Saturday, May 19th, 2012 was a great day to be a Bishop Gorman Gael. In one day, the Las Vegas prep school claimed state titles both in baseball and girls’ swimming. the latter of which marked a third-straight victory.
Their final tally was 132.5, which gave them a relatively safe margin over runners-up Boulder City, who was 2nd with 95 points. That’s their highest point total and biggest margin of victory of the threepeat, and with a young team they shape up well to chase a 4th title next season.
Gorman’s star is junior Olivia Barker, who is one of the best swimmers ever in Nevada High School swimming. The versatile Junior National Teamer won the 100 back in 56.55 and the 100 fly in 54.66, the latter of which is a new Nevada State Record in the race. The runner-up behind her in that 100 fly is Rachael Grothe, who along with twin-sister Natalie are stars on Boulders team – and younger siblings of Auburn All-American Zane.
She actually came home with a sweep of state titles in her four events. In the 200 medley relay, she teamed up with Anne Boodt, Lindsey Englestead, and Catie Miller to swim a 1:47.02 and crush a decade-old State Record in the race. Boulder High School also broke the old State Record, taking 2nd in 1:47.49 – including a 22.47 anchor from freshman Alex Hubel.
Hubel is another star in the making, as she won both sprint freestyle titles in times of 23.54 and 50.84.
Showing off their versatility though, Gorman also won the girls’ 200 free relay, with only Barker and her pint-sized teammate Catie Miller carrying over from the medley. Miller, who stands 5’2 and weighs in at only 110 pounds, broke the relay open over Coronado High School with a great 3rd leg of 24.51, before handing off to Amy Lubawy on a 23.64 anchor. Along with Marley Maluafiti, this entire relay is made up of underclassmen, yet they still destroyed another 10-year old record by four seconds.
The top three teams in this race actually broke the old state record, with Coronado taking 2nd in 1:39.40, and Boulder 3rd in 1:39.56.
Miller, in addition to a pair of relay titles, also took home the individual 200 IM state crown in 2:03.90 for Bishop Gorman.
Rachael Grothe and Hubel teamed up with Megan Purdy and Cori Molisee to end the meet with a win in the 400 free relay in 3:29.71 – and surprise, surprise, another crushing of a State Record.
Other winners on the girls’ side:
- Cornado’s Sammy Harrison won the girls’ 200 free in 1:49.72, missing the State Record by just .09. Harrison will be headed to Oregon State next year, where she will instantly become one of the stars of that team. Freshman Erin Emery was fantastic in 2nd in 1:51.99.
- Silverado High School senior Mallory Harris was the other senior champion on the day; winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.12. That gives her back-to-back titles before heading to BYU next fall, though this time is a full-second slower than her winning time as a junior.
- Bishop Monogue dominated the diving. Ally Concepcion won with a score of 440.95, and her teammate Makenzie Caufield took 2nd in 412.85. Neither diver qualified for the state finals last year.
In the boys’ meet, Boulder City and Green Valley High School went 1-2 in each of the three relays, but with Boulder City taking a clean-sweep of those races, and just a bit more depth, they won with a final score of 108. Green Valley was 2nd in 80, and not too far behind were Coronado with 72 points and Palo Verde in 4th with 70.
The Boulder City boys, as mentioned, swept the three relays, and they did so in two new State Records. First, Joey Gebhart, Gunnar Braden, Cody Molisee, and Jeff Grasso won the 200 medley in 1:34.51. That broke the 1:36.55 set by the same school (though obviously different swimmers) in 2004.
Molisee, Grasso, and Braden teamed up with Jeremy Estes to win the 200 free relay in 1:25.83, another State Record. That swim was a great group effort, with Molisee leading off in 21.67, followed by Grasso’s 21.41; Estes’ 21.77; and Braden’s 20.98 anchor.
Braden swam three relays, including the final 400 free relay in a second-leg split of 47.46. Gebhart (46.99), Dylan Bunch (48.07), and Jared Smith (47.52) capped off the state title with a third relay championship.
Individually, the best swim on the boys’ side came from Coronado’s Jacob Luna in the 100 fly. The Harvard-bound senior is part of a big group from Boulder City that was in Austin for the “American Short Course Championships” in early March. He swam very well there, but was even two-tenths faster in this meet to snap the State Record in the event. He also won the 200 IM in 1:50.63.
The only other double-winner on the day was the aforementioned Bunch from Boulder City. He first won the 200 free in 1:42.12, just ahead of Dylan Wolf in 1:42.37.
Bunch would then tack on a 4:32.07 win in the 500 free.
As for the aforementioned Wolf, the versatile senior from Spring Valley High School lost another close battle in the 100 backstroke in 52.38, behind Boulder City’s Joey Gebberhart in 52.26.
But despite coming up short in two close races, Wolf clearly demonstrated his value to the UNLV team next year. In the last two seasons, he’s scored four silver medals at this State Championship meet, in four different events: the 200 free, the 100 back, the 200 IM, and the 100 fly (the latter of which he was the State Champion in as a sophomore, and set a State Record). That sets him up to be an outstanding 200 IM’er at the college level.
In the boys’ 100 free, McQueen sophomore Patrick McCrillis won the 100 free in 46.92; he fought-back from an early deficit to win a .01 nail-biter from Green Valley’s Thomas Meek. McCrillis led his McQueen team to the Northern Regional Championship, which is the first in program history (their head coach Kurt Nielsen has led the program for 22 years). The 5th-place Lancers represented well for the Northern half of the state, which is typically much weaker than the southern half.
Other winners in the boys’ race:
- Reed High School’s Kyle Scalise won the boys’ 100 breaststroke in 57.51. The senior is as of yet uncommitted, but taking this State Championship after finishing 2nd as a junior can only help his stock.
- Meek was on the short-end of a close race in the 100 free, but he had no problem in the 50 winning in a (relatively) comfortable 21.24. That was four-tenths ahead of Boulder City’s Molisee in 21.64.
- Coronado brothers Brayden and T.C. Greenwald took first and second in the boys diving, with younger brother Brayden taking the win in 408.95, just barely bettering T.C. with a 406.40.
Full Individual results available here | Final team scores here.
“Northern half of the state, which is typically much weaker than the southern half.”
This remark devalues Northern Region swimmers’ achievements. This should make for great bulletin board material for next year’s High School State Championship in Carson City.
Quick correction– the boulder city boys went 1:34.51 to break the previous record of 1:36.55.
Don’t for get Catie Miller pint-sized 2:03.90 state title for Bishop Gorman!