Jordan Tiffany Breaks 2 Utah State Records; AFHS and LPHS 3-Peat as 6A Champs

UHSAA 6A State Championships

• Friday-Saturday, February 14th-15th, 2020
• Brigham Young University
• Short Course Yards
• Results

Top 5 Team Scores

Girls

1. American Fork High School – 318.5
2. Lone Peak High School – 279.5
3. Corner Canyon High School – 221
4. West High School – 156
5. Riverton High School – 140

Boys

1. Lone Peak High School – 277
2. Westlake High School – 204.5
3. American Fork High School – 170
4. Davis High School – 157.5
5. Pleasant Grove High School – 149

The American Fork High School girls and Lone Peak High School boys emerged victorious at the Utah 6A state championships this past weekend at BYU. This weekend marked the 3rd consecutive victory for both the American Fork girls and Lone Peak boys. Both schools have won the 6A meet each of the 3 years since the 6A division was created.

Girls Recap:

Finals kicked off with a new UHSAA 6A state record, when Corner Canyon won the girls 200 medley relay with a time of 1:50.32. Senior Aliza Smith led the squad off with a 27.14 backstroke split, with junior Britta Catmull splitting 32.86 on breaststroke, senior Rivers Johnson splitting 25.06 on butterfly, and senior Eliza Balfe anchored in 25.26.

Rivers Johnson and Aliza Smith went on to go 1-2 in the girls 100 back. Johnson won the race with a 56.79, with Smith following in 58.33. Johnson had swum a 56.10 in prelims, shattering her own 6A state record of 57.66 from last month. Johnson also won the girls 100 fly, swimming a 58.48 to touch as the only swimmer in the field under 1:00. Like the 100 back, Johnson was also faster in prelims in this race too, having swam a 57.42 to again shatter the UHSAA 6A state record, which was held at 59.30.

American Fork High School junior Allie Hill was also a double event winner, taking the girls 200 IM and 500 free. Hill first swam a 2:11.02 to win the 200 IM, touching first by well over 4 seconds. Hill charged home in 28.76 on the free leg, which was the fastest split in the field by nearly 4 seconds. She went on to break her own 6A state record in the 500 free, swimming a 5:09.33. Her previous record stood at 5:16.81, and was from earlier this season. Runner-up Katelyn Andrist, a Skyline sophomore, also came in under the record, touching in 5:10.76. Andrist swam a 5:09.99 in prelims, setting up what should be an excellent race again next year. Andrist was the girls 200 free champion, clocking a 1:58.97.

Hill also anchored the American Fork 400 free relay to victory with a field-leading 53.43 split. Senior Annalyn Dean led off in 54.90, and was followed by freshman Paige Kelsey (57.36), junior Talia Thomas (54.60), and Hill, for a final time of 3:40.29. American Fork also broke the 6A record with that time, shattering the previous mark of 3:42.62. With only one leg to be replaced next year, American Fork looks like a favorite heading into next season. American Fork also won the 200 free relay in state record fashion. Junior Livvie Adamson led off in 26.05, and was followed by Kelsey, Dean, and Thomas, although the splits malfunctioned. The girls finished in 1:42.55, undercutting the previous record of 1:42.71.

Other girls event winners:

• 50 free: Ryan Lincoln (Westlake High School) – 25.11
• 100 free: Talia Thomas (American Fork) – 54.90
• 100 breast: Skyler Lyon (Riverton High School) – 1:07.44

Boys Recap:

In the boys meet, Tennessee commit Jordan Tiffany was electric, breaking two overall UHSAA records. Representing Lone Peak High School, Tiffany first tore to victory in the boys 100 fly, swimming a 47.71. He touched the wall first by 4 seconds, breaking both the 6A and UHSAA overall records with the swim. He had held the previous record with a 47.74 from last year’s meet. Tiffany went on to win the boys 100 back with a 48.25, again swimming to victory by 4 seconds and breaking the overall UHSAA record. That swim shattered the previous record, which was already held by Tiffany at 49.39 from just last month. Tiffany also provided a very quick 21.40 fly split on the Lone Peak 200 medley relay, which went on to win the event. The relay squad was made up of 4 seniors, with Rex Brunsdale leading off in 26.11, Josh Griener splitting 26.50 on breast, Tiffany’s 21.40 on fly, and Kevin Dew’s 21.46 on the anchor, finishing with a final time of 1:35.47. That relay posted the fastest time in the field in their respective strokes on the breast, fly, and free legs. Tiffany also helped Lone Peak to victory in the 400 free relay, leading off with a field-leading 45.58. It was the same squad as the medley, with Brunsdale going next (49.40), then Griener (48.89), and Dew (47.94) anchoring for a 3:11.81, touching first by over 6 seconds.

Josh Griener also won the boys 100 breast, getting the better of Westlake High School junior Nick Anderson in finals, touching in 58.91 to Anderson’s 58.96. They split the race very similarly as well, with Anderson going out in 27.99 to Griener’s 28.04. Griener then came home 30.87 to Anderson’s 30.97. Griener had previously won the boys 200 IM by over 2 seconds, clocking a 1:57.16. He led the field on both the backstroke 50 (28.65) and breast 50 (32.94).

West High School senior Rhys Winter was another double event winner, taking the boys 200 free and 500 free. In the 200 free, Winter pulled away from Pleasant Grove junior Landry Hill on the back half of the race, getting his hand on the wall in 1:43.46. Winter and Hill were in a very tight race at the halfway mark, with Winter swimming a 50.42 on the first 100, and Hill swimming a 50.57. Winter then opened it up, splitting 26.40/26.64 coming home, to Hill’s 26.57/27.80. Hill’s final time was 1:44.94. Winter went on to win the boys 500 free by 3.65 seconds, swimming a 4:39.28. He took the race out in 52.58 on the first 100, then splitting very consistent mid-28s on the rest of his 50s until the final 50, where he split 27.58.

Westlake High School won the boys 200 free relay with a 1:28.44, finishing as the only team under 1:29. Senior Matthew Shawgo led his team off with a 23.21, with Nick Anderson diving in next for a 22.59, followed by junior Ethan Brown in 22.31, and sophomore Cameron Barney anchored in a speedy 20.33. Barney’s split was the fastest in the field by over a second, which isn’t particularly surprising, since Barney also won the boys 50 freestyle by over a second. Barney roared to a 20.89 finish in prelims of the 50, breaking the UHSAA 6A record with his swim. He swam a 20.97 in finals, which was also under the previous record of 21.03.