2016 AZ D1 States: Blake’s Sweep Highlights Brophy College Prep Victory

2016 AZ Division 1 State Championships

• Full meet results
• Friday, November 4th – Saturday, November 5th
• Skyline Aquatic Center, Mesa, AZ
• Short Course Yards

FINAL BOYS TOP 5 TEAM SCORES:

1. Brophy College Prep High School- 394
2. Mountain View High School- 203.5
3. Boulder Creek High School- 196
4. Desert Vista High School- 178
5. Pinnacle High School- 145

The Brophy College Prep boys ran away with the 2016 Arizona Division 1 State Championships, winning the meet with 394 points. A close race for 2nd saw Mountain View High School pick up 203.5 points for silver, while Boulder Creek High School rounded out the top 3 with 196 points.

Brophy College Prep’s Jack Blake, an Alabama commit, dashed to a sweep of the sprint freestyles individually to help lead his team to victory. In the 50 free, Blake nearly cleared the 20-second mark to win his first event of the day in 20.09. He then led a 1-2 finish in the 100 freestyle, clocking a 44.76 ahead of teammate AJ Frakes‘ silver-winning 46.54.

Pinnacle High School’s Aaron Apel ,a member of the USA’s National Junior Team and Georgia commit, was also a double event winner, sweeping the middle distance freestyles. His first win came in the 200 free, where he clocked a 1:40.54 to out-touch Chandler High School’s Terry Yang (1:40.63). He then went on to dominate the 500 free by nearly 10 seconds, touching the wall in 4:23.68.

Horizon High School’s Cameron Heidenreich pulled off a successful double as well, collecting his pair of state titles in the 200 IM and 100 breast. In the 200 IM, he jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, swimming to the wall in 1:50.83. He then blasted a 56.28 to close the meet with another gold in the 100 breast.

Additional Boys’ Event Winners:

• 200 medley relay- Brophy College Prep (Gomez, Schramm, Niezgodzki, Frakes), 1:35.15
• 100 fly- Michael Klauss, Chandler High School, 49.78
• 100 back- Joshua Vedder, Desert Vista High School, 50.26
• 200 free relay- Brophy College Prep, (Frakes, Hughes, Gage, Blake), 1:24.18
• 400 free relay- Brophy College Prep, (Frakes, Hughes, Niezgodzki, Blake), 3:04.73

FINAL GIRLS TOP 5 TEAM SCORES:

1. Desert Vista High School- 274
2. Chandler High School- 245
3. Hamilton High School- 206
4. Xavier College Prep High School- 198
5. Pinnacle High School- 170

The 2016 Arizona Division 1 Girls State Champions are the swimmers from Desert Vista High School, who won the meet with 274 points. Just 30 points back, Chandler High School finished a close 2nd with 245 points, while Hamilton High School rounded out the top 3 with 206 points.

Individually, Boulder High School junior Claire Grover was arguably the swimmer of the meet. Grover won 2 state titles, breaking a decade-old state record in the process. That record came in the 50 free, where she won her first gold in 22.92. Her time eclipsed the old State Record of 22.93 done by Aleesha Miller in 2006 and the old Pool Record of 22.96 done by Amy Bilquist in 2012.

Desert Vista junior Shae Nicolaisen picked up an individual state title to help her team to victory. In the 200 free, Nicolaisen was the only woman to crack the 1:50-barrier, winning the race in 1:49.96. She then returned to the pool for the 100 fly, where she earned a silver medal in 56.22 behind Red Mountain High School’s Olivia Grossklaus, who won the race in 55.42.

Kaitlyn McCoy, a junior at Xavier College Prep, grabbed wins in both her events to become a 2-time 2016 state champ. Her first win came in the 200 IM, where she hit the wall nearly 2 seconds ahead of the field with her 2:03.59. She followed that up with a victory in the 100 back, nearly clearing the 56-barrier with her winning time of 56.03.

Additional Girls’ Event Winners:

• 200 medley relay- Desert Vista High School (S. Garvy, Utagawa, P. Garvy, Larchick), 1:47.35
• 100 free- Kyla Yetter, Highland High School, 51.39
• 500 free- McKenzee Gordon, Hamilton High School, 4:52.73
• 200 free relay- Desert Vista High School (Lavigne, Larchick, VanderWerf, Nicolaisen), 1:37.81
• 400 free relay- Hamilton High School (J. Seddon, Gordon, K. Seddon, Putikova), 3:32.20