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Provo • Murray swimmer Carrie Olpin set a Utah high school 4A state record in the girls' 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.79 seconds on Feb. 11, 1995.
Mountain Crest junior Hailey Pabst readied herself for one of her favorite events nearly 18 years later. Before the race, she had no idea who held the record or just how long ago it was set.
Pabst learned that information Friday morning at Brigham Young University.
"I wasn't born yet," she said.
Pabst broke Olpin's 17-year-old record in Day 1 of the Class 4A state swim meet by touching the wall in 23.74 to inscribe her name into the state record books by .05 seconds.
"I just try to go as fast as I can, and in the 50, everything has to be perfect," she said. "I was just trying to do everything the best that I could."
She said the shortest race of the meet must be perfected in three aspects — the start, the turn and the finish.
Despite setting a 4A state record, Pabst said her performance in the 50 freestyle Friday wasn't perfect.
"Almost," she said. "My finish was a little long. Other than that, everything else was good."
Good? Hailey Pabst was perfect for 23-plus seconds while swimming in the same water as the best Class 4A competitors. Now she'll be the one sprint swimmers aim to dislodge from the record book.
As Pabst stole the show with her record-setting day, Highland sisters Eva Gontrum and Zoe Phillips had memorable first days at the state swim meet.
The freshmen identical twins nearly had an identically gilded day when Gontrum won the girls' 200-yard freestyle and Phillips finished second in the 200-yard individual medley.
Gontrum competed first and won a gold medal in her first-ever state meet race. She celebrated in the Highland corner of the pool with her sister as Phillips marveled at the accomplishment.
"I'm really, really happy for her," said Phillips, adding that the 100-yard backstroke event Saturday is her bread-and-butter race.
Highland coach Wes Johnson said he expects the twins to compete for a first-place finish in every event they compete in, no matter the stage.
"Their level of focus and determination is pretty incredible," he said.
Gontrum will swim the 500-yard freestyle as well as in a relay race Saturday during the final day of the 4A state meet.
She said Friday's race was important to her because she fell behind a Skyline swimmer early on and stalked the remainder of the 200-freestyle race.
"I thought I was going to lose," she said. "I just really wanted to win because I just hate to lose."
ckamrani@sltrib.comTwitter: @chriskamrani —
4A state swimming
Girls' 200-yard medley relay:
1. Skyline (1:51.12)
2. Highland (1:51.72)
3. Orem (1:55.93)
4. Olympus (1:56.26)
5. Woods Cross (1:56.63)
6. Murray (2:00.71)
Boys' 200 medley relay:
1. Mountain Crest (1:38.81)
2. Skyline (1:40.40)
3. Springville (1:41.63)
4. Murray (1:43.24)
5. Box Elder (1:43.99)
6. East (1:44.27)
Girls' 200 freestyle:
1. Eva Gontrum, Highland (1:57.16)
2. Audrey Miller, Skyline (1:58.13)
3. Abby Loden, Olympus (2:04.61)
4. Annika Israelsen, Sky View (2:05.12)
5. Karlee Eck, Sky View (2:05.31)
6. Sophie Brooks, Skyline (2:05.89)
Boys' 200 freestyle:
1. William Watts, Mountain Crest (1:41.04)
2. Connor Anderson, Springville (1:41.59)
3. James Sorenson, Skyline (1:45.34)
4. Ben Stewart, Mountain Crest (1:48.64)
5. Mckay Chamberlain, Skyline (1:49.10)
6. Christopher McClain, Springville (1:49.31)
Girls' 200 individual medley:
1. Lillian Moore, Skyline (2:07.97)
2. Zoe Phillips, Highland (2:08.28)
3. McKenzie Wells, Orem (2:11.75)
4. Ashlee Spindler, Mountain Crest (2:15.20)
5. Morgan Leishman, Logan (2:17.18)
6. McKenzie Pollei, Murray (2:17.72)
Boys' 200 individual medley:
1. John Morris, Springville (1:56.56)
2. Sean O'Very, Mountain Crest (1:58.94)
3. Carter Gratton, Murray (2:03.57)
4. Thomas Sheridan, Woods Cross (2:05.04)
5. Mckay Mertz, Springville (2:06.80)
6. Josh Whisenant, Highland (2:07.29)
Girls' 50 freestyle:
1. Hailey Pabst, Mountain Crest (23.74) New state record*
2. Nichole Mertz, Springville (24.57)
3. Tyler Stephenson, Highland (25.29)
4. Claire Brooks, Skyline (25.40)
5. Ali Dibble, Skyline (25.54)
6. Melissa Hofmann, Olympus (25.55)
Boys' 50 freestyle:
1. Regie Topham, Herriman (22.22)
2. David Amirkhanashvili, Skyline (22.24)
3. Porter Roe, Mountain Crest (22.36)
4. Travis Pope, Springville (22.41)
5. Jarom Chamberlain, Olympus (22.46)
6. Zach Dunn, East (22.55)
Day 1 overall points:
4A girls' standings:
1. Skyline 147
2. Highland 94
3. Olympus 70
4. Sky View 67
5. Mountain Crest 66
4A boys' standings:
1. Springville 122
1. Mountain Crest 122
3. Skyline 112
4. East 70
5. Murray 57