2021 AIA Division II State Championships
- November 5-6, 2021
- Skyline Aquatic Center, Mesa, Arizona
- Short Course Yards (SCY)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2021 AIA Division 2 State Championship”
Women’s Meet Recap
Desert Mountain started the meet off with a win in the 200 medley relay on their way to taking the team title. The quartet of Ellie Horning, Gabrielle Primiano, Hannah Shih, and Olivia Nordini combined to win the event by over two seconds, stopping the clock in 1:47.35. The relay was the school’s only win of the meet en route to the state title.
The first multiple event winner on the day was Catalina Foothills freshman Ella Cosgrove. Cosgrove picked up her twins in the two longest races of the day, the 200 and 500 freestyles. In the 200, she was the only swimmer to dip below 1:50, finishing in a time of 1:49.92. In the 500 she won by a wide margin, taking the win in 4:52.05.
Cactus Shadow’s senior Madelyn Bachmeier grabbed a win in the 200 IM over Sydney Blackhurst. Bachmeier, a 2022 Miami University (OH) commit, took down the 2023 Alabama commit with a time of 2:04.70. Bachmeier later picked up a second win on the day in the 100 back, claiming the state title in 55.89.
Tyler Driscoll topped the field in the 50 free and 100 fly to double up on state titles after finishing in the top-8 of both events last season. The Salpointe Catholic junior took the 50 free in 23.36 and the 100 fly in 54.86. She also helped her school to a win in the 400 free relay, joining Sydney Even, Sterling Edwards, and Sofia Prevatt to touch first in 3:33.87.
While Even helped her school to the 400 free relay win, she also picked up an individual victory in the 100 free. The senior finished in 51.66 to be the only athlete sub-52.
Verrado grabbed a relay win in the 200 free relay, narrowly edging out Campo Verde for the event title. The team of Camryn Lewis, Sammie Baxter, Cali Watts, and Makena Malkemus combined to win in 1:38.31.
While she fell short of the title in the IM, Blackhurst came back later in the day to claim the win in the 100 breast, finishing in a time of 1:02.92.
On the diving boards, it was Brecken Scroggin who came away with the 1-meter title, winning her second straight. The Casteel senior is committed to dive for Arizona State next fall as part of their rebuilding diving program.
Top 5 Women’s Teams
- Desert Mountain – 286
- Campo Verde – 256
- Salpointe Catholic – 218
- Verrado – 213.5
- Catalina Foothills – 205
Men’s Meet Recap
Desert Mountain grabbed the first win of the men’s meet with Mathew Iverson, Rio Trichler, David Vinokur, and Jiaxun Song finishing in the fastest time in the 200 medley relay. The quartet combined for a final time of 1:35.73. Iverson would go on to claim an individual state title as well, capturing the 500 free gold in a time of 4:38.81.
Keaton Jones, a junior at Gilbert Higley, secured a pair of big wins, leading the field in both the 200 free and 500 free. Jones, who was ranked as SwimSwam’s #5 recruit in the class of 2023, first claimed the 200 free title in 1:36.91 before later adding the 100 back title in 48.39.
Over the summer, Jones competed in three events at the second wave of the US Olympic Trials and has committed to swim at Cal after he graduates high school in 2023.
Repeating as the state champion in the event, Riley Stewart took the title in the 200 IM. A senior at Canyon del Oro, Stewart was two and a half seconds faster this season than he was last year, touching in 1:52.00. He also added a second-place finish in the 500 free.
Coming off of a 5th place showing as a junior, Ryder Androwsky returned as a senior to claim the state title in the 50 free, clocking 21.29 to go over a second faster than he was in 2020. He was followed in the race by Seth Crow, a freshman at Centennial, who touched in 21.48.
While Androwsky took the win in the 50 free, he fell just short of picking up a second state title in the 100 fly, finishing second to August Vetsch of Casteel High School. Vetsch was the only swimmer to finish under 50.0, touching in 49.36.
Androwsky competed in his third event in short succession when Dylan Wells, Thomas Henstein, and Timothy Fay joined him to take first in the 200 free relay. The quartet finished in 1:26.61, with Fay splitting 20.88 and Androwsky anchoring in 20.51.
Carter Cooling closed out the individual events on the day with a first-place finish in the 100 breast. The Ironwood Ridge won in 56.28 after taking second in the event a year ago.
Desert Mountain capped off their meet by grabbing the final relay win in 3:09.34 for the 4×100 free.
William Mueller, last year’s 7th place finisher, grabbed the state title on the 1-meter, scoring 464.70 points.
Top 5 Men’s Teams
- Desert Mountain – 291
- Catalina Foothills – 246
- Gilbert – 207
- Ironwood Ridge – 193
- Canyon del Oro – 164