Chaparral takes D-1 boys, girls state titles
Editor’s note: results for boys and girls swimming/ diving state championships will be updated and posted on azcentral.com as they are available.
Division I boys swimming
The 2020 Division I boys swimming state champion was crowned on Friday. And for the first time in the last 32 years, it wasn’t Brophy Prep.
Instead, Chaparral (302 points) took the top prize after finishing as runner-up to Brophy each of the last two years. This is the school’s first title since 2017, when they beat Catalina Foothills to win the Division II championship, and their first-ever Division I title.
The Firebirds did so despite not winning a single individual event or relay. Instead, they trusted their usual depth, including third-place finishes in each of the 200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle and 400yard freestyle relays.
Their top individuals were senior Braden Walters (200-yard IM, 1:56.06) and freshman Ethan Mindlin (100-yard backstroke, 51.74), who placed second in those events and contributed to the relay teams.
In 2019, Chaparral came closer to the title than the final scores would suggest. Brophy blew them out, 484 points to 285, thanks in part to a pair of injuries just before the finals that sidelined two of Chaparral’s top swimmers.
First-year head coach Russell Krzyanowski and a young Firebirds team entered the season with their sights set on Brophy. But news broke on Wednesday that the Broncos would be unable to attend the championships due to a COVID-19 outbreak, ending one of the most impressive dynasties in Arizona sports history.
Desert Vista finished just behind Chaparral with 285 points, a big step forward from their fifth-place, 153-point finish in 2019. Their head coach, Shawn O’Connell, was named Division I Boys Coach of the Year at the end of the state meet on Friday.
Additionally, Sunnyslope senior Tate Bahti was named the Division I Boys Swimmer of the Year. He won the 200-yard IM (1:51.77) and 100-yard breaststroke (56.42).
Division I girls swimming
As expected, an extremely talented Chaparral girls team took home the Division I state swimming championship on Friday, completing the Firebirds’ D-1 sweep.
While the boys just narrowly won their title, the girls nearly lapped their competition, finishing with 452.5 points compared to 267 for second-place Xavier Prep.
This is the Chaparral girls’ seventh consecutive state title, and their third consecutive in Division I. This year, they won on the backs of four individual event wins and a sweep of all three relay events.
Seniors Ashley Strouse and Greer Pattinson finished their high school swimming careers in a big way. Pattinson won the 50-yard freestyle (23.64) for her third time, while Strouse won the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.15) and 500-yard freestyle (4:46:20). Both were also a part of the winning 200-yard medley and 400yard freestyle relay teams.
Those two are part of a senior class that Krzyanowski described before the season as “the fastest group of girls that will ever be on a team for a long time.” Seniors Morgan Brophy, Samantha Krew and Riley Courtney had strong performances for the Firebirds as well.
Xavier did not have any individual event winners, but placed well in almost every event and finished just behind Chaparral in two of the three relays.
At the end of the event, Strouse was named Division I Girls Swimmer of the Year. She is committed to swim at Northwestern University.
Bob Chen was named Division I Girls Coach of the Year for his work in replacing legendary Chandler
High School coach Kerry Croswhite, who died of complications from COVID-19 last July.
Division I boys diving
Skyline High School junior Daniel Knapp took home the Division I boys state diving title on Thursday. With a score of 563.40, he narrowly beat Brophy junior Gage DuBois, who scored 554.85.
This is Knapp’s second state diving title, also winning in 2018. For the past three years, Division I diving has been a three-horse race between Knapp, DuBois and Basha senior Zachory Lundgren.
Knapp finished third in the state last season, behind DuBois and winner Lundgren.
Division II boys diving
Junior John Angelovic took home the crown for Verrado in Division II, his 462.30 points narrowly edging out Campo Verde senior Ashton Hasegawa’s 451.30.
Angelovic finished second in 2019, while Hasegawa finished fourth each of the last two years.
2019 Division III champion Henry Bentson finished third with a score of 448.95, the Saguaro sophomore competing in Division II for the first time.
Division II girls diving
There’s a new champion in Division II diving, as Casteel junior Brecken Scroggin overtook Catalina Foothills senior Summer Westmoreland for the state title.
Scroggin scored 421.55 to Westmoreland’s 414.90. Sophomore Margaret Wesche and senior Kayla Huffman, both from Flagstaff High School, finished third and fourth respectively.
Westmoreland won the title in 2019 and never finished outside of the top three in her prep career. Scroggin placed fourth last year and 10th in 2018.
Division III boys diving
In Division III, it was Trivium Prep sophomore Blaise Fraser leading the way for his first high school state title.
He scored 395.95 points to beat out runner-up Cole Dunnett, a sophomore from Gilbert Classical Academy, and Blake Downing, a senior from Cactus High School.
Fraser finished fourth in the state in 2019. One of the finishers above him graduated; the other two, including Bentson, saw their schools move up to Division II.