Fort Collins – Only one person could have overshadowed one of the best Class 5A team races in years, and Mark Dylla did just that.
The Heritage junior, who is becoming one of the state’s best ever, etched his name in the record books Friday night in two events and ran his championship total to six.
Regis won its 12th consecutive swimming and diving team title, edging Arapahoe 312-303 at Edora Pool Ice Center.
But the night belonged to Dylla. His first individual event was the 100-yard butterfly, an event he has won twice and one in which he broke a 6-year-old state mark Thursday.
That record lasted less than 24 hours as Dylla became the first state prep swimmer to go sub-49 seconds, finishing in 48.76 seconds.
“I think that might be the fastest time in the nation for public schools,” Dylla said.
Dylla, who competed in the 100 fly-500 freestyle sweep his freshman year, went for it again Friday, knowing the short turnaround he would have between events. He caught a break when the timing systems malfunctioned during the 100 freestyle, giving him an extra 10 minutes to cool down from the fly.
“Whatever it was, I kind of lucked out,” he said of the wait. “It’s the state meet (and) you want to get it right.”
Dylla’s 500 was a thing of beauty. The Eagles standout’s final two splits were 56 and 54 seconds, and he again set a state mark, becoming the first Coloradan to break the 4:30 mark, with a 4:28.42. He broke a 15-year-old mark set by Littleton’s Jack Taylor (4:30.67).
“I knew it was going to be that 300 to 400 right there again, and I really tried to push those,” Dylla said. “I did it.”
Dylla was not the only two-time champion Friday night. Poudre’s Tyler Svendsen, a University of Arizona-bound senior, won the 200 freestyle by nearly two seconds, then rallied in the final 25 yards to win the 100 freestyle over Eric Anderssen of Arapahoe.
“I kept pushing and kicking and tried to keep my head down the entire way,” said Svendsen, who became the first champion for Poudre since 1979.
Next it was Max Laney’s turn. The George Washington senior, bound for Arizona State, cruised to victory in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke.
“I was really happy with both my swims, and the IM felt really good,” Laney said. “Last night, I was just going through the race plan and trying to get the right feeling, and today I just let loose.”
Regis diver Sean Moore might have been the difference for the Raiders. His victory, the first for a Regis diver, was the only one by a Raider all night.
“It’s kind of nice to be recognized on the team,” said Moore, a junior. “You always like have three dives that are real safe (for the finals), but also a lot of DD (degree of difficulty) because finals can be real crazy.”
Arapahoe didn’t go home empty-handed. The Warriors won all three relays, including an almost three-second victory over Regis in the 400 freestyle relay.
“We knew we were going to be good, and that was the goal to win all three, and we came up with that,” Warriors coach Mike Richmond said.
