High school swimming: Host team Cedar, rival Crimson Cliffs make strong showing at invitational meet

CEDAR CITY — The Crimson Cliffs High School boys swim team took first and the Cedar High girls placed second overall at the Cedar January Invitational last weekend.

High school swimmers compete at the Cedar January Invitational, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 12-13, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The event, staged at the Cedar City Aquatic Center on Friday and Saturday, attracted athletes from 17 schools, including eight from the Southern Utah area.

The Crimson Cliffs boys led the way with 316.5 team points, while runner-up Viewmont finished with 296. Host team Cedar placed third with 260 points, while Canyon View took fourth with 241.

In the girls meet, Copper Hills High was the overall winner with 314 points, while runner-up Cedar finished with 259 points. Cache Valley’s Green Canyon was third with 251.5 and Carbon was fourth with 241. See bottom of story for listings of top 10 team scores.

More than one dozen Cedar swimmers were recognized along with their parents prior to what was the team’s last regular season home meet. However, as the season winds down, there is still one more event scheduled at that same venue: Cedar will be hosting the Region 9 championships on Feb. 2-3.

Highlights from the January invitational meet included the following, with emphasis on top finishers from Southern Utah schools:

Girls

Cedar High senior Addison Taylor placed first in the 200 free with a time of 2:07.85. Canyon View’s Gracie Taylor placed second in that same event with a time of 2:11.25.

High school swimmers compete at the Cedar January Invitational, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 12-13, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

On Saturday, Addison Taylor placed third in the 100 fly, an event won by Chesney Bonner of Desert Hills, whose winning time of 1:00.68 was more than three seconds faster than that of runner-up Claire Daley of Crimson Cliffs, who finished in 1:03.90.

The night before, Daley had won the 200-yard individual medley (200 IM) with a time of 2:23.13, with Cedar’s Lily Spagnolo placing third.

Bonner also won the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:13.19.

Kate Walker of Crimson Cliffs placed fourth in the 50 free with a time of 26.87, with teammate Peyton Perry placing fifth in 27.42. A total of 127 swimmers competed in that event. Perry also took fourth in the 100 free on Saturday.

Claire Daley of Crimson Cliffs won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:23.13. Cedar’s Lily Spagnolo placed third in the 200 IM.

Cedar’s Addysen Burrill placed second in the 500 free with a time of 6:05.65. Teammate Olivia Price took second in the 100 back with a time of 1:07.26.

Additionally, theDesert Hills girls placed first in the 200 free relay and second in the 200 medley relay, while Cedar placed second in the 400 free relay.

Boys

Kurt Morgan of Canyon View competes in the 100-yard butterfly at the Cedar January Invitational, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 12-13, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Kurt Morgan of Canyon View won the 50 free in 22.23, with Crimson’s Bronson Plumb coming in second with a time of 23.39. A total of 113 swimmers competed in that event. Then, on Saturday, Morgan won the 100 fly in a blistering time of 51.60, more than five seconds faster than runner-up Eric Chamberlain of Viewmont, who finished in 56.74. Cedar’s Justin Granado placed third in the 100 fly, while Solmun Pak of Desert Hills took fourth and Sean Cannon of Canyon View placed fifth.

Mackey Cook of Crimson Cliffs took second in the 500 free with a time of 5:19.91, right behind winner Thomas Chamberlain of Viewmont’s time of 5:19.09. Cody Judd of Crimson placed third in the 500 free. Cook also placed third in the 100 free with a time of 53.30, with teammate Chance Douglass placing fourth in the 100 free in a time of 53.41.

Crimson Cliffs captured the top two spots in the 100 back, with Kala Cabana winning in a time of 57.28 and runner-up Anthony Finger touching the wall in 57.45. Canyon View’s Nick Bittmenn placed third in 59.86. Also for Crimson, Cody Judd took third in the 200 IM.

In addition, Ethan Cannon of Canyon View placed second in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.07. He also placed third in the 100 breast.

Crimson Cliffs boys won the 200 medley relay in 1:44.18, with Canyon View coming a close second in 1:44.93. Cedar placed second in the 200 free relay, while Canyon View placed second in the 400 free relay.

Cedar January Invite

Jan. 12-13, 2024

Girls top 10 team results

Copper Hills, 314.
Cedar, 259.
Green Canyon, 251.5.
Carbon, 241.
Desert Hills, 213.5
Crimson Cliffs, 149.
Canyon View, 139.
Richfield, 128.
Viewmonth, 103.
Hurricane, 89.

Boys top 10 team results

Crimson Cliffs, 316.5.
Viewmont, 296.
Cedar, 260.
Canyon View, 241.
Hurricane, 164.
(tie) Copper Hills, 144.
(tie) Green Canyon, 144.
Carbon, 116.
Richfield, 103.
Desert Hills, 99.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.