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.
Swallow has anchored Skyline's boys team, but he sustained an elbow injury a few weeks ago and hasn't competed since.
While it appears he likely will swim at the state meet next week, he was missing from the Region 2 meet. Without him, Pereira relied on others to pick up the slack.
After the first three boys events, Brighton led the Eagles by 15 points. However, Andrew Zhang and Mason Childs went 1-2 in the 50 free, and Skyline
overtook the Bengals from there.
"They kind of stopped Brighton's momentum," Pereira said.
Individually, the region meet provided a small preview of the highly anticipated battle for 5A girls Swimmer of the Year. Crandall and Agy, who are expected to battle with Kearns' Natalie Edge for the award, each competed at the Region 2 Championships. Nicponski, who could sneak into the mix for the Swimmer of the Year, was also on hand.
Agy said that while she'd love to win the award, she's been focusing instead on her team.
"Honestly, I haven't thought about (Swimmer of the Year) at all," said Agy. "It would be great to win it, but it isn't a true swimmer of the year. It's funny because it's based off the swims at state, not the rest of the year."
ALTA: Coach Lela Hiatt has been trying to build the Hawks' program since taking over a few years ago, and Alta took third places — not bad at all for a program that hasn't seen sustained success in swimming before.
"I think they did a wonderful job compared to where they were a few years ago," Hiatt said.
The boys side was anchored by seniors Vig Mikulis and Mark Hiatt. Each won an individual event at region, and each has helped lead Alta throughout the year.
Lisa Weiler and Kaysie Owens have paced the girls team.
HILLCREST: The Huskies, who typically finish at or near the bottom of the region standings, had a fourth-place finish for their boys team.
"I've been really pleased with how the program's grown," second-year coach Lisa Craig said, "and also with the quality of the kids."
The Huskies' relays were the highlights of the region meet. Their 200-yard medley relay dropped a whopping five seconds, and the 200 free relay dropped significant time, too.
Individually, Kirk Erickson and Victor Gappmeier qualified for state.
JORDAN: Nick O'Dair finished third in the 50-yard freestyle and second in the 100 free.
REGION 2 SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday, Jan. 27
At Fairmont Aquatic Center
GIRLS
Team scores: 1, Skyline 433 points; 2, Brighton 337; 3, Alta 170; 4, Taylorsville 86; 5, Jordan 78; 6, Hillcrest 66.
200-yard medley relay: 1, Skyline (Anna Crandall, Sara Nicponski, Marnie Knoop, Kristina Evans) 1 minute and 48.29 seconds; 2, Brighton 1:53.91; 3, Alta 1:59.79; 4, Jordan 2:04.19.
200 freestyle: 1, Ali Siggard, Brighton, 1:55.71; 2, KC Albiston, Skyline, 1:55.94; 3, Katie Maasberg, Skyline, 2:05.44; 4, Krista Fehr, Skyline, 2:05.68.
200 individual medley: 1, Sara Nicponski, Skyline, 2:09.20; 2, Kelley Taylor, Brighton, 2:18.88; 3, Sierra Phillips, Brighton, 2:22.49; 4, Jenny Keene, Skyline, 2:22.60.
50 freestyle: 1, Kristina Evans, Skyline, :24.63; 2, Julie Lamb, Skyline, :25.37; 3, Amy Hooten, Brighton, :25.90; 4, Lisa Weiler, Alta, :26.04.
100 butterfly: 1, Ana Agy, Brighton, :56.40; 2, Marnie Knoop, Skyline, :59.01; 3, Kaysie Owens, Alta, 1:04.15; 4, Lauren Witte, Skyline, 1:05.22.
100 freestyle: 1, Kristina Evans, Skyline, :53.55; 2, Julie Lamb, Skyline, :55.30; 3, Amy Hooten, Brighton, :57.14; 4, Kaysie Owens, Alta, :57.27.
500 freestyle: 1, KC Albiston, Skyline, 5:01.69; 2, Ali Siggard, Brighton, 5:15.76; 3, Anna Crandall, Skyline, 5:17.20; 4, Kimi McElmurry, Skyline, 5:31.34.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Skyline (Sara Nicponski, Teri Elliott, Julie Lamb, Katie Maasberg) 1:43.75; 2, Brighton 1:46.83; 3, Alta 1:51.77; 4, Hillcrest 1:53.12.
100 backstroke: 1, Ana Agy, Brighton, :58.28; 2, Marnie Knoop, Skyline, 1:00.75; 3, Brooke Longuevan, Brighton, 1:05.40; 4, Emily Daniels, Skyline, 1:05.73.
100 breaststroke: 1, Sara Nicponski, Skyline, 1:04.77; 2, Sierra Phillips, Brighton, 1:10.72; 3, Natalie Reynolds, Alta, 1:13.60; 4, Rachel Mosier, Skyline, 1:13.90.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Skyline (Ally Spjut, Anna Crandall, KC Albiston, Kristina Evans) 3:39.62; 2, Brighton 3:43:34; 3, Alta 3:59.25; 4, Hillcrest 4:15.09.
BOYS
Team scores: 1, Skyline 385; 2, Brighton 310; 3, Alta 153; 4, Hillcrest 126; 5, Jordan 100; 6, Taylorsville 96.
200-yard medley relay: 1, Brighton (Aaron Phillips, Bryant VanLeeuwen, Lincoln Bradshaw, Michael McEntire) 1:45.24; 2, Skyline 1:45.64; 3, Alta 1:45.79; 4, Hillcrest 1:45.95.
200 freestyle: 1, Luke Monson, Brighton, 1:46.63; 2, Cody Reed, Brighton, 1:47.28; 3, Tom Ekstrom, Skyline, 1:49.38; 4, Josh Tanner, Skyline, 1:52.26.
200 individual medley: 1, Mark Hiatt, Alta, 2:03.31; 2, Brian Coburn, Skyline, 2:06.97; 3, Bryant VanLeeuwen, Brighton, 2:06.98; 4, Aaron Phillips, Brighton, 2:07.08.
50 freestyle: 1, Andrew Zhang, Skyline, :22.87; 2, Mason Childs, Skyline, :22.95; 3, Nick O'Dair, Jordan, :23.01; 4, Victor Gappmeier, Hillcrest, :23.19.
100 butterfly: 1, Andrew Zhang, Skyline, :54.92; 2, Kirk Erickson, Hillcrest, :56.26; 3, Lincoln Bradshaw, Skyline, :58.74; 4, Julian Loyola, Skyline, :59.69.
100 freestyle: 1, Vig Mikulis, Alta, :49.80; 2, Nick O'Dair, Jordan, :50.66; 3, Mason Childs, Skyline, :51.58; 4, Josh Tanner, Skyline, :51.64.
500 freestyle: 1, Luke Monson, Brighton, 4:47.04; 2, Cody Reed, Brighton, 4:55.15; 3, James Lamarre, Brighton, 5:02.25; 4, Brian Coburn, Skyline, 5:08.15.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Skyline (Mason Childs, Blake Hill, Tom Ekstom, Andrew Zhang) 1:32.26; 2, Brighton 1:33.13; 3, Hillcrest 1:34.75; 4, Jordan 1:35.95.
100 backstroke: 1, Tom Ekstrom, Skyline, :56.22; 2, Aaron Phillips, Brighton, :57.28; 3, Vig Mikulis, Alta, :57.55; 4, Victor Gappmeier, Hillcrest, :57.64.
100 breaststroke: 1, Lincoln Bradshaw, Brighton, 1:03.14; 2, Kyle Kuhn, Skyline, 1:04.95; 3, Shane Riemondy, Brighton, 1:05.08; 4, Mark Hiatt, Alta, 1:05.13.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Skyline (Josh Tanner, Brian Coburn, Tom Ekstrom, Andrew Zhang) 3:21.24; 2, Brighton 3:26.68; 3, Alta 3:32.20; 4, Taylorsville 3:49.09.
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com