Region 9 swimming: Cedar girls, Crimson Cliffs boys repeat as region champions

ST. GEORGE — The Cedar High School girls swim team and the Crimson Cliffs boys have repeated as region champions.

Swimmers prepare to jump into pool to celebrate following Region 9 championship meet, St. George, Utah, Feb. 3, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Jason Walker, St. George News

The region swim meet was staged Friday and Saturday at Utah Tech University in St. George, with Hurricane High acting as host and all seven Region 9 schools participating.

The Cedar girls accumulated a total of 355 team points, while second-place Crimson Cliffs finished with 355 and third-place Desert Hills scored 340. Meanwhile, in the boys meet, Crimson Cliffs racked up 517 points to runner-up Cedar’s 323.5. Hurricane’s boys team placed third, while Desert Hills took fourth. See full listing of team scores at bottom of story.

“It was a fantastic meet,” said Cedar head coach Megan Moses. “Many swimmers had amazing drops in their times. It was not just the varsity swimmers scoring points but the whole team working together.

Added Crimson Cliffs coach Mary Ellen Cox: “I couldn’t be more thrilled with our Crimson High School swim team’s achievement of winning the regional championship for the third year in a row.”

“As their coach, I am incredibly excited about the possibilities of securing the state title for the second consecutive year,” Cox added. “We have a fantastic group of senior boys who have put in an immense amount of effort over the past two years, and it’s truly fulfilling to see their hard work paying off.”

Following are selected highlights from the meet, with emphasis on top-three finishers:

Girls

The Cedar girls emerged as region champs for the second straight year, even though the Reds wom just two of eight individual events and didn’t take first in any of the three relays.

Cedar High swimmers and coaches celebrate after winning the Region 9 girls championship, St. George, Utah, Feb. 3, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Megan Moses, St. George News

Leading the way for Cedar in individual points was senior Addison Taylor, who overcame illness to place third in the 200-yard freestyle on Friday, followed by a narrow victory in the 100 free on Saturday. Taylor’s winning time in the 100 free was 56.76 seconds, an improvement of 1.72 seconds from her seed time. Finishing in a close second and third in that same race, respectively, were Snow Canyon senior Paisley Christensen (56.80) and Snow Canyon sophomore McKenzie Mugleston (56.86).

Cedar’s other individual win was by senior Olivia Price, who won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:03.01. Snow Canyon’s Christensen was runner-up in the 100 back in 1:05.39, while Dixie senior Brinley Greer took third in 1:05.72.

In addition to her third-place finish in the 100 free, Snow Canyon’s Mugleston also won the 200 free on Friday, posting a time of 1:59.50. Finishing second in the 200 free was Desert Hills sophomore Dylan Romprey, who also placed fourth in the 100 free the next day.

Chesney Bonner, another sophomore from Desert Hills, won both of her individual events at the region meet, taking first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.29 and winning the 200-yard individual medley in 2:12.55. Bonner’s margin of victory in the latter race was more than nine seconds.

Top three finishers in the girls 100 fly (L-R) third-place finisher Shyanne Standing of Hurricane, winner Chesney Bonner of Desert Hills and second-place finisher Kate Walker of Crimson Cliffs, Region 9 championships, St. George, Utah, Feb. 3, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Jason Walker, St. George News

Crimson Cliffs sophomore Claire Daley was also a double-gold medalist, winning the 50 free in a time of 25.82 seconds and taking first in the 100 breast in a time of 1:11.90.

Kate Walker, also a sophomore from Crimson Cliffs, placed second in the 50 free with a time of 26.16 and also took second in the 100 fly with a time of 1:02.53.

Desert Hills freshman Emma Stephens won the 500 free in 5:43.05. She also placed second in the 200 IM.

Additionally, Cedar junior Paloma Manriquez took second in the 100 breast and third in the 200 IM, Dixie junior Erma Lamb placed second in the 500 free, Crimson Cliffs sophomore Macey Mickelsen placed third in the 500 free, Snow Canyon senior Jamie Dansie took third in the 100 breast, and Hurricane freshman Shyanne Standing placed third in both the 50 free and the 100 fly.

The Crimson Cliffs girls also won the 200 medley relay at the start of the meet, edging runner-up Cedar by just .08 of a second (1:59.41 to 1:59.49). Third-place Desert Hills was just one second behind the winners, finishing in 2:00.49.

Crimson Cliffs also won the 400 free relay at the end of the meet, with Desert Hills taking second and Cedar third. Earlier, Desert Hills won the 200 free relay, with Snow Canyon placing second and Cedar third.

Boys

Two Dixie High seniors took first place in both of their individual events, with Andrew Carlile winning the 50 free and the 100 back and David Leon-Moreno winning the 200 free and the 500 free.

Dixie senior Andrew Carlile, winner of the 500 free, and runner-up Anthony Finger of Crimson Cliffs, congratulate each other after the race at the Region 9 championships, St. George, Utah, Feb. 3, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Jason Walker, St. George News

Carlile’s winning time in the 50 free was 21.97 seconds, while Crimson senior Bronson Plumb finished second in that event with a time of 22.07 and Hurricane sophomore Gavin Pahnke placed third in 22.72. In the 100 back, Carlile won with a time of 53.50, while Desert Hills sophomore Solmun Pak took second in 54.97. Earlier, Pak had also placed third in the 100 fly.

Plumb also won the 100 free with a time of 49.58. Besides Plumb, other Crimson Cliffs seniors who earned top-three finishes in both of their individual events were Mackey Cook, Derek Hall, Chase Kehoe and Kala Cabana. Hall won the 100 fly in 53.32 and placed second in the 200 free in 1:50.80. Cook placed second in the 100 fly and third in the 200 free. Kehoe won the 100 breast in 1:01.81, cutting 3.51 seconds off his previous best. He also placed third in the 200 IM. Cabana placed third in both the 100 free and the 100 breast.

Also for Crimson, sophomore Taylor Fox won the 200 IM in a time of 2:04.88. Fox also placed second in the 100 free, an event in which Crimson swept the top four spots. Taking fourth in the 100 free was Crimson senior Chance Douglass. Additionally, Crimson senior Anthony Finger took second in the 500 free, while freshman teammate Cody Judd took third in that event.

Cedar senior Justin Granado placed third in the 100 back, while Cedar senior Ashten Krans took second in the 100 IM. Desert Hills junior Hunter Iverson placed second in the 100 breast.

The Crimson Cliffs boys won all three relay events, while Cedar placed second in two relays.

To view a pdf file showing complete results of the Region 9 meet, click here.

Next up will be the 4A state championship meet Feb. 16-17 at Brigham Young University in Provo. For more information about the upcoming state meets (3A through 6A), visit Utah High School Activities Association’s website.

Region 9 championships, Feb. 2-3, 2024

Girls team scores

Cedar, 414.
Crimson Cliffs, 355.
Desert Hills, 340.
Hurricane, 252.
Snow Canyon, 208.
Dixie, 157.
Pine View, 116.

Boys team scores

Crimson Cliffs, 517.
Cedar, 323.5.
Hurricane, 288.
Desert Hills, 281.5.
Snow Canyon, 187.
Dixie, 171.
Pine View, 112.

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