By Kaci Demarest

The Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa hosted the 2015 Division I and II state swim and dive championships Saturday.

For D-I, the boys title went to Brophy College Prep and the girls title went to Chaparral high school.

The D-I competitions revolved around a handful of record breaking performances. On the girls side, Chaparral sophomore Taylor Ruck broke records in the 100-yard freestyle (1:46.51) and 500-yard freestyle (4:45.17) alongside taking first place.

“I was just aiming to better my times from last year’s meet and I did pretty well on that,” Ruck said.

Ruck also participated on Chaparral’s 400-yard freestyle relay team, which posted a 3:41.36 finish, sealing the state title for the Firebirds.

Additionally, Ruck was named Female Swimmer of the Year.

Chaparral head coach Richie Krzyzanowzki said the team spent the season getting their relay teams in order, but his girls “stepped up big,”

“I can’t say enough about my girls,”Krzyzanowzki said. “They’re fantastic.”

Other highlights from D-I’s record breaking day was Chaparral junior Ryan Hoffer’s state record 47.47 to take home the boy’s 100-yard butterfly.

While Brophy did not post any records, it did win another championship. The team took first in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.27.

Brophy junior Jack Blake notched a substantial win in the 100-yard freestyle with a first place finish of 45.75 seconds.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, an event that Brophy usually wins, the team ran into a hurdle in Mesa Mountain View, which won the match 3:06.51. Despite the loss, Brophy kept state runner-up Mountain View at bay.

Around the pool, Chandler senior Mark Jurek dominated the pool during his competition, swimming the 200-yard IM (1:47.86) and 200-yard freestyle (1:37.36). In the 200-yard IM, Jurek picked up his second straight championship and still holds the record for the fastest time from last year’s state meet (1:47.03).

Jurek was also named Male Swimmer of the Year.

For D-II, the Salpointe Catholic boys took the 2015 title while the girls title went to Notre Dame Prep.

The boys of Salpointe Catholic team picked up points where they mattered, despite being an underdog in the competition.

Notably, the Notre Dame Prep boys led early. They notched their first win on the day with a win in the 200-yard medley relay.

On the girls side, Notre Dame Prep broke out early, taking the 200-yard medley relays to start. The team was comprised of Caroline Strolik, Isabella Fratesi, Emiley Lynch, and Alexa Markl, names that headlined events later in the meet.

Notre Dame placed second in the 200-yard freestyle behind Verrado freshman Destiny Kling (1:53.91).

Although Sabino placed fourth, the team’s lead swimmer, senior Taylor Nations, was named the D-II girls Swimmer of the Year.  During the meet, Nations won first in the 100-yard backstroke for the third time in a row and tied for first with in the 100-yard fly.

On the boys side, Gilbert Classical Academy senior Austin Baker was name the D-II Swimmer of the Year. Baker is no stranger to winning at state. The senior started his winning for the day with a first place finish in the boy’s 50-yard freestyle with a 21.22 finish. The win dubbed Baker a back-to-back champion in the category.

The senior from Gilbert Classical Academy didn’t stop there, as he took first in the boys 100-yard free for the third straight year.

Kaci is a sophomore at Arizona State University majoring in Sports Journalism. She co-hosts Double X Sports, a talk show about women's sports, on college radio station Blaze Radio. After college, she aims to work as an on field sports broadcaster.

Twitter: @Kaci_Demarest