In each of the previous four seasons, the Ridgeline boys swimming team watched as the Lady Riverhawks celebrated after capturing Region 11 titles.
To the delight of Taryn McEuen, the only head coach in the history of Ridgeline's swimming program, those boys athletes were not just bystanders during the celebration this time around. Instead, it was a full on jubilee as the Riverhawks claimed both trophies for the first time ever.
Ridgeline showcased its star power and depth en route to capturing its first region crown in boys swimming in program history. The Riverhawks got key contributions from many swimmers and racked up 422 points at the Region 11 Championships on Friday in Bountiful.
Defending champion Sky View was second in the boys competition with 363.5 points, followed by Mountain Crest (339.5), Green Canyon (292.5), Bear River (195.5), Logan (146) and West Field (91).
"I am so proud of both my teams," McEuen said. "We have been planning and working tirelessly towards this goal of double region champions this entire season. I told my kids at the beginning of this season that we could do it. We found the right combination of events for our athletes that paid off."
Three different Riverhawks tasted victory in an individual event on the boys side, plus Alex Scott, Ben Tenny, Luke Heiner and Marcus Caliendo teamed up to reign supreme in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.04. There were also plenty of second, third, fourth and fifth-place performances for Ridgeline on its special day.
"I feel so proud of the boys," Ridgeline's Wyatt Carlsen said. "The girls were so happy for us, which was nice to see. I know we all were feeling the pressure and everyone stood up to the challenge. It was amazing."
Carlsen certainly did his part as he was the silver medalist in the 200 IM (2:01.64) and 100 breaststroke (1:03.24). Carlsen, who broke the school record in the 200 IM, was only .11 seconds off the winning time in the 100 breast.
Another Ridgeline athlete who put together a memorable meet was Caliendo, who shattered a pair of school records, in addition to his success in the aforementioned relay. Caliendo supplanted older brother Anthony's previous standard in the 500 free, plus dominated in the race with a time of 4:52, and also became Ridgeline's record-holder in the 200 free with his third-place clocking.
"The 500 has definitely been my biggest dream for a couple of years now," Caliendo said. "I've always looked up to my brother and I still do just as much if not more right now, and I always wanted to break that record. And I love that I was able to accomplish that and my brother got to be there as a coach. The 200 feels amazing. I didn't really think that I was going to go that fast, but that meant a lot to me as well, given that the previous record-holder was Luke Eubanks, and he was also definitely someone I always wanted to be as fast as. That definitely made me feel like I was on cloud nine."
Ridgeline's other gold medalists were Heiner in the 50 free (23.13) and Alex Scott in the 100 butterfly (53.68). Additionally, Scott was the bronze medalist in the 100 free, while Heiner finished fourth in the 100 breast (1:04.63).
Another Ridgeline athlete who placed in the top five in both of his individual swims was Tenny, who was fourth in the 100 fly (59.14) and fifth in the 200 free.
Two other competitors who sparkled were Sky View's Blake Reed and Mountain Crest's Brigham Skinner, who were the only two boys at the meet who were triumphant in both of their individual events.
Reed followed up his title in the 200 free (1:47.85) -- he also won that race a year ago at region -- with a gold medal in the 100 free (49.01). The senior established new personal records in both races, to boot. Reed and everyone else in the final heat of the 100 free had to compete in that race twice, inasmuch as nobody was able to hear the "take your mark" call the first time around. The officials met together and granted a re-race, which took place after the conclusion of the girls 500 free.
"It feels absolutely incredible," Reed said. "Both times I achieved the region title for the 200 (free) I went in as the underdog to Mountain Crest and so having prevailed both times I feel very rewarded for my hard work this season. Prevailing in the 100 free was a gift beyond measure and having managed to come out top racing one of my fellow club teammates, Kyler Kwant, yet again I felt on top of the world because we push each other hard and it felt nice to be the old guy and win, even on top of having to race the 100 twice."
Like Reed, Skinner was able to successfully defend his title in one of his events, the 100 backstroke (53.83), plus he also reigned supreme in the 200 IM (2:00.52) after taking second in that race a season ago. Skinner, who dominated in the 100 back, joined forces with teammates Kyler Kwant, Porter Copeland and Tyler Crook to narrowly beat runner-up Ridgeline in the 400 free relay (3:23.11). The Mustangs won that race by .77 seconds.
"I hit some pretty good times today, but there's always room from improvement," said Skinner when asked how confident he is feeling heading into the 4A State Championships, which will take place in two weeks at BYU. "These next two weeks I get to work hard on my events and we'll see what state brings. You're never guaranteed anything in swimming, but I'm exited to swim my best and have a blast at state."
Mountain Crest ended up prevailing in five events, which was more than any other boys team. Copeland was victorious in the 100 breast (1:03.13) for the Mustangs and was also the runner-up in the 50 free (23.34). Skinner -- a four-time gold medalist Friday -- Copeland, Kwant and Asher Powell tasted victory in the 200 medley relay, as well.
Kwant was the silver medalist in the 200 free and 100 free for Mountain Crest, while teammate Asher Powell was second in the 100 back (56.74) -- just like he was last year -- and fourth in the 200 IM.
Four other local boys who finished in the top five in both of their individual swims were Sky View's Justus Field and William Drake, Green Canyon's Jackson Steed and Logan's Wiatt Kimball. Field captured a silver medal in the 100 fly (54.90) and a bronze in the 200 IM, Drake was the runner-up in the 500 free (5:15) and fifth in the 200 IM, Steed placed third in the 100 fly (56.52) and fifth in the 100 breast (1:04.81) and Kimball recorded the third-fastest time in the 100 free and fourth fastest in the 200 free.
Other swimmers from Cache Valley who placed in the top five in an individual event were MC's Crook (third, 500 free, 5:19), Ridgeline's Tavis Ward (third, 100 back, 58.27) and Bruno Morales (fourth, 500 free, 5:19), GC's CJ West (fourth, 100 back, 59.45), Jonas Brady (fifth, 500 free, 5:26) and Tage Longhurst (fifth, 100 back, 59.77) and SV's Zachary Parks (fifth, 100 free).
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Editor's note: Final results from the meet were not available before the Herald Journal's print deadline for this story.