3A STATE SWIMMING: Boulder City sweeps boys, girls titles

CARSON CITY — A Stony Brook University study in 2014 confirmed the age-old theory that success breeds success.

Boulder City swimming coach Sara Carroll could have saved those researchers a lot of time and money.

The Eagles’ boys and girls teams each won titles at the 3A state swimming and diving championships Saturday at the Carson Aquatic Center.

The Boulder City girls nearly matched their state record for most points in a state meet, taking first place with 214½ points. Truckee was second with 75, Virgin Valley finished third with 44½ and Adelson School was fourth at 42.

The Eagles’ boys were first with 132 points, followed by Truckee (99) and Chaparral (47). Cheyenne was fourth with 33, and Tech fifth with 31.

It was the seventh consecutive state championship for Boulder City’s boys team and fifth consecutive for the girls team. For Carroll, the boys win extended her Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record with her 10th state championship as a coach, while the girls moved her into a tie for the second-most titles with five.

“It’s easy to keep them motivated,” Carroll said. “This success is what brings them back.”

For the girls team, Mandy Gebhart and Montana Lloyd each won four gold medals, with two individual wins and two as part of relays. Gebhart finished first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 49.73 seconds and won the girls 500 freestyle in 4:54.54, an event in which the Eagles had four of the top five finishers.

Lloyd won the 200 individual medley in 2:08.07 and the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.37.

The other first-place finishes for the Eagles came in relays. The 200-yard medley relay team of Lloyd, Aimee Garcia, Rose Pouch and Gebhart won by almost 13 seconds with a time of 1:48.91.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Lloyd, Abby Sauerbrei, Pouch and Gebhart won by more than 10 seconds with a time of 1:40.17.

The 400 freestyle relay of Garcia, Sarah Estes, Quinci Thomas and Sauerbrei won by almost 28 seconds, finishing in 3:45.92.

The other individual Southern Nevada champion was Tech’s Elle Renner in diving with a score of 432.85.

Braden Klouse led the Boulder City boys with wins in two individual events and a third gold medal as part of the 200 freestyle relay. Klouse won the boys 200 freestyle in 1:48.95 and the 100 freestyle in 49.18.

A.J. Pouch finished first in the 200 IM with a time of 1:57.44, and Paco Cuevas won the boys 500 freestyle in 5:04.07.

In the boys 200 medley relay, Chandler Larson, Pouch, Cuevas and Robbie Leavitt won with a time of 1:46.56. Pouch, Andre Pappas, Clayton Pendleton and Klouse won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.39.

Also, David Vogel of Virgin Valley was first in diving with 260.85 points.

“Mandy Gebhart swam some amazing times, but it was really a team effort,” Carroll said. “We only have like 500 kids in our school, but we get a pretty good turnout for swimming and the kids keep working hard. They expect us to win at Boulder City High School.”