High school swimming: Skyline halts 5-year title drought, sweeps boys, girls 5A championships

Historically, Skyline’s boys and girls swimming teams have been among the best in state history with 29 state titles between them. Neither, however, had tasted state championship euphoria since 2017.

That all changed on Saturday.

Skyline’s boys and girls both halted their five-year title drought by capturing their respective 5A state championships at BYU on Saturday afternoon.

The boys rolled to the title with 350.5 points, followed by runner-up Brighton with 283.5 points, while the girls beat two-time state champ Olympus 317.5 to 262.

“I would say that the No. 1 key to any successful team is just perseverance. Whether it’s been last year, whether it’s been six years, whether it’s been 10 years since anyone’s won a title, just keep chugging away at it and you’ll see something in the future,” said Skyline second-year coach Charles Cullom, whose teams were both runners-up at last year’s state meet.

“I put them through some very rough days, some very, very hard workouts. They swam them and swam them hard and came through in the end.”

Skyline’s boys team only had two top podium finishes — the 200 medley relay team and 50 freestyle — but its depth throughout the meet was the catalyst.

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Skyline’s Adam Sinclair tied for first with Spanish Fork’s Feliks Czarnecki in the 50 freestyle with times of 21.47. Sinclair also had a fifth-place finish in the 100 freestyle.

Cullom said Nicholas Skamnes came up huge for the Eagles.

“Pretty sure he had his best times every time he fell in the water,” said Cullom about Skamnes’ fourth-place finishes in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley.

Lehi’s Bryce Broadhead was the lone multi-event winner on the boys side as he finished first in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. His time of 48.63 in the 100 back was a new 5A state record.

“Backstroke you don’t even have to swim it, you just have to stay underwater and kick. Big old legs for me there,” said Broadhead, who estimates he was underwater for 43 of the 100 meters.

Broadhead has committed to swim at BYU and is excited about more great swims in BYU’s pool like he turned in on Saturday.

Timpview’s Sean Honey also turned in a 5A state record performance as he posted a time of 1:49.28 in the 200 individual medley.

Other individual event winners for the boys were Olympus’ Ian Conner (200 freestyle), Cedar Valley’s Braedon Scott (100 freestyle), Park City’s Ralph Fiscus (500 freestyle) and Payson’s Tallin Kunz (100 breaststroke).

For Skyline’s coach, even though more individual victories eluded his team that wasn’t necessarily the past to success this season.

“Just perservance. I see them almost every single day and they’re putting the work in. That’s just what it takes sometimes. Might not need a superstar to do it, you just need a good cohesive team all working together, all driving together,” said Cullom.

On the girls side, even though her team finished runner-up, the star of the meet was absolutely Olympus’ Maddy Parker. A day after setting new overall state records in the 50 and 100 freestyles in her preliminary relay swims, Parker lowered them even further on Saturday.

Parker, who transferred to Olympus from Spanish Fork in the summer, posted a time of 23.14 in the 50 freestyle and then a time of 49.96 in the 100 freestyle. She also anchored two winning relay teams for the Titans.

“My goal coming into this meet were state records in the 50 and the 100 and All-American times,” said Parker, who said she believed she had more in the tank to lower the state records again on Saturday.

She said she loved feeling the adrenaline of meaningful relays as well.

“This is my first time competing with a team that does so well in a state environment and so there is a lot more pressure for the relays, cause usually it’s not that big a deal,” said Parker, who has signed to swim at Washington State.

She was the lone individual winner for the Titans, whose relay teams went 2 for 3.

There were two other individual winners on the girls side on Saturday, Skyline’s Jade Garstang (100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and Highland’s Veronica Black (200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke).

Garstang was an individual winner in both events as a freshman, and said she was thrilled to stand on the top podium as a team after a runner-up finish a year ago.

Skyline’s other individual winner was senior Colleen Macwilliams, who won the 500 freestyle for a third straight season. She was absolutely the lynchpin to the Eagles’ state title after transferring from Olympus in the summer.

“Last year or this year Colleen was the make-or-break factor for either team,” said Cullom.

Macwilliams said transferring from Olympus to Skyline wasn’t an easy decision, but feels so fortunate things worked out the way they did.

“It was the best thing for me academically, for my mental health. I think that’s really important and a lot of swimmers don’t put their mental health first, but I did. It was a hard decision but I’ve never been happier,” said Macwilliams, who has signed to swim at George Washington next year.

She graduates as one of the most decorated girls swimmers over the past decade from a team and individual standpoint.

She has a big future ahead of her at George Washington, and loves the swimming, academics, international connections and internship possibilities ahead of her in Washington D.C.

Cullom highlighted Keira Jameson as another key swimmer for the Eagles at the state meet as she bested her times and placement whenever she stepped in the pool.

The lone other individual winner on Saturday was Brighton’s Hanna Sasivarevic, who won the 200 freestyle.

5A girls state swim meet

At BYU

Final team scores

1. Skyline, 317.5
2. Olympus, 262
3. Timpview, 207
4. Park City, 174
5. Wasatch, 158.5
6. Brighton, 157
7. Highland, 127
8. Springville, 125

200 medley relay

1. Skyline (Colleen MacWilliams, Liu Elaine, Jade Garstang, Rachel Dalton), 1:47.11
2. Wasatch, 1:49.32
3. Timpview, 1:49.35
4. Lehi, 1:52.30
5. Olympus, 1:53.02
6. Springville, 1:54.25
7. Alta, 1:54.38

200 freestyle

1. Hanna Sasivarevic, Brighton, 1:52.91
2. Avery Bulkley, Payson, 1:56.47
3. Gretchen Lane, Park City, 1:56.89
4. Audrey Bradley, Brighton, 1:57.67
5. Beca Bringard, Skyline, 1:59.47
6. Sage Patterson, Bonneville, 1:59.59
7. Kaitlyn Bonnett, Provo, 2:02.05
8. Raiden Harris, Timpanogos, 2:02.94

200 individual medley

1. Veronica Black, Highland, 2:04.44
2. Colleen MacWilliams, Skyline, 2:05.36
3. Ellie Boyer, Springville, 2:10.32
4. Kaiya Lawson, Olympus, 2:10.67
5. Annie Reichner, Timpview, 2:12.47
6. Keira Jameson, Skyline, 2:13.63
7. Elaine Liu, Skyline, 2:15.27
8. Lauren Greenwell, Olympus, 2:15.61

50 freestyle

1. Maddy Parker, Olympus, 23.14
2. Gabby Henry, Viewmont, 24.03
3. Sara Wall, Park City, 24.07
4. Lavenia Turagavou, Timpview, 24.16
5. Rachel Dalton, Skyline, 24.46
6. Reagan Patterson, Bonneville, 25.10
7. Alanna Holzer, Woods Cros, 25.26
8. Kathleen Evans, Park City, 25.29

100 butterfly

1. Jade Garstang, Skyline, 54.97
2. Ellie Boyer, Springville, 57.74
3. Sage Patterson, Bonneville, 59.32
4. Kate Reichner, Timpview, 59.58
5. Eva Phillips, Timpview, 1:00.71
6. Ava Hansen, Timpview, 1:01.13.
7. Rachel Pan, Skyline, 1:01.96.
8. Malia Matsumori, Olympus, 1:02.75

100 freestyle

1. Maddy Parker, Olympus, 49.96
2. Hanna Sasivarevic, Brighton, 52.08
3. Lavenia Turagavou, Timpview, 53.10
4. Sara Wall, Park City, 53.25
5. Gabby Henry, Viewmont, 53.27
6. Taylar Hooton, Olympus, 53.94
7. Rachel Dalton, Skyline, 54.27
8. Natty Alonso, Cottonwood, 54.93

500 freestyle

1. Colleen MacWilliams, Skyline, 5:04.02
2. Kaiya Lawson, Olympus, 5:10.82
3. Avery Bulkley, Payson, 5:12.71
4. Audrey Bradley, Brighton, 5:14.07
5. Gretchen Lane, Park City, 5:17.90.
6. Beca Bringard, Skyline, 5:18.13
7. Coco Riding, Spanish Fork, 5:24.76
8. Ellinor Plant, Highland, 5:25.42

200 freestyle relay

1. Olympus (Eliza Arveseth, Kaiya Lawson, Taylar Hooton, Maddy Parker), 1:37.61
2. Brighton, 1:41.11
3. Timpview, 1:42.16
4. Wasatch, 1:42.55
5. Park City, 1:42.67
6. Skyline, 1:43.31
7. Spanish Fork, 1:43.81
8. Highland, 1:44.65

100 backstroke

1. Jade Garstang, Skyline, 55.59
2. Annie Reichner, Timpview, 56.47
3. Taylar Hooton, Olympus, 56.70
4. Ana Diedrichs, Wasatch, 58.71
5. Lauren Biglow, Park City, 59.62
6. Kate Reichner, Timpview, 1:00.50
7. Natty Alonso, Cottonwood, 1:01.46
8. Coco Riding, Spanish Fork, 1:01.72

100 breaststroke

1. Veronica Black, Highland, 1:03.07
2. Madi Harward, Highland, 1:07.39
3. Sydney Zurmely, Lehi, 1:07.68
4. Grace Canon, Wasatch, 1:07.92
5. Addison Zobrist, Lehi, 1:08.36
6. TayLee Nelson, Box Elder, 1:08.42
7. Sofie Anders, Alta, 1:08.80
8. Elaine Liu, Skyline, 1:09.62

400 freestyle relay

1. Olympus (Lauren Greenwell, Kaiya Lawson, Taylar Hooton, Maddy Parker), 3:32.18
2. Skyline, 3:36.20
3. Park City, 3:37.65
4. Brighton, 3:37.85
5. Wasatch, 3:43.19
6. Timpview, 3:46.18
7. Springville, 3:46.95
8. Highland, 3:49.72

5A boys state swim meet

At BYU

Final team scores

1. Skyline, 350.5
2. Brighton, 283.5
3. Olympus, 262
4. Park City, 157
5. Lehi, 136
6. Springville, 123
7. Alta, 108
8. Jordan, 106.5

200 medley relay

1. Skyline (Kevin Tu, Nicholas Skamnes, Dasch, Adam Sinclair), 1:35.18
2. Lehi, 1:37.04
3. Olympus, 1:37.38
4. Springville, 1:39.29
5. Brighton, 1:40.79
6. Timpview, 1:41.21
7. Spanish Fork, 1:41.44
8. Alta, 1:42.11

200 freestyle

1. Ian Conner, Olympus, 1:41.42
2. Ralph Fiscus, Park City, 1:42.18
3. Drake Doyle, Brighton, 1:42.31
4. Braedon Scott, Cedar Valley, 1:43.15
5. Alexander Stewart, Skyline, 1:43.21
6. Isaac Ridge, Alta, 1:43.99
7. Austin Partridge, Brighton, 1:44.70
8. Tallin Kunz, Payson, Payson, 1:45.03

200 individual medley

1. Sean Honey, Timpview, 1:49.28
2. Abe Astle, Olympus, 1:51.49
3. Robert Barton, Jordan, 1:53.54
4. Nicholas Skamnes, Skyline, 1:56.60
5. Bridger Smith, Lehi, 1:57.09
6. Benjamin Schiffman, Brighton, 1:58.88
7. Glen Tanner, East, 1:59.67
8. Nash Hale, Skyline, 2:00.02

50 freestyle

1. Feliks Czarnecki, Spanish Fork, 21.47
2. Adam Sinclair, Skyline, 21.47
3. Bridger Nielson, Brighton, 21.59
4. Asher Vorwaller, Highland, 21.86
5. Kolby Jepperson, Springville, 21.92
6. Gavin Smith, Brighton, 22.16
7. Keegan Elgie, Park City, 22.35
8. Drew Sorensen, Skyline, 22.74

100 butterfly

1. Bryce Broadhead, Lehi, 50.21
2. Will de la Garza, Olympus, 50.46
3. Josh Stevens, Salem Hills, 52.11
4. Dasch Springmeyer, Skyline, 52.21
5. Josh Smith, Alta, 52.36
6. Roman Nowell, Box Elder, 52.42
7. Gavin Smith, Brighton, 53.54
8. Chase Johnson, Skyline, 53.86

100 freestyle

1. Braedon Scott, Cedar Valley, 45.85
2. Ian Conner, Olympus, 46.56
3. Drake Doyle, Brighton, 46.77
4. Robert Barton, Jordan, 46.82
5. Adam Sinclair, Skyline, 47.46
6. Bridger Nielson, Brighton, 47.54
7. Feliks Czarnecki, Spanish Fork, 47.80
8. Austin Partridge, Brighton, 47.97

500 freestyle

1. Ralph Fiscus, Park City, 4:36.52
2. Alexander, Stewart, Skyline, 4:38.20
3. Isaac Ridge, Alta, 4:45.58
4. Keegan Elgie, Park City, 4:48.49
5. Miles Moran, Olympus, 4:48.69
6. Easton Mousser, Springville, 4:54.72
7. Jaime Taylor, Park City, 4:55.94
8. Ethan Bangerter, Brighton, 5:00.09

200 freestyle relay

1. Brighton (Drake Doyle, Austin Partridge, Gavin Smith, Bridger Nielson), 1:26.77
2. Olympus, 1:27.32
3. Skyline, 1:28.23
4. Jordan, 1:29.39
5. Cedar Valley, 1:32.78
6. Highland, 1:33.01
7. Spanish Fork, 1:33.06

100 backstroke

1. Bryce Broadhead, Lehi, 48.63
2. Sean Honey, Timpview, 49.13
3. Will de la Garza, Olympus, 50.10
4. Kevin Tu, Skyline, 52.88
5. Nash Hale, Skyline, 54.09
6. Luan Barnard, Brighton, 54.13
7. Owen Hartman, Olympus, 54.66
8. Sebastian Wrona, Park City, 55.13

100 breaststroke

1. Tallin Kunz, Payson, 56.69
2. Bridger Smith, Lehi, 57.33
3. Abe Astle, Olympus, 58.07
4. Nicholas Skamnes, Skyline, 59.09
5. Reef Yoked, Park City, 59.39
6. Jan Peischler, Lehi, 59.54
7. Luke Garstang, Skyline, 1:00.22
8. Laiken Swensen, Olympus, 1:01.72

400 freestyle relay

1. Brighton (Drake Doyle, Austin Partridge, Gavin Smith, Bridger Nielson), 3:08.71
2. Olympus, 3:08.76
3. Skyline, 3;13.24
4. Springville, 3:15.96
5. Park City, 3:17.25
6. Jordan, 3:17.74
7. Alta, 3:19.88
8. Timpview, 3:20.18

5A mixed state swim meet

At BYU

50 mixed freestyle

1. Dylan Etherington, Brighton, 39.96
2. Matthew Oliver, Timpanogos, 41.31
3. Ethan Bennett, Payson, 43.01
4. Blake Carver, Woods Cross, 53.97
5. Landon Wade, Woods Cross, 1:03.89
6. Ella Thompson, Timpview, 1:10.97
7. Sara Thompson, Timpview, 1:15.75

100 Mixed Freestyle

1. Matthew Oliver, Timpanogos, 1:33.87
2. Ethan Bennett, Payson, 1:50.15
3. Ella Thompson, Timpview, 2:46.41
4. Sara Thompson, Timpview, 3:00.52