(FLORENCE, Ariz.) The Gilbert Christian girls' swim team picked up its second-straight first place victory on Thursday, posting 120 points to defeat Morenci (20), Poston Butte (3) and Florence (1). The boys' lineup tallied 28 points and came in second to meet host Florence (54).

"I am very encouraged by our teams," Head Coach Melody Pinkerton said. "Our state outlook is promising based on the speed we have seen in our first two meets."

Relay performances were key to the girls' win, as the Knights swept all three in the competition. Brooke Horton, Kalia Numeron, Ana Johnson and Katie Hansen were especially dominant in their 4x100 race, pulling away handily from the field of challengers. Senior Kambry Tutty was also instrumental for the Knights in their relay sweeps.

Sophomore Kyler Tolson continued his impressive early run for the boys, besting his 2022 state-meet time of 5:09 in the 500-freestyle by six seconds to record a speedy 5:02.89.

"I've trained really hard this season," Tolson said. "I am getting closer to my end of season goal, which is 4:55 in the 500-yard freestyle. This is just the start and I am happy to be ahead of last year's state time already."

Newcomer Savanna Blevins also accomplished a huge feat in the meet, scoring Gilbert Christian's first-ever points on the diving side of the competition.

Gilbert Classical Academy will host the Knights next, on September 19th, and the team's first invitational, the Knights Spooktacular, is scheduled for September 23rd and will be held at the Williams Field High School pool.

-GO KNIGHTS-