Murray High swimming has a strong tradition, and this year was no exception. 

The Spartans had a stellar state swimming meet, Feb. 7, 8 at Brigham Young University. The boys were runners-up to Park City, while the girls took seventh. The boys accumulated 258 points, just six away from first place. The girls, meanwhile, had 135 points, 10 below sixth-place Timpanogos. 

“I am so proud of this team and the outcome from the state meet,” head coach Kyle Snowder said. “The girls team put up a fight and placed seventh overall, which is pretty impressive considering the small team that we had. The boys team dominated both relays and individual events throughout the weekend. We knew from the beginning of the season that we would have to work hard and improve daily if we wanted a chance at the state title. These boys worked as a team up through the very last event of the day, pushing each other to be better. We kept a positive attitude, even when scores were close, working until the very last second.”

The boys took first overall in the 200-yard medley relay. The group, consisting of senior Austin Sorensen, senior Riser Lundeberg, sophomore Marcus Richter and senior Aiden Martin finished the event in 1:39.96, .07 seconds ahead of Mountain Crest. In the 200 freestyle relay, the Murray boys were second behind Park City, finishing .91 seconds out of first. Sorensen, freshman Isaac Lawrence, Richter and Martin made up the group. 

The Murray boys also got a big lift from Richter when he took first in the 200 individual medley, which he swam in 1:58.52, more than a second ahead of the next competitor. Sorensen took first in the 100 free with a time of 48.34, while Martin was fourth in that event with a time of 48.94 seconds. Two Spartans placed high in the 50 free, as Sorensen and Martin were second and third, respectively. 

In the 500 free distance event, the top Murray swimmer on the boys’ side was Richter, who placed fourth, swimming with a time of 5:02.38. In the 100 breaststroke, Lundberg placed fifth with a time of 1:01.77. 

The girls were first in the 200 medley relay, beating Sky View for the top spot. The team of senior Adelaide Stoddard, senior Kathleen Richter, sophomore Brooklyn Richter and senior Elsie Shumway completed the race in 1:53.12. Brooklyn Richter was also second in the 50 free with a time of 23.70 seconds and was runner-up in the 100 free with a time of 52 seconds even. Kathleen Richter was second in the 100 backstroke, finishing the event in 1:08.28. 

Snowder was pleased with the girls and boys and highlighted several of his swimmers for their efforts against strong competition. 

“Marcus Richter, Aiden Martin and Austin Sorensen were key factors to our teams, scoring a large portion of our points in both relays and individual events,” he said. “Brooklyn Richter, Kat Richter and Addy Stoddard were crucial in scoring points for individual events for their team.”

This was the second season in a row that the Murray boys were runners-up in the 4A state meet. Last season, the boys finished well behind champion Crimson Cliffs. The girls were third a year ago. 

Snowder loves being at the helm of the program and is eager to see both the girls and boys teams grow. 

“I am proud to say that we have some of the fastest boys in the state, not just in 4A,” he said. “Being one of the top teams in 4A will hopefully lead to an increased number of students coming to Murray to join our team.” λ