As she approached the final turn of her 100-yard freestyle race Saturday at BYU, Juan Diego's Kelsey Leeson felt the third-degree burn of exhaustion creep into her legs and lungs.

"They felt like they were going to fall off," Leeson said. "But I had to just keep on going and keep on kicking. I knew I couldn't stop."

Leeson had spent the previous three lengths swapping the lead with a heavily-favored Desert Hill's Krissia Beatty and, by the final turn, it was a dead heat.

As they made the final flip toward the homestretch, Leeson and Beatty both turned their heads to inhale -- right in each other's direction. The natatorium crowd went wild.

Leeson could have backed off the pace. As just a sophomore, Leeson could have buckled under the pressure.

But by Saturday, competing against the big dogs had become old hat.

The previous day, Leeson had looked to the scoreboard following her win in the 50 freestyle through the eyes of an underdog. At first glance, she could scarcely believe it was her name next to the winning time of 25.18 seconds and not that of favorite Mia Greenwald of Park City, who had slipped to fourth place.

When she touched the wall in the 100 freestyle, she was less surprised -- but still entirely overwhelmed -- to see she had won her second state title, outreaching Beatty down the stretch to win the event in 55.67 seconds -- a time that also destroyed the Juan Diego school record.

Coach John Moran was speechless. Leeson's teammates were equally awestruck. A freshman teammate was so excited she dropped her phone in the pool.

According to Moran, it was all part of the plan.

"We try to teach the kids to be brave enough to use the talent they have," Moran said. "She was confident about her training. When she went out as fast as she did [in the 100 free] it was pretty much a forgone conclusion."

But while Leeson's breakout was unexpected, it didn't come easily.

During the season, Leeson completed an average of 25,000-35,000 yards in the pool each week -- and that was just water time. In order to improve the entry speed and strength of her turns, Leeson completed a countless number of squat jumps to improve her leg muscles. She ran bleachers, ran miles and lifted weights.

When it was time, Moran faced the difficult task of appropriately tapering every athlete to maximize their performance by the state tournament. According to Moran, the result of that taper is a gamble at best.

"You just have to make a decision and hope it pays off," he said.

It certainly did in Leeson's case.

In her 50 freestyle, she dropped just over a half-second -- a huge margin in such short race. In her 100 freestyle win, she dropped an even more impressive 1.5 seconds to narrowly edge Beatty, who also improved upon her own personal best.

"I took more than usual to taper and my body responds to that," Leeson said.

Next season, Leeson understands the roles will be reversed. She knows she'll be the one everyone is after -- an ideal situation according to coach Moran.

"There will be added pressure to repeat now and that's great from a coach's standpoint," Moran said. "Sometimes it's easier to be the catcher, but she's a humble kid. She won't take it for granted."

But for now, she's earned some time to revel in her victories

"It's going to take more dedication and hard work [next season]," Leeson said. "But for now, I'm just kind of enjoying it."