Year after year, the Kearns swim team proudly carries the banner as the school's most heralded athletic program.
Although they compete in a relatively low-profile sport compared to football or basketball, Cougar swimmers consistently rank highly in region and state competitions, bringing a bit of pride to the pool for the west-side high school.
"We like representing Kearns High School, and we do the very best we can," said Kearns swim coach Chris Horne. "It's nice to get the attention that we get, because we are one of the more successful teams."
The Cougars capped off another successful season with a number of noteworthy performances at the state championships on Feb. 9-10 at BYU. The Kearns girls finished in third place overall, while the boys exceeded expectations on their way to a fifth-place finish.
Individual honors were in abundance for the Cougars, as senior Natalie Edge successfully defended her state titles in the 50- and 100-freestyle events, just missing out on the swimmer-of-the-meet award. Junior Adam Huff took top honors in the 100 free, and coach Chris Horne won the 5A Girls' Coach of the Year award.
"It's a surprise," Horne said of the award. "It means a lot that the people that I coach against and with voted for me, and it just makes me happy."
One thing that wasn't a surprise to Horne, however, was the way his girls performed at the state championships. With powerhouses Skyline and Brighton competing, Horne was pleased to see his girls finish where they did.
"For the girls, I kind of had us pegged for third all year," Horne said. "Skyline is just really a good team, and Brighton also. It's really nice to have them, with good competition and to have a team to shoot for. I think that's what really helps our team perform well."
Edge led the charge again for the Cougars in her final high school appearance before swimming for the University of Utah next year. Her winning time of 50.77 seconds in the 100 free broke the 13-year state record, and she finished just four-tenths of a second off the state record in the 50-free. The win signified fulfillment of a goal that Edge and Horne set for the senior months ago.
"At first I was scared to look at my time," Edge said of the race. "But when I did I was very pleased. Elated. I wanted to see if I could break the state record, which I did, so I'm happy."
Edge later led off for the Cougars' 200-free relay squad, which edged Skyline by .01 seconds for the close victory. Seniors Megan Raby, Stephanie Fredsall and Shandi Kelbaugh added depth for the Cougars, with sophomores Annika Bergeson and Alyssa Christensen earning valuable state experience.
The third-place finish at state came on the heels of a second consecutive region championship for the girls, as they prevailed over Hunter for first place in Region 3. At the region championships, the Cougars stole top honors in every event, sweeping the medals and reaffirming the fact that they are still the team to beat in the pool.
On the boys' side, a number of seasonal bests moved the Cougars up to the fifth position, a higher finish than many expected.
"For the boys, coming in I had us ranked seventh," Horne said. "To be able to move into the top five like that was a major accomplishment."
Kearns' move up in the standings was boosted by Huff's title in the 100 free and a pair of second-place finishes by senior Justin Christensen in the 50 free and 100 fly. Freshman Seth Huff also picked up some outside points for his team, propelling the Cougars to a high finish.
The Cougar boys had previously finished third in Region 3, coming in behind West Jordan and Bingham.
With another successful season in the books, Horne is already looking to the future, with a host of swimmers returning for what looks like a promising campaign next winter. The loss of performers like Edge, Raby and Christensen, however, will be difficult to overcome.
"It's just been a real honor coaching them," Horne said. "It seems like every year there's some seniors that it's just so hard to say goodbye to, but it happens every year,"
In the meantime, the Cougars will prepare to represent Kearns in another aquatic sport where they hope to do well. "Let's get ready for polo now," Horne said. "A lot of our team is really focused on water polo, and it's going to be a fun year."