Provo » It was already over by the time the Park City boys' swim team took a body-length lead over heavily favored Wasatch in the second leg of the Class 3A 400 meter freestyle relay.

The Miners had already done enough to earn their first state title since 2001, beating the Wasps 339-320 points. Their exhilarating win in the meet's nightcap was merely the exclamation point Saturday at BYU.

And for the second straight year, Wasatch -- still in the hunt for its first-ever state title -- had to settle for second place.

"I could have never imagined a meet like this," Park City coach John Harvey said, who also earned a dual-nod for the boys' and girls' Class 3A coach of the year. "Two teams came to swim today and both swam phenomenally. We were biting our nails the whole way."

For good reason.

After a close first day of competition, the Miners sat in second place behind Juan Diego and just two points ahead of the Wasps. With Wasatch and Park City boasting a nearly even number of potential placers in the final days events, both teams knew it was anyone's title.

But Park City's Griffin Pool's dominant win in the 500 freestyle in a time of 4 minutes, 54 seconds -- a new Park City school record -- proved pivotal.

Following Park City's second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, the Miners' Hayden Peterson and Wesley Smith placed first and fourth in the 100 backstroke to overtake the Wasps.

"It just feels so good to finally get [a state title]," Pool said. "It was my last chance so I just wanted to do the best I could. I'm glad I could help the cause."

Meanwhile, the Judge girls' swim team fended off rival Park City 380-372 to claim its seventh state title in eight years.

But according to Judge coach Matt Finnigan, winning a state title never becomes old hat -- especially with a margin this close.

"This one was maybe sweeter because it had to be a team effort," Finnigan said. "We just forgot about scoring, swam hard, had fun and let the chips fall where they may."

Judge's Lydia Jones claimed the 500 freestyle title in 5 minutes, 27.29 seconds to edge Park City's Marissa Bell by just over two seconds in the grueling event. The Bulldog's second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, also anchored by Jones, all but sealed the deal.