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Miners clinch Region 10 titles

Boys’ team surprises, as girls team takes care of business

Park City High School's Christian Stockwell swims freestyle as he finishes up the second heat of the boys' 200-yard IM during the Region Championship meet against Tooele, Stansbury and Grantsville at Park City Aquatic Center on Saturday morning. THe Miners placed first at the meet.
Tanzi Propst/Park Record

Heading into Saturday’s Region 10 Championship meet held at the Park City Aquatic Center, the Park City High School boys’ swim team had its work cut out.

The Miners were fresh off a loss to Box Elder High School, and with a roster smaller than most of their competition on Saturday, the expectation wasn’t a slam-dunk victory for the three-time defending state champions.

“It looked like we were, on paper, supposed to finish second,” Head Coach Miker Werner said of the boys’ team. “So we talked to them and said, ‘Hey, look guys. Everyone’s got to step up and race. And boy, did they ever.”

The Miners got first-place finishes from Quentin Tyler (200-yard individual medley), Dennis Djunic (50-yard freestyle), Alex Yokubison (100-yard freestyle) and Mikal Peterson (100-yard breaststroke). They also touched the wall first in the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relay.

The seven wins in 11 events gave Park City 502 points for the day, edging out Tooele (476), Stansbury (360) and Grantsville (272) for the Region 10 title.

“It was great seeing some of our different kids step up,” Werner said. “Some of these kids just stepped up and scored some great points for us. They won medals at region. That was huge. These kids were the game changers.”

On the girls’ side, the lady Miners, whose only losses were to Skyline twice this season, joined their male counterparts as Region 10 champions. They won 10-of-11 events on their way to 604 points, with the lone loss in the 100-yard breaststroke. Tooele followed in second place with 418 points, while Stansbury (327) and Grantsville (257) rounded things out.

The girls’ team was led by first-place finishes from Elise Beller (200- and 500-yard freestyle), Jessi Beyer (200 IM), Rozie Selznick (50-yard freestyle), Joelle Hess (100-yard butterfly), Bella Buchanan (100 free) and Katie Hale (100-yard backstroke). They also finished in all three relays.

While the Miners got top finishes from its usual headliners in swimmers like Selznick and Beller, Werner was pleased with the production he got from the entire roster.

“We had a lot of kids step up and swim times that will get them into state,” Werner said. “Not just that, but [they] put them in a position to score points. That was super exciting to watch.”

Next up for Park City is a date at BYU for the UHSAA State Championship meet. As the three-time defending 3A state champions on both the girls’ and boys’ sides, the Miners have a target on their back and Werner knows it.

“There are some fast swimmers down south,” Werner said. “The [Cedar High School] boys swam really hot at their region. Same with the [Desert Hills High School] girls. There’s going to be good competition.”

That said, Park City’s been here before. Experience will certainly play a factor when the brightest lights of the season shine, but for the Miners, it’s all about keeping things straightforward.

“It’s going to be a good meet,” Werner added. “I think we’re in a good place where we can hopefully have fun, relax and just remember to swim. Keep it really simple. Keep it between the lane lines and just go.

“That’s going to be the trick these next two weeks is helping them realize that you control what you can control and have fun and enjoy the process.”

The 3A State Championships will be held Feb. 10-11 at Brigham Young University in Provo.


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