Less than 24 hours after dislocating her elbow at the wall breaking a state record, Mountain Ridge senior Anna Wekluk was back in the pool at Saturday’s 6A state meet doing whatever she could to help her team.
“It hurts pretty bad, but I went to the hospital yesterday and they told me that it couldn’t get worse as long I didn’t hit it, so I was like ‘If it can’t get worse there’s no reason not to race,’” said Wekluk.
Extreme pain would be a reason for most, but Wekluk blocked it out just long enough on three different occasions to not only win her lone individual race at BYU but also help a pair of Sentinel relay teams to runner-up finishes.
“I’m going to swim more meets after this, but for my team, this means the world to them. This is their last meet so I really, really wanted do the best for team,” said Wekluk, who won the 100 butterfly.
Wekluk’s inspirational performance highlighted what was an all-around outstanding state meet at BYU on the final day of the season.
Not surprisingly, team titles went to the usual suspects, as Lone Peak’s girls rolled to a repeat 6A state title, while American Fork’s boys made things a little more interesting with a DQ but did enough to hold on for their second straight title as well.
Lone Peak’s depth allowed it to amass a whopping 388 points, well ahead of runner-up West’s 214 points.
“These girls are really young. Fifteen of the 17 are freshmen or sophomores, and so it’s incredibly amazing how emotionally under control they were. They care more about their teammate than they do about getting themselves on that podium,” said Lone Peak coach Celeste Tiffany.
Lone Peak only had one individual winner — Taylor Bennett in the 200 individual medley — but it won two of three relays and then had 16 total swimmers finish in the top eight in the 11 individual events.
With most of those swimmers back for at least two years, celebratory pool jumps could be the norm for the Knights program for years to come.
The American Fork boys repeat title was much closer, as it topped Corner Canyon 232 to 198, a win coach Kathy King said she had to sweat out until the final event.
“As the meet was nearing the end, we knew point-wise we needed to swim a legal 400 free relay,” said King, who said she had to beef up a few relays ahead of the meet to make sure her team was maximizing as many points as possible.
It all came together in the end.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year, a ton of senior leadership. We brought only 10 boys to state — freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. This was a collective effort from a lot of kids new to high school swimming,” said King.
West’s Yan Dvorteskiy was named the boys swimmer of the meet after winning both the 200 and 500 freestyles.
On the girls side, Skyridge’s Katelyn Andrist was named the swimmer of the meet after winning the same two races in addition to setting a new overall state record in the 500 free in Friday’s preliminaries.
The only other overall state record to fall came from Wekluk on Friday, and she dislocated her elbow in the process.
Heading into Friday’s 200 free relay qualifying heat, as the leadoff swimmer Wekluk knew it gave her a unique chance to try to break the state record while also helping her team.
She lunged aggressively toward the wall at the end of her 50 meters, and the pain followed immediately .
“Hit the wall too hard and my elbow dislocated out the other side,” said Wekluk.
She accomplished what she set out to do though, breaking the overall state record with a time of 24.46.
However, she had to go straight to the hospital and couldn’t swim in her 100 backstroke qualifying race.
Before the injury though, she qualified for the finals in the 100 butterfly, which she ended up winning with a time of 59.26.
She also swam a leg in Mountain Ridge’s 200 medley relay and 200 free relay, which both finished second.
While seniors Andrist and Wekluk went out in style in their final high school meets, a freshman introduced herself to the big stage on Saturday and could be a regular fixture on the podium for the next three years.
West freshman Ofa La won the 50 and 100 freestyle, and then helped West’s 200 medley relay team to a first-place finish and its 400 free relay team to a second-place finish.
Not bad for a swimmer who took a couple years off of serious swimming in seventh and eighth grade because she wanted to focus on basketball.
“I just got back from a two-year break from swimming so I was just hoping that I’d swim my hardest and whatever is best came out,” said La, who said she’s thrived off of the camaraderie within the team.
“Our teamwork overall is what strives me to go to practice, and we get along so well with each other, especially our seniors that are such good examples for us,” said added.
On the boys side, American Fork only had one individual winner en route to the title, with Caleb Wynn finishing first in the 200 individual medley.
He edged teammate Jes Day, who had a huge meet in helping the Cavemen to the title. Day also finished second in the 500 freestyle and then anchored American Fork’s winning 200 free relay team.
Corner Canyon’s runner-up finish was led by Karson Spencer, who won the 100 butterfly, finished sixth in the 200 individual medley and then helped the Chargers win the 200 medley relay.
6A girls state swim meet
Saturday’s finals
At BYU
Team scores
- Lone Peak, 388
- West, 214
- American Fork, 195
- Mountain Ridge, 162
- Davis, 129
- Skyridge, 125
- Pleasant Grove, 114
- Copper Hills, 107
200 medley relay
- West (Caroline Cooper, Angela Roberts, Madeleine Brennan, Ofa Fa), 1:50.80
- Mountain Ridge, 1:50.97
- Lone Peak, 1:52.76
- Davis, 1:53.99
- American Fork, 1:56.14
- Herriman, 1:56.69
- Riverton, 1:58.93
- Corner Canyon, 2:00.96
200 freestyle
- Katelyn Andrist, Skyridge, 1:53.49
- Emme Brewer, Lone Peak, 1:57.55
- Haylee Tiffany, Lone Peak, 1:57.83
- Jade Updike, Copper Hills, 2:01.75
- Chloe Rasband, Layton, 2:02.25
- Isabella Robinson, Lone Peak, 2:02.36
- Lily Afualo, Corner Canyon, 2:03.82
- Shelby Clegg, American Fork, 2:04.01
200 individual medley
- Taylor Bennett, Lone Peak, 2:09.84
- Grace Wilson, Lone Peak, 2:15.27
- Eideann Anderson, American Fork, 2:15.90
- Madeleine Brennan, West, 2:16.01
- Lily Hyde, Pleasant Grove, 2:16.92
- Caroline Cooper, West, 2:18.26
- Teal Edholm, Farmington, 2:19.06
- Angela Roberts, West, 2:20.94
50 freestyle
- Ofa Fa, West, 24.53
- Addie Harding, American Fork, 25.00
- Sophie Scoville, Pleasant Grove, 25.01
- Layla Walker, Weber, 25.13
- Gennovah Hansen, Mountain Ridge, 25.22
- Chalisse Rich, Mountain Ridge, 25.42
- Dylan Egbert, Lone Peak, 25.81
- Jamie Horne, Kearns, 25.83
100 butterfly
- Anna Wekluk, Mountain Ridge, 59.26
- Madeleine Brennan, West, 1:00.17
- Mehlissa Young, Kearns, 1:01.06
- Grace Wilson, Lone Peak, 1:01.23
- Chloe Rasband, Layton, 1:01.25
- Caroline Cooper, West, 1:01.30
- Olivia Baliguat, Westlake, 1:01.95
- Lucy Haymond, Riverton, 1:03.07
100 freestyle
- Ofa Fa, West, 53.76
- Dani Cannon, Skyridge, 54.06
- Lauryn Hall, Davis, 54.22
- Kennedy Bennett, Lone Peak, 55.28
- Jamie Horne, Kearns, 55.42
- Ava Clegg, Lone Peak, 55.63
- Gennovah Hansen, Mountain Ridge, 55.73
- Isabella Robinson, Lone Peak, 56.04
500 freestyle
- Katelyn Andrist, Skyridge, 4:59.73
- Taylor Bennett, Lone Peak, 5:15.67
- Emme Brewer, Lone Peak, 5:21.22
- Haylee Tiffany, Lone Peak, 5:26.26
- Lily Afualo, Corner Canyon, 5:35.37
- Abigail Wayman, Weber, 5:35.95
- Jade Updike, Copper Hills, 5:40.42
- Hallie Larsen, Westlake, 5:43.40
200 freestyle relay
- Lone Peak (Kennedy Bennett, Dylan Egbert, Grace Wilson, Taylor Bennett), 1:39.70
- Mountain Ridge, 1:40.58
- Pleasant Grove, 1:42.54
- American Fork, 1:43.62
- Layton, 1:44.77
- Westlake, 1:45.33
- Kearns, 1:45.71
- Herriman, 1:45.99
100 backstroke
- Lily Hyde, Pleasant Grove, 58.92
- Kalia Merrill, Davis, 1:00.21
- Kennedy Bennett, Lone Peak, 1:00.26
- Paige Kelsey, American Fork, 1:00.28
- Addie Harding, American Fork, 1:00.45
- Dani Cannon, Skyridge, 1:01.17
- Layla Walker, Weber, 1:02.32
- Ruby Winget, Corner Canyon, 1:02.83
100 breaststroke
- Eideann Anderson, American Fork, 1:07.83
- Ava Clegg, Lone Peak, 1:09.36
- Anya Clark, Skyridge, 1:09.43
- Angela Roberts, West, 1:09.53
- Lauryn Hall, Davis, 1:10.35
- Chalisse Rich, Mountain Ridge, 1:10.70
- Marissa Visser, Copper Hills, 1:11.09
- Alisha Thomas, Lone Peak, 1:12.09
400 freestyle relay
- Lone Peak (Taylor Bennett, Grace Wilson, Emme Brewer, Haylee Tiffany), 3:37.43
- West, 3:42.44
- Skyridge, 3:47.02
- Pleasant Grove, 3:51.03
- Layton, 3:51.12
- Corner Canyon, 3:52.62
- Copper Hills, 3:53.64
- Bingham, 3:59.56
6A girls state swim meet
Saturday’s finals
At BYU
Team scores
- American Fork, 232
- Corner Canyon, 198
- West, 159
- Skyridge, 155
- Syracuse, 154
- Herriman, 151
- Mountain Ridge, 135
- Kearns, 130
200 medley relay
- Corner Canyon (Jaxon Barlow, Konnor Spencer, Karson Spencer, Ryan McNeill), 1:39.06
- Hunter, 1:39.84
- Skyridge, 1:40.02
- Westlake, 1:41.39
- Davis, 1:42.10
- American Fork, 1:50.62
200 freestyle
- Yan Dvorteskiy, West, 1:39.90
- Easton Smith, 1:45.37
- Cole Ehat, American Fork, 1:48.02
- Davis Miller, American Fork, 1:48.23
- Nate Moir, Skyridge, 1:48.32
- Ethan Murray, Herriman, 1:48.77
- Gavin Voshell, Syracuse, Syracuse, 1:50.97
- Corbin Lawes, Hunter, 1:51.13
200 individual medley
- Caleb Wynn, American Fork, 1:56.92
- Jes Day, American Fork, 1:58.25
- Joseph Biesinger, Kearns, 1:58.31
- Sohnnie Wesemann, Cyprus, 2:01.01
- Wade Ogden, Skyridge, 2:01.74
- Karson Spencer, Corner Canyon, 2:02.22
- Benjamin Eberly, Taylorsville, 2:02.29
- Brandyn Blackwood, Westlake, 2:03.60
50 freestyle
- Cameron Barney, Westlake, 21.54
- Trey Jackson, Mountain Ridge, 21.56
- Angel Nunez-lanza, Hunter, 21.71
- Sam Carlson, Davis, 21.91
- Sawyer Portillo, Syracuse, 22.13
- Ryan McNeill, Corner Canyon, 22.13
- Jaxon Barlow, Corner Canyon, 22.26
- Samuel Williams, Roy, 22.30
100 butterfly
- Karson Spencer, Corner Canyon, 51.68
- Domingo Contreras, West, 52.41
- Easton Smith, Riverton, 52.62
- Nathaniel Harris, Pleasant Grove, 53.56
- Sawyer Portillo, Syracuse, 53.59
- Caleb Wynn, American Fork, 53.83
- Braden Fairbanks, Pleasant Grove, 55.05
- Koen Smith, Cyprus, 55.26
100 freestyle
- Kanyon Page, Syracuse, 46.99
- Cameron Barney, Westlake, 48.56
- Sam Carlson, Davis, 48.59
- Cole Ehat, American Fork, 48.82
- Trey Jackson, Mountain Ridge, 48.92
- Samuel Williams, Roy, 49.28
- Neil Bennett, Bingham, 49.57
- Ryan McNeill, Corner Canyon, 49.82
500 freestyle
- Yan Dvorteskiy, West, 4:34.11
- Jes Day, American Fork, 4:47.96
- Nate Moir, Skyridge, 4:52.66
- Ethan Murray, Herriman, 4:57.10
- Bryan Bunker, Kearns, 4:59.02
- Corbin Lawes, Hunter, 5:00.07
- Weston Hopkins, Hunter, 5:00.43
- Nathan Dutton, Lone Peak, 5:00.99
200 freestyle relay
- American Fork (Cole Ehat, Davis Miller, Caleb Wynn, Jes Day), 1:29.33
- West, 1:29.53
- Syracuse, 1:29.88
- Hunter, 1:30.16
- Mountain Ridge, 1:30.52
- Pleasant Grove, 1:31.22
- Corner Canyon, 1:32.11
- Layton, 1:32.59
100 backstroke
- Angel Nunez-lanza, Hunter, 51.87
- Brandyn Blackwood, Westlake, 52.26
- Kanyon Page, Syracuse, 52.28
- Spencer Stowers, Skyridge, 52.57
- Davis Miller, American Fork, 54.41
- Lincoln Burr, Skyridge, 54.72
- Domingo Contreras, West, 54.96
- Bryton Simons, Mountain Ridge, 55.74
100 breaststroke
- Joseph Biesinger, Kearns, 57.93
- Sohnnie Wesemann, Cyprus, 59.01
- Wade Ogden, Skyridge, 1:01.89
- Mason Draxler, Farmington, 1:02.44
- Roman Christenot, Kearns, 1:02.78
- Isaac Davenport, Weber, 1:03.54
- Benjamin Eberly, Taylorsville
- Konnor Spencer, Corner Canyon, 1:03.70
400 freestyle relay
- West (Yan Dvorteskiy, Richard Li, Rico Contreras, Domingo Contreras), 3:16.08
- Syracuse, 3:17.38
- Kearns, 3:21.80
- Pleasant Grove, 3:22.14
- American Fork, 3:23.64
- Corner Canyon, 3:23.89
- Mountain Ridge, 3:24.73
- Layton, 3:26.60