Greg Hansen's top 10 boys swimmers in Tucson history
- Updated
Sahuaro's Doug Northway, an Olympic bronze medalist, tops the list.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: the 10 best boys swimmers in Tucson history.
To appreciate the dimension of Tucson High’s 1979 boys state swimming championship, consider this: the Badgers knocked off Phoenix Brophy Prep, one of the few true dynasties in Arizona prep sports.
Coach Jim Wandrey’s Badgers beat Brophy 253-243 by winning the day’s final event. Brophy Prep has since won 36 of the last 37 big-schools state championships.
And although Catalina Foothills has won 13 boys state swimming championships, it’s unlikely any Tucson team ever had the talent to surpass Wandrey’s ’79 Badgers.
Three seniors were offered scholarships by many of the NCAA’s top swimming schools: Eric Finical went to Texas, Bari Weick to Stanford and Bill Longton to Arizona State. All broke multiple state records.
“We were filling out All-American applications during half of the meet,” Wandrey told the Star in 1979. “I had prepared a speech to say, ‘Brophy is awesome,’ but I didn’t need to use it. Take away one performance and we would have lost.”
As it was, Tucson High won back-to-back-to-back boys state championships in 1977, 1978 and 1979. The group of Finical, Weick and Longton were point-scoring machines.
Wandrey, a 1960s UA swimmer who later became Tucson High’s athletic director, bought T-shirts in 1978 that said “1977 and 1978 state champions.”
A year later, after the Badgers broke five state records, Wandrey ordered new T-shirts that said “State Champions 1977, 1978, 1979.”
It was the last time a Tucson team won the boys state swimming championship until 1989.
Here’s our list of the Top 10 boys swimmers in Tucson. As always, there’s little separation between all 10.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The 1972 Munich Olympics bronze medalist in the 1,500 freestyle, Northway led the Cougars to the ’72 state championship and was chosen the Star’s 1972 athlete of the year.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
After enrolling at ASU for a year, Titus transferred to Arizona and became a 12-time All-American in the breaststroke and reached the finals of the Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2012. He is considered the leading deaf swimmer in American history.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
After breaking state records in the 50 and 100 freestyles, Finical became an All-American at Texas in 1981 and 1982.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The Ranger standout broke two state records in freestyle sprints. Davis then became a four-time All-American at SMU, the key part of a Mustangs team that finished in the NCAA top 10 three years in succession.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
After beginning his career at Michigan, DeBerry transferred to Arizona where he was a 13-time All-American, part of the 2006 national championship 800 freestyle relay team.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
A nine-time All-American at Arizona, part of a 2006 NCAA championship relay team, Rollins is now the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
A two-time All-American at Stanford who was one of America’s top Masters swimmers through the 1980s.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
After winning four state titles for the Lancers, Gaskins was a five-time All-American at Arizona, mostly as a relay swimmer.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Dull made his mark as coach of Cholla’s 1992 state basketball championship team, but he was Tucson’s top prep swimmer of the 1960s, winning eight state championships for the Titans.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The state’s 2005 boys swimmer of the year was part of Mexico’s World Championship team after becoming a regular at Arizona and a four-time state champion.
More like this...
- Greg Hansen
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: the 10 best boys swimmers in Tucson history.
To appreciate the dimension of Tucson High’s 1979 boys state swimming championship, consider this: the Badgers knocked off Phoenix Brophy Prep, one of the few true dynasties in Arizona prep sports.
Coach Jim Wandrey’s Badgers beat Brophy 253-243 by winning the day’s final event. Brophy Prep has since won 36 of the last 37 big-schools state championships.
And although Catalina Foothills has won 13 boys state swimming championships, it’s unlikely any Tucson team ever had the talent to surpass Wandrey’s ’79 Badgers.
Three seniors were offered scholarships by many of the NCAA’s top swimming schools: Eric Finical went to Texas, Bari Weick to Stanford and Bill Longton to Arizona State. All broke multiple state records.
“We were filling out All-American applications during half of the meet,” Wandrey told the Star in 1979. “I had prepared a speech to say, ‘Brophy is awesome,’ but I didn’t need to use it. Take away one performance and we would have lost.”
As it was, Tucson High won back-to-back-to-back boys state championships in 1977, 1978 and 1979. The group of Finical, Weick and Longton were point-scoring machines.
Wandrey, a 1960s UA swimmer who later became Tucson High’s athletic director, bought T-shirts in 1978 that said “1977 and 1978 state champions.”
A year later, after the Badgers broke five state records, Wandrey ordered new T-shirts that said “State Champions 1977, 1978, 1979.”
It was the last time a Tucson team won the boys state swimming championship until 1989.
Here’s our list of the Top 10 boys swimmers in Tucson. As always, there’s little separation between all 10.
- Greg Hansen
After enrolling at ASU for a year, Titus transferred to Arizona and became a 12-time All-American in the breaststroke and reached the finals of the Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2012. He is considered the leading deaf swimmer in American history.
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