Scorpions qualify 13 swimmers for state2 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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The Sedona Red Rock High School boys and girls swimming teams both placed third among the 17 schools that competed at the Small Schools Championship Meet on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Phoenix Country Day School, and they have qualified a combined 13 swimmers for the state meet in Mesa on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8 and 9.

The boys team totaled 265 points to finish just behind Wickenburg, which had 279 points and Phoenix Country Day, which won with 311 points.

The boys 200-yard freestyle relay team of Cedar Gardner, Jakob Carter, Nick Morgan and Colin Hurkett won their event with a provisional state-qualifying time of 1:37.26 after Hurkett swam a blazing 22.92 on the final leg.

“It was a fantastic swim. They won by about a half a body length and they were behind by about a quarter-body length going into the final swimmer,” said Scorpions swimming coach A. Jay Bronson. “It was really fitting to see our anchor Colin Hurkett, who is a captain, but he tore his labrum at the end of the year and tried to rehab back, and he finally came back.”

Hurkett is state-qualified in both the 50- and the 100-yard freestyle, plus two relays.

“He’s still undecided exactly what he wants to swim, but whatever he swims, he’s going to go fast,” Bronson said.

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The boys 200-yard medley relay team of Isaiah Wright, Carter, Benny Guadarrama and Hurkett finished fourth with a provisional state-qualifying time of 1:56.99, and the boys 400-yard freestyle relay team of Garderner, Hurkett, Skyler Richardson and Morgan finished third with a provisional state-qualifying time of 3:38.48.

Three of the Scorpions boys swam provisional state-qualifying times in individual events including Hurkett, second in the boys 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.46; Carter, second in the boys 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:09.89; and Morgan, fifth in the boys 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:03.90.

Bronson said that Carter had been trying for more than a year to break the 1:10 barrier in the breaststroke.

“He finally got down to a 1:09 and he felt phenomenal,” Bronson said. “He’s a junior this year, and he has a lot that he can still improve on.

“The goal will be for next year hopefully he can get the school record in the 100 breast.”

For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Oct. 30, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.