near the maximum.
According to junior Anthony Lincoln, winning a state championship has been the main objective of the Spartans' squad.
"All year, we've talked about (taking state)," he said. "Lately, we've been talking about it a whole lot."
Lincoln was the lone individual winner on a team made up almost entirely of underclassmen.
He took first in the 100-yard butterfly and finished second in the 200 individual medley.
Meanwhile, junior Sara Jayne Christiansen and her East Leopards narrowly held off Murray on the girls side.
There wasn't really any question whether she would win her two individual events. Instead, it was a question of how well Christiansen would perform in preparation for the state meet.
Turns out, things went pretty well for the 4A Swimmer of the Year candidate.
She won the 200 IM at 2:08.52 and the 100 backstroke at :59.84. Additionally, she helped her team to wins in the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay.
"I was actually satisfied with where I am," said Christiansen. "I'm actually faster at this point than I was last year."
Christiansen's teammate, sophomore Shelby Bull, also swam well.
Bull, an outstanding sprinter, rolled to victory in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Top-ranked Timpview enters as the favorite to win the girls 4A title, but Christiansen said her team's goal will be to overtake the Thunderbirds en route to the championship.
She said the Region 6 meet was a solid tune-up.
"This might not be our biggest competition," said Christiansen, "but it helps our self-esteem."
WEST: Felix Lau won the region championship in breaststroke and placed fourth in the 200 freestyle. David Bradway was fourth in the butterfly.
COTTONWOOD: Chad Fong, among the top candidates for 4A boys Swimmer of the Year, won two firsts — 200 free and 500 free. He also helped Cottonwood's 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay to second-place finishes.
REGION 6 SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tuesday, Jan. 24
At Murray Park Center
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. East 416 points, 2. Murray 375.5, 3. Olympus 255.5, 4. Cyprus 244.5, 5. Highland 234.5, 6. Cottonwood 188, 7. West 164, 8. Granger 48.
200-yard medley relay: 1. Cyprus (Titaina Cheung, Aubrey Christensen, Annie VanLeeuwen, Lisa Pereira) 2 minutes 0.84 seconds, 2. Murray 2:03.73, 3. East 2:06.10, 4. Highland 2:08.18.
200 freestyle: 1. Annie VanLeeuwen, Cyprus, 2:00.89, 2. Jill Dahle, Cottonwoood, 2:05.50, 3. Adrianna Pachelli, Cottonwood, 2:08.55, 4. Alina Fong, East, 2:09.62.
200 individual medley: 1. Sara Jayne Christiansen, East, 2:08.52, 2. Aubrey Christensen, Cyprus, 2:25.87, 3. Sheridan Schultz, Olympus, 2:31.66, 4. Alexis Bowles, East, 2:32.98.
50 freestyle: 1. Shelby Bull, East, :25.18, 2. Lisa Pereira, Cyprus, :26.91, 3. Anne Treschitta, Olympus, :27.08, 4. Natalie Robinson, Murray, :27.31.
100 butterfly: 1. Shelby Bull, East, 1:02.44, 2. Emily Chamberlain, Olympus, 1:07.92, 3. Mindy Simmons, Murray, 1:09.70, 4. Claire Hacking, Cottonwood, 1:11.31.
100 freestyle: 1. Annie VanLeeuwen, Cyprus, :54.75, 2. Tricia Bowen, East, :58.87, 3. Anne Treschitta, Olympus, :59.79, 4. Christine Carter, Highland, 1:00.12.
500 freestyle: 1. Alina Fong, East, 5:30.41, 2. Jill Dahle, Cottonwood, 5:38.43, 3. Adrianna Pachelli, Cottonwood, 5:53.75, 4. Jessica Young, Murray, 5:57.61.
200 freestyle relay: 1. East (Sara Jayne Christiansen, Briana Roberts, Tricia Bowen, Shelby Bull) 1:44.53, 2. Cyprus 1:49.67, 3. Highland 1:55.60, 4. West 1:57.09.
100 backstroke: 1. Sara Jayne Christiansen, East, :59.84, 2. Natalie Robinson, Murray, 1:07.02, 3. Emily Chamberlain, Olympus, 1:08.14, 4. Danica Johnson, Murray, 1:09.72.
100 breaststoke: 1. Aubrey Christensen, Cyprus, 1:11.87, 2. Tricia Bowen, East, 1:14.14, 3. Lisa Pereira, Cyprus, 1:16.24, 4. Ali Davis, East, 1:16.94.
400 freestyle relay: 1. East (Shelby Bull, Briana Roberts, Tricia Bowen, Sara Jayne Chistiansen) 3:48.58, 2. Murray 4:05.35, 3. Olympus 4:06.68, 4. Cottonwood 4:06.72.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Murray 474 points, 2. East 352, 3. Cottonwood 257, 4. Cyprus 246, 5. Highland 194, 6. Olympus 174, 7. West 158, 8. Granger 71.
200 medley relay: 1. Murray (Ethan Thomson, Chase Hardman, Anthony Lincoln, Logan Andrews) 1:45.35, 2. Cottonwood 1:48.26, 3. Highland 1:52.69, 4. East 1:53.34.
200 freestyle: 1. Chad Fong, Cottonwood, 1:46.71, 2. Tyler Johnson, Murray, 1:55.90, 3. James Thatcher, East, 1:56.81, 4. Felix Lau, West, 1:58.79.
200 individual medley: 1. Dane Philpot, East, 2:07.11, 2. Anthony Lincoln, Murray, 2:09.59, 3. Logan Andrews, Murray, 2:14.28, 4. Nick Broderick, Cyprus, 2:14.67.
50 freestyle: 1. Evan Mumford, East, :23.02, 2. Garrison Ostergaard, Cottonwood, :23.22, 3. Major Morris, Olympus, :23.84, 4. Nathan Honeycutt, Cyprus, :24.27.
100 butterfly: 1. Anthony Lincoln, Murray, :56.77, 2. Logan Andrews, Murray, :57.17, 3. Joel Kwon, Cottonwood, :59.11, 4. David Bradway, West, 1:00.68.
100 freestyle: 1. Evan Mumford, East, :50.22, 2. Garrison Ostergaard, Cottonwood, :51.47, 3. Collin McClellan, Cyprus, :51.82, 4. Major Morris, Olympus, :52.47.
500 freestyle: 1. Chad Fong, Cottonwood, 4:56.87, 2. Tyler Johnson, Murray, 5:16.40, 3. Franklin Easter, 5:23.28, 4. Tom Durrant, Murray, 5:25.94.
200 freestyle relay: 1. East (Kevin Bowen, Dane Philpot, Evan Mumford, James Thatcher) 1:35.44, 2. Murray 1:35.87, 3. Cyprus 1:37.81, 4. Cottonwood 1:43.91.
100 backstroke: 1. Dane Philpot, East, :58.66, 2. Ethan Thomson, Murray, :59.48, 3. Collin McCellan, Cyprus, :59.57, 4. Joel Kwon, Cottonwood, 1:00.32.
100 breaststroke: 1. Felix Lau, West, 1:05.12, 2. Chase Hardman, Murray, 1:07.43, 3. William Muhlestein, Murray, 1:07.75, 4. Brady MacArthur, East, 1:08.98.
400 freestyle relay: 1. East (James Thatcher, Dane Philpot, Kevin Bowen, Evan Mumford) 3:27.96, 2. Cottonwood 3:31.40, 3. Murray 3:32.68, 4. West 3:43.49.
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com