ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS
- November 6-7, 2020
- Brophy College Prep, Phoenix, Arizona (Diving)
- Phoenix Country Day, Phoneix, Arizona (D3 swimming finals)
- Skyline Aquatic Center, Mesa, Arizona (D1 and D2 swimming finals)
- Short Course Yards
- Timed finals, top 16 scoring
- 3 Divisions: Division I is the biggest schools, followed by Division II and Division III
- All 3 Divisions Psych Sheets (UPDATED DRAFT)
UPDATE 11/4: After initially withdrawing their entire team from the meet, Valley Christian has re-entered one swimmer, James Kershaw, into the meet in the 200 and 500 yard free. The text below has been updated.
Another big player in Arizona high school swimming & diving has withdrawn most of its team from next weekend’s state championship meet. Valley Christian High School in Chandler, Arizona has withdrawn its teams after a coronavirus infection was reported for 1 athlete, leading to exposure of other members of the team.
Valley Christian had 20 entries in the Division 3 State Championship meet, which includes the state’s smallest high schools. Last year, the Valley Christian girls finished 15th at the state meet, while the boys were 13th.
This year, the Valley Christian boys had the top-seeded 200 free relay and 3rd-seeded 400 free relay heading into the meet, though the lack of a 200 medley relay probably meant they weren’t going to compete for the title.
The team also returned Luke Reyes this season. He was 2nd at last year’s D3 state meet in both the 200 IM (1:58.37) and 100 backstroke (54.71).
The Valley Christian girls’ team had the top-seeded swimmer in the 200 IM, Kyla Norris at 2:11.84, and the top-seeded swimmer in the girls’ 50 free, Sage Roth at 25.02. They also had the top-seeded team in the 200 free relay.
Valley Christian is at least the 2nd Division 3 team to withdraw from the state championship meet due to positive coronavirus tests. Fountain Hills High School last week announced that they were cancelling all extracirricular activities for 2 weeks, including the state swimming & diving championship meet, where last year they had 2 athletes who scored.
In Division I, where the state’s biggest high schools reside, Brophy Prep pulled 4 members of its boys’ swimming & diving team from the state meet after 1 tested positive for coronavirus and the other 3 had close contact with him outside of practice. Brophy Prep has won the last 32 boys’ high school swimming & diving state championships in Arizona in Division 1.
Arizona, like most states in the country, has seen an increase in coronavirus cases over the last 2 weeks, though not as dramatic as some areas of the Midwest. The last 14 days have seen a 55% increase in new cases, 51% increase in deaths, and 22% increase in hospitalizations in the state attributed to Covid-19.
