AIA Division II Championships
- November 7-9, 2024
- Skyline Aquatic Center — Mesa, AZ
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Girls’ Full Results
- Boys’ Full Results
Girls’ Meet
The Catalina Foothills girls won the program’s 13th state championship in the last 24 years. Catalina Foothills and Desert Mountain separated themselves from the other Division II programs with their depth. It was a race between the two programs for the overall trophy and at the end of the meet, Catalina Foothills outscored Desert Mountain by 23.5 points, 463.5 to 440.
Both programs had depth, but Catalina Foothills could edge ahead of Desert Mountain thanks to winning six events to Desert Mountain’s two.
Senior Amber Janky led the way for Catalina Foothills, winning two events. She’s headed to San Diego State University in the fall, one of the top mid-major programs for women. She took her first win in the 200 IM, swimming a lifetime best 2:02.31. Janky pulled a tough double at these championships and was back up in the next event, the 50 freestyle. She won that too, touching in 23.61, well ahead of Desert Mountain’s Katelyn Huffman (24.04).
Janky also anchored Catalina Foothills’ winning 200 freestyle relay with a 23.33, stopping the clock at 1:37.82 as she teamed with Leila Stafford (24.59), Wren Smith (25.35), and Mia Reidy (24.55). Janky, Stafford, and Smith were also on the winning 400 freestyle relay. They added Connolly Taylor to the quartet for the closing event, winning in 3:27.88.
The sophomore Stafford also picked up two individual event wins for Catalina Foothills. She was part of an exciting 200 freestyle race that saw her and Campo Verde’s Caroline Grimsley tie for the win in 1:51.86 after Grimsely battled back on the final 50. The time was a lifetime best for both swimmers. Stafford stood on the top step of the podium alone in the 500 freestyle, hitting 4:56.50 for another lifetime best.
Senior and Yale commit Ellie Horning earned Desert Mountain’s two event wins. She was off the 54.98 she swam in the 100 fly prelims, but still ran away with the event win in 55.64 as no other finalist broke 57 seconds. She was similarly dominant in the 100 backstroke, winning by over a second in 55.71.
Horning led off Desert Mountain’s 200 medley relay with a 26.60 50 backstroke. She gave her team the lead, but at the final touch, Horizon got the better of them as Lily Cheney anchored in 23.60 to get her hand on the wall in 1:47.65, eight-hundredths ahead of Desert Mountain’s 1:47.73.
Horizon got another event win thanks to Ireland Gilligan’s 1:05.93 100 breaststroke, while Cheney took second to Campo Verde’s Safiyah Supreme in the 100 freestyle. Supreme logged 52.96, while Cheney swam 53.01 for silver.
Top 5 Girls Team Scores:
- Catalina Foothills High School — 463.5
- Desert Mountain High School — 440
- Horizon High School — 352
- Campo Verde High School — 285.5
- Salpointe Catholic High School — 243
Boys’ Meet
Catalina Foothills and Desert Mountain distanced themselves from the other programs in the boys’ meet, but this time, it was Desert Mountain that clinched the title, denying Catalina Foothills a sweep of the division. The pattern was the same as the girls’ meet—Catalina Foothills won more events—but Desert Mountain’s depth was enough to overcome that top-end speed and win by 33 points.
Senior Declan Kelly won Desert Mountain’s lone individual event win, capturing the 500 freestyle with a 4:36.67. The quartet of Ryan Le (47.03), Roman Malcolm (47.48), Kelly (49.13), and Peter Shih (49.23) closed the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay ahead of Catalina Foothills.
Earlier in the meet, Le lost by a hundredth to Catalina Foothills’ Connor Daggert in the 50 freestyle, 21.88 to 21.89.
Senior Kyle Dowe was the start for Catalina Foothills, winning two events and earning AIA DII Swimmer of the Year honors. Dowe won the 200 IM in a season-best 1:51.67, then swam a lifetime best 56.81 to win the 100 breaststroke. It was a 1.35-second drop for Dowe, undercutting the 58.16 he swam at last year’s AIA DII Championships. He also split a 25.70 50 breaststroke on Catalina Foothills’ winning 200 medley relay.
But Dowe was far from the only swimmer to claim two individual event wins. Estrella Foothills’ Tanner Sheffert and Horizon’s Michael Fox were also two-time individual event winners, tying Dowe for the meet’s high point award.
Sheffert won the 100/200 freestyle combo in a pair of lifetime bests. First, he got under 1:40 in the 200 freestyle for the first time in his career, clocking 1:39.86. He was back up in the 100 freestyle and came from behind to narrowly beat Catalina Foothills’ Ryan Stamer, swimming a lifetime best 46.23. He got his hand on the wall six hundredths ahead of Stamer.
Fox controlled the 100 fly/100 back, swimming season-bests of 50.03/50.63 to pick up his two individual golds. He led off Horizon’s 400 freestyle relay in a lifetime best of 46.28, which would’ve taken second in the individual 100 free, .01 seconds ahead of Stamer.
Top 5 Boys Team Scores:
- Desert Mountain High School — 440
- Catalina Foothills High School — 407
- Salpointe Catholic High School — 266.5
- Horizon High School — 254
- Canyon del Oro High School — 229
