2024 NIAA 3A State Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2024 NIAA Nevada High School State Swimming and Diving Championships concluded on Saturday with swimming action happening at the Pavilion Center Pool in Las Vegas, NV. The series is split up into three classes: 3A (and under), 4A, and 5A, which did not begin until 2022 following two cancelled state meets in 2020 and 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic. To qualify for each class’ respective state meet, the top four finishers from each individual/relay event move on from each class’ two regional championships. The 4A finals session concluded on Thursday, with Saturday evening having class 5A finals sound off.
Saturday morning was the class 3A swimming state finals, where the Truckee girls and Boulder City boys successfully defended their 2023 team titles. On the girls side, Truckee dominated by over 50 points while Coral (69) just nipped out Boulder City (66) and Virgin Valley (65) for the runner-up crown. Meanwhile on the boys side, Boulder City wound up sharing the team title with Boulder City, who placed second last year. The Coral boys comfortably came in third.
Boulder City’s Phoebe McClaren, committed to St. Bonaventure for fall 2024, became a 3-time 3A Nevada HS state champion in both the 200 free and 500 free. She first won the 200 free at 1:54.15, her fastest time to win a state title. Then, she destroyed the 500 free by over 34 seconds to nab the win at 4:53.11, taking down both her best time of 4:54.39 and the 2017 3A state record of 4:54.54. Finishing in second place in both races behind McClaren was Pinecrest Sloan Canyon’s Hailey Imasa, clocking 2:00.65 in the 200 free and 5:27.16 in the 500 free.
Peering at the 1-meter diving boards, Boulder City’s McKenna Morrow had also won her 3rd-straight 3A state title.
Virgin Valley’s Kyra Jensen, a freshman, also won two 3A titles on Saturday as well. She first won the 50 free at 25.73, a tenth ahead of runner-up South Tahoe’s Nicole Whisnant (25.83). Jensen then flipped over to win the 100 back at 1:04.45, ahead of North Tahoe’s Kayden Watts (1:05.11) and Truckee’s Addie Schaller (1:06.09).
Truckee’s Schaller had earlier won the 100 free at 57.06, tenths ahead of teammate Aspen Hall (57.39). Schaller and Hall then accompanied the winning 200 free relay for Truckee (1:46.43), the school’s 3rd-straight title in that relay. Schaller then anchored Truckee’s winning 400 free relay (4:01.41), narrowly holding off Boulder City (4:02.84) and McClaren’s blazing 53.02 anchor split.
Coral’s Jordan Clarke was also a double 3A state champion, defending both of her 2023 state titles. Clarke first won the 200 IM by over 7 seconds at 2:13.04, with Boulder City’s Zoey McClaren taking second at 2:20.60. After hitting 1:08.10 at regionals, Clarke then handily won the 100 breast at 1:08.28.
Another Coral swimmer, Momoka Utusmi, won her third-consecutive 100 fly 3A state title at 59.67. Both Clarke and Utusmi were featured in Coral’s winning 200 medley relay of 1:59.46, powered by Clarke’s 30.68 breast split and Utusmi’s 26.99 fly split. Meanwhile, Truckee’s Reese Hoffmann swam a quick 25.91 freestyle anchor to attempt chasing down Coral. Truckee wound up settling for a close second place finish at 2:00.01.
Coral’s Joseph Sirhan won arguably two of the toughest individual high school events, the 200 IM and 500 free. He first won the 200 IM at 1:53.60, upsetting defending champ Truckee’s Asher Kates (1:55.42) while Pinecrest Sloan Canyon’s Jacob Imasa took third (2:00.08). Sirhan then had defended his own 500 free title, for the second time, touching in at 4:41.23, finishing way ahead of Boulder City’s Duncan McClaren (4:49.86) and Pinecrest Sloan Canyon’s Nathaniel Stewart (5:01.69).
While Truckee’s Kates was denied a 200 IM title via Sirhan’s upset win, he was able to defend his 100 back title, winning the event at 52.13 ahead of Pinecrest Sloan Canyon’s Stewart (54.02). Earlier in the 200 free final, Boulder City’s McClaren won with the lone sub-1:50 swim of 1:48.55.
Churchill’s Zachary Koenig also matched Sirhan’s double 3A state wins. In the 100 free, Koenig won at 48.61, narrowly ahead of more sub-49s from Truckee’s Noah Erskine (48.82) and Boulder City’s Troy Higley (48.98). Koenig then crushed the 100 breast at 58.37, with Pinecrest Sloan Canyon’s Imasa taking second at 1:01.48.
Into the 50 free, Boulder City’s Higley defended his 3A title with a 22.07, with Truckee’s Erskine spotted again in second at 22.64. In the same title-defending fashion, Sage Ridge’s Zach Power won the 100 fly at 51.92.
The Truckee boys won two relays, the 200 medley relay (1:41.48) and their third-straight 400 free relay title (3:20.09). Erskine’s 26.17 back lead-off and Kates’ 26.56 breast split powered Truckee’s winning medley relay. In the 400 free relay, Erskine’s 48.83 lead-off and Kates’ 47.49 anchor powered Truckee’s second relay win of the meet.
The 200 free relay 3A title came down to a seven one-hundredths separation from the top two. Coral took out the narrow win at 1:32.01, anchored by Sirhan’s 21.53. Settling for the close second place at 1:32.09 was Boulder City, with Higley anchoring a 21.76.
3A Boys Swimming State Champs! Congratulations Eagles! #bchs41 #bchsswim pic.twitter.com/Ibi9imToQh
— Boulder City HS (@boulder_hs) May 18, 2024
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
Police shoot and kill man armed with knife in Lexington, DA says
Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com
George County High School senior killed in Highway 26 crash, MHP says
Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for April 18, 2026
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 18, 2026
Gallery: Huskers Run-Rule No. 12 USC to Take Series
IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada
New Hampshire grapples with nuclear waste storage – Valley News