l Brighton's Ana Agy, Skyline's K.C. Albiston and Skyline's Sara Nicponski broke state records at the meet.
PROVO - Brighton senior Ana Agy says she was in awe of all the great swimmers in the Class 5-A girls' state meet at Brigham Young's Richards Building this weekend.
That's why she had to believe in herself so much.
Agy, who has signed to swim for Arizona, broke the state and 5-A record in the 100 butterfly on Saturday and almost broke the record in the 100 backstroke. The performances earned her Swimmer of the Year honors at a meet where records fell fast and furious, at least on the girls side.
“It's a huge honor,” Agy said. “There are so many awesome swimmers in Utah right now. To be able to say I am one of the best is pretty special. Believing in myself was the biggest thing I did.”
As expected, Skyline rolled to the state championship, its fifth straight. The Eagles had 452 points, while Kearns, with 337.5 points, nipped Brighton (326.5) for second.
Brighton and Skyline are still the only schools to have won 5-A girls' swimming titles in the 13 years since 5-A was created, despite the fact that 5-A was supposed to have been strengthened this year with the addition of several Utah County schools.
“You just have to give Skyline credit,” said Kearns coach Chris Horne, who was named coach of the year for both boys and girls. “Skyline has definitely set the standard.”
Agy broke Kearns' Jennifer Fredsall's year-old record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.86 seconds. She swam a 56.75 to win the 100 backstroke, just shy of the 10-year-old record of 56.66 set by Cottonwood's Heidi Hausknecht.
“I did my best. That's all I can ask,” Agy said. “Records are made to be broken, but it wasn't my time to get that one.”
Skyline swimmers broke two more records Saturday, after Eagle Anna Crandall broke the 200 free mark Friday.
Skyline's Sara Nicponski took down Brighton's Molly Lauber's 11-year-old 100 breaststroke record with a time of 1:04.07.
“I was really nervous,” said the junior. “There was a lot of pressure on me from coaches and family and stuff to break it. It feels great.”
Nicponski is still recovering from a stomach flu that sidelined her briefly last week.
“That had me worried,” she said.
Skyline senior K.C. Albiston, who has signed with Pacific, became the first female swimmer in state history to go under five minutes in the 500 freestyle. Her time of 4:59.05 shattered her own state mark of 5:04.01 set in 2004.
“I'm ecstatic,” she said. “I trained so hard, and I have gotten so much stronger. It has all been worth it.”
Kearns' Natalie Edge was also in the running for swimmer of the year honors. She won the 50 free on Friday, was a member of Kearns' winning 200 free relay team (1:38.05) on Saturday and won the 100 free with a time of 51.72.
Skyline's team of Crandall, Albiston, Julie Lamb and Kristina Evans finished the day with a win in the 400 free relay and just missed the state record in that event. Their time of 3:32.98 was less than a second slower than the record set last year by Kearns.
drew@sltrib.com
