Boys swimmer of the year

Name: Chris Trimble 

School: Salpointe Catholic 

Year in school: Junior 

Sport: Boys swimming and diving 

From the archives: Salpointe Catholic junior Chris Trimble knew he was a good swimmer, but he had no idea he was the best in the state.

So Trimble surprised himself Nov. 6 at Arizona State University when he made the last turn in the Class 5A 200-yard freestyle event and saw that he was in the lead.

Trimble, the 1999 Arizona Daily Star Southern Arizona Boys Swimmer of the Year, maintained the lead and won the state championship in that event, then helped the Lancers to silver medals in the 200 and 400 freestyle relay events.

"The competition was very good this year," Trimble said. "There were a lot of good swimmers. I was real surprised that I won.

"On the last 50 or so, I looked around and saw that it was a really close race. Then I gave it everything I could have possibly given."

Trimble might have been surprised that he won a state championship as a junior, but there's no denying that he put in enough work to earn the title.

He swims every day after school from 3:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for Hillenbrand of Tucson. His freshman brother, Pat, also practices daily at Hillenbrand. He swims the same events as his older brother.

Both boys have been swimming regularly since moving to Tucson from Colorado six years ago. Chris said Pat has the potential to win state titles in the future.

Trimble has plans for his swimming future. He said he hopes to repeat as the 200 free champion and add a 500 free title to his résumé. Then he'd like to swim for a Division I school in California in 2001.

Trimble placed third in the 500 at state this year and second in the event at regionals.

But for now, Trimble can relax just a little bit. He has already won his first state title faster than he had ever thought possible.

"I'm so happy," Trimble said. "I didn't even expect this." — Phil Villarreal, 1999