Arizona Republic  dubs DMHS Frosh as FAB FOUR ...... picks to challenge Xavier for state title in 2004.

NEWS!!!!

Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2004 23:18:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Al Bravo Subject: for Scottsdale Views To: msimpson@aztrib.com Scottsdale city swim meet   By Al Bravo For Scottsdale Views               The freshmen and sophomores are ready to take over the title of Best of Scottsdale and the girls made the first move this week.             With several underclassmen contributing, Desert Mountain won its first Scottsdale District swim meet on Tuesday at Cactus Park pool, outscoring 4A power Chaparral 700-688 in the five-team competition.             The Chaparral boys continued their dominance, winning that side of the contest with 637 points to Desert Mountain s 519.             There is a lot of new freshmen coming up at Desert Mountain who are really good, said Chaparral senior Mitch Newman, a double winner on Tuesday. So we are just trying to keep this meet in Chaparrals hands.             The boys did that job but the girls was close all afternoon, coming down to the final event of the meet  the 400 freestyle relay.             The Wolves led by eight going into the relay so both the A and B teams from the two schools would decide the city champion.             Whitney Lopus of Desert Mountain finished .58 of a second faster than Lauren Cox of Chaparral in the relay to lift the Wolves to its first Scottsdale District meet championship.             "It was really exciting," Lopus said. "I just took everything and finished hard. It's really important because now Desert Mountain has a really good team. This is a step to the top."             Although it meant beating some friends.             Many of the schools swimmers know each other, live near each other or compete on the same club team.             That doesnt matter once you are in the water, Lopus said             We put friendship aside for the race and just think about the team and winning, she said.             The girls' competition might not have been as close had the Chaparral "B" 200 medley relay team not been whistled for an illegal turn in the second event of the day. That cost the Firebirds at least 14 points and possibly as many as 30.             In the final relay, Chaparral's Sarah Cox got the Firebirds the lead in the first leg but by the time anchor (and sister) Lauren Cox got into the water, Desert Mountain had the lead. Lopus held on to the lead in the final 100.             "You just leave everything in the pool, there's no going back." Lopus said of the Wolves' relay strategy. "We didn't want to be going, 'We could have done this and this.'"             It was an afternoon of sibling rivalry for the Wolves and Firebirds.             The Cox sisters of Chaparral (senior Lauren and freshman Sarah) earned two individiual wins apiece while the Lopus sisters (freshman Whitney and junior Chelsea ) had to settle for two seconds, two thirds. Meanwhile, the brothers Newman of Chaparral got three victories and just missed a fourth due to a judges' ruling.             Senior Mitch Newman won the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly while and his junior brother Kyle took the 200 freestyle by .47 of a second over Arcadia 's Gunnar Schmidt. The distance between the two boys in the 500 freestyle was even closer with Newman hand-timed .02 of a second ahead of Schmidt but the lane judges ruling Schmidt had touched first, giving him the victory.             The meet definitely had a championship atmosphere to it.             "You see all the people here, bigger crowd than normal," said Mitch Newman. "It's definitely bragging rights. There's a lot more competition and you get a little bit more pumped up for your races."             Freshman Rob Wood of Chaparral won the 100 backstroke, finishing .42 of a second ahead of Desert Mountain sophomore Ryan Blumenfurth. David Russell, another freshman from Desert Mountain , easily won the 100 breaststroke, more than two seconds ahead of Chaparral junior Grant Adams.             In the girls competition, Lauren Cox won the 100 and 200 freestyle events while little sister Sarah won the freshmen duel with Desert Mountain 's Emily Barton in the 200 individual medley. Sarah Cox also won the 100 backstroke but Barton bounced back to easily win the 100 breaststroke.             Sarah Cox and Barton are freshmen so this may only be chapter one in a four-part duel between the club teammates. But dont call it a rivalry.             Were really good friends, Sarah Cox said. Its kind of weird because we swim together in practice and we are usually on the same (club) team so it kind of weird that we cheer for different people now.             Angela Duckworth of Desert Mountain again showed that she will be force to be reckoned with in the 500 freestyle, winning in 5:03.50, just off her sparkling 5:00.44 at the Brophy/Xavier Invitational last month.             Defending state champion Caleb Percevecz of Desert Mountain easily outclassed the diving field, scoring 461.80 points, more than 134 points ahead of his nearest rival, teammate Patrick Sauncy.             Wolves senior Mandi Arak won the girls' diving with a score of 391.50.             Arcadia , Saguaro and Coronado placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively in both the boys and girls competitions.       Scottsdale District Meet at Cactus Park pool   Boys Team Scores: Chaparral 637, Desert Mountain 519, Arcadia 415, Saguaro 307. Coronado 175. 200 medley relay - 1. Desert Mountain , 1:47.44. 200 freestyle - 1. Kyle Newman, Chaparral, 1:47.97. 200 individual medley -- 1. Mitch Newman, Chaparral, 2:01.38. 50 freestyle -- 1. Kiel Jeffrey, Arcadia , 23.32. 100 butterfly -- 1. Mitch Newman, Chaparral, 54.54. 100 freestyle -- 1. Kiel Jeffrey, Arcadia , 51.16. 500 freestyle -- 1. Gunnar Schmidt, Arcadia , 4:48.51. 200 freestyle relay -- 1. Chaparral, 1:34.73. 100 backstroke -- 1. Rob Wood, Chaparral, 59.01. 100 breaststroke -- 1. David Russell, Desert Mountain , 1:05.23. 400 freestyle relay -- 1. Chaparral 3:25.39. Diving -- 1. Caleb Percevecz, Desert Mountain , 461.80.   Girls Team Scores: Desert Mountain 700, Chaparral 688, Arcadia 420, Saguaro 221, Coronado 137. 200 medley relay - 1. Chaparral, 1:51.07. 200 freestyle - 1. Lauren Cox, Chaparral, 1:54.20. 200 individual medley -- 1. Sarah Cox, Chaparral, 2:07.97. 50 freestyle -- 1. Kelly Forrester, Chaparral, 25.86. 100 butterfly -- 1. Tamara Lelli, Chaparral, 57.62. 100 freestyle -- 1. Lauren Cox, Chaparral, 52.66. 500 freestyle -- 1. Angela Duckworth, Desert Mountain , 5:03.50. 200 freestyle relay -- 1. Arcadia , 1:43.71. 100 backstroke -- 1. Sarah Cox, Chaparral, 59.30. 100 breaststroke -- 1. Emily Barton, Desert Mountain , 1:06.96. 400 freestyle relay -- 1. Desert Mountain 3:35.55. Diving - 1. Mandi Arak, Desert Mountain , 391.50.   Varsity Extra

Freshmen, sophomores make big splash

By Al Bravo, For the Tribune

September 26, 2004 Watch out for the underclassmen, they are ready to be heard this swimming season. Six freshmen and sophomores won events on Saturday at the prestigious Brophy/Xavier Invitational at the Dottie Boreyko/Brophy Sports Complex in Phoenix.

The Desert Mountain girls team — led by freshmen Whitney Lopus, Angela Duckworth and Emily Barton — set two meet records en route to 264 points and a second-place finish. Phoenix Xavier (435 points) was first and Chaparral (201) was fourth, behind another 4A school, Tucson Catalina Foothills (264). Phoenix Brophy (342 1/2) and Catalina Foothills (303) were 1-2 in the boys competition while Chaparral (134) came in fifth and Marcos de Niza (127) finished sixth. The only double winner was Horizon sophomore Buddy Turner, who swept a pair of sprint races. In the 50-yard freestyle, he swam past Keegan Stormbaugh of Catalina Foothills in 21:48 seconds, .44 seconds ahead of the senior. Turner also outpaced Ben Roman of Phoenix North by nearly a second in the 100 butterfly, winning in 51.93. “I was pretty satisfied with my swim,” Turner said, when asked if get can get faster. “I don’t know, I guess we’ll find out at state.” The Desert Mountain girls turned in strong performances all day. The Wolves set a school record in the 200 medley relay (1:51.76) while coming in fourth. Then, Lopus swam the 200 freestyle in 1:54.03 to outdo two Xavier swimmers and smash the meet record by two seconds. “At the end I was really just trying hard to beat the girl next to me,” Lopus said. “I figured if this is going to be the competition for state then I have a good chance, and now I have more confidence.” Barton set a school record in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.75), 1.64 seconds in front of Nicole Lynch of Xavier. The surprise of the day may have been Duckworth, who also set a meet record by finishing the 500 freestyle in 5:00.44, 1.11 ahead of Nikki McAndrew of Desert Vista. “At the end, about the last 200, it really started to hurt,” Duckworth said. “I tried to push through. My coach told me to really work that third 100, and that’s what I was thinking of during the middle of it.” Pinnacle sophomore Danielle Milligan won the 200 individual medley in 2:07.28, rallying past Chaparral freshman Sarah Cox. In the boys competition, Chaparral junior Kyle Newman dominated the 500 freestyle and set a meet record of 4:42.05. He took the lead at the 25-yard mark and won by more than eight seconds. Desert Vista senior Ryan Richardson trailed Bryan O’Conner of Catalina Foothills for most of the 100 backstroke but a final surge gave Richardson the victory by .01 seconds. “I didn’t even see him,” Richardson said. “Just the guy that was right next to me. I knew I had to speed it up. The last 25 I gave it all, I didn’t want to leave anything (or) have any energy left.” In diving, which was held Thursday, Desert Mountain sophomore Caleb Percevecz won with 444.05 points, more than 100 points ahead of second-place David Timchack of Marcos de Niza. Pinnacle sophomore Abby Zepeda won the girls competition with 349.45 points, .70 points ahead of Allison Scaife of Glendale Cactus.

3 carry Xavier's hopes for 6th straight swim title

Richard Obert
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 23, 2004 12:00 AM

GIRLS SWIMMING CLASS 5A   THE TEAM: Xavier. The Gators come in waves, year after year after year.   THE CHALLENGERS: Scottsdale Desert Mountain and Mesa Mountain View. It is growing swimmers in these parts. They're young and fast.   THE SLEEPER: North. Coach Dave Smithers is making strides in trying to turn this into the central Phoenix public school version of Xavier/Brophy.   GOLDEN GIRLS: Cydney Siggins, Xavier, freestyle and individual medley; Lisa Marchi, Xavier, backstroke; Tiffany Elias, Xavier; freestyle; Laura Mozdzen, Chandler, butterfly; Aleesha Miller, Mesa Mountain View, freestyle; Jing Li, Horizon, freestyle; Erin Campbell, Tempe Corona del Sol, butterfly; Emilie Gratton, Paradise Valley, freestyle; Tawni Jones, Mesa Mountain View, diving; Mandi Arak, Desert Mountain, diving.   CLASS 4A   THE TEAM: Tucson Catalina Foothills. The Fabulous Freshmen Four are a year older and faster.   THE CHALLENGERS: Sunnyslope and Scottsdale Chaparral. Sunnyslope keeps getting deeper and faster. Chaparral was third at state last season.   THE SLEEPER: Arcadia. Sound in several events.   GOLDEN GIRLS: Molly Houlton, Tucson Catalina Foothills, freestyle, IM; Skye Elbert, Goodyear Millennium, backstroke, freestyle; Katherine Raatz, Thunderbird, freestyle; Lauren Cox, Chaparral, freestyle; Danielle Milligan, Pinnacle, freestyle, IM; Alexandra Clarke, Sunnyslope, freestyle, butterfly; Ellie Doran, Catalina Foothills, freestyle; Joni Zimmerman, Thunderbird, freestyle; Mikyla Sakurai, Arcadia, backstroke; Kelly Forrester, Chaparral, breaststroke; Allison Scaife, Glendale Cactus, diving.

Xavier has won 18 Class 5A state swimming championships, including five in a row. But it wasn't until last year that the Gators had three individual state champions in the same season.

Now, they're looking to produce three double winners in the same year. Lisa Marchi, Cydney Siggins and Tiffany Elias hope to pull it off.

Marchi, a senior, won the 100-yard backstroke (59.46 seconds) at state. She was runner-up in the 200 freestyle. Siggins, a senior, won the 200 individual medley (2 minutes, 6.55 seconds). Elias, a junior, won the 500 freestyle (5:00.64). She was third in the 100 butterfly.

Siggins said she had a mental letdown in the 100 free when she failed to make it to the final eight. She swam the consolation with the second-fastest time of any of the finalists at 52.74 seconds, which was good enough for All-American consideration.

"I tried to make up for it," Siggins said. "I tried to see how well I could place from the (consolation) heat. I was trying to get an All-American automatic time."

Even with so many goals achieved by these girls, they're all a little hungrier this season. Siggins has the regret of not scoring points in the 100 final; and Marchi and Elias simply feel the push of teammates and another young wave of swimmers in the state, particularly at Scottsdale Desert Mountain.

Desert Mountain and Mesa Mountain View could push Xavier for the team title. It's no easy matter, and it takes more than state champions. Depth with speed is why Xavier has won for so long.

Desert Mountain, which was ninth last year and didn't break 100 points, has four freshmen - Whitney Lopus, Angela Duckworth, Tory Loper and Emily Barton - who are USS club standouts. They're already being dubbed around school as the Fab Four.

But the Wolves will have to prove that against Xavier's immense talent, which also includes sophomore Mychala Lynch, who lost to Olympic trials participant Lacey Nymeyer in the 50 free at state last season. Nymeyer graduated from Marana Mountain View, making Lynch the favorite in that event.

Four Xavier champs in one season would set yet another precedent. But Xavier girls never take anything for granted.

"They know it's going to take a lot of hard work," coach Jeff Seaquist said.

Tucson Catalina Foothills rolled up 319 points to take the 4A title last season over Sunnyslope, and has the bulk of those points back, led by versatile sophomore Molly Houlton.

Houlton, who competed in the Olympic trials, won the 200 freestyle (1:52.56) in automatic All-American time. Her teammate, Susana Helms, also a sophomore, was fourth. All four of the top finishers, including runner-up Alexandra Clarke of Sunnyslope and third-place finisher Lauren Cox of Scottsdale Chaparral, return.

Houlton also last year won the 200 IM (2:05.44) in a field that had four freshmen among the top six finishers, including Catalina Foothills' Ellie Doran and Pinnacle's Danielle Milligan.

Goodyear Millennium junior Skye Elbert will go for her third straight titles in both the 50 free and 100 backstroke.