High School: Brophy Takes 26th Arizona Boys Crown With Record Point Total
TEMPE, Arizona, November 8. IT was "no contest" today at the Arizona 5A State High School Championships, held at Mona Plummer Pool on the campus of Arizona State University.
In fact, it was more like a coronation as Brophy Prep swam to its 26th and greatest state championship, amassing a record 515 points. THe battle was for second, as Mesa Dobson (186) overtook Desert Vista (182) and North (180).
As if to punctuate its dominance, the Brophy Broncos began and ended the meet with state relay records. Thet began by breaking their one day-old state mark in the 200 yard medley relay at 1:34.35. They ended by slashing 1-1/2 second off Tucson Sabino's 2-year-old, 400 freestyle relay record with a time of 3:05.57. North was a distant second (3:11.36), despite having its best swim and gaining automatic All-America recognition by a full second.
Brophy may have won the team title, but the meet's outstnading swimmer was Glendale Mountain Ridge senior Scott Goodrich. Goodrich just missed Gary Hall Jr.'s state mark of 20.30 in the 50 free with his 20.48. But he set a 5A record in the 100 backstroke (49.37). His backstroke time is the second-fastest ever swum by an Arizona high school athlete. The record is 49.16.
Goodrich, who will swim next year at Auburn, defended his state titles in the two events and was selected the boys Swimmer of the Year.
Brophy, led by junior David Pursley, won all of the remaining events but two. Pursley, the son of former USA Swimming National Team Director Dennis Pursley, joined Goodrich as the meet's only other double winner as he stroked to decisive wins in the 200 IM (1:51.43) and 500 free (4:32.66).
Pursley (46.80 split swimming second) later joined Jon Ehret (46.56 lead-off), Alex Righi (46.42) and Kyle Shores (45.79) on the record-setting 400 free relay.
Each of the other members of that relay scored an individual win. Shores took the 200 free (1:41.50), Ehret won the 100 fly (50.59) and Righi was the victor in the 100 free (45.96).
Dobson senior Ryan Kelly broke up the Brophy party with an easy, two-second victory in the 100 breast, touching in 57.40.
Caleb Percevecz, a freshman at Desert Mountain, scored 461.40 points to breeze in the 1-meter diving, as his nearest challenger was almost 85 points behind.