Sabino's Tyler Kybartas swims to victory in the 100 butterfly. The win was one of Kybartas' four state titles on Saturday in Tempe.

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TEMPE — All eyes were frozen on Herbie Behm.

The Catalina Foothills swimmer made his approach to the starting block for the 50-yard freestyle during Saturday's Class 4A-I state championships at ASU's Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.

The public address announcer even stated that Behm was the afternoon's showcase athlete.

"This is what we've been waiting for all day," the voice blared over the loudspeakers.

Behm recently noted his desire to topple perhaps the state's most celebrated record: former Olympian Gary Hall Jr.'s all-level mark of 20.30 seconds in the 50 free. The junior came within .05 of a second of the mark, touching the wall in 20.35 to break his own 4A state record and win the state title.

Behm's victory was one of 20 state championships won by local swimmers.

"It was a little distracting," the understated Behm said of all the hoopla. "But it always feels good to just have your name recognized along with someone like a Gary Hall Jr."

Behm also won gold in the 100 freestyle (45.59), and was a crucial component of Foothills' first-place 200 freestyle relay team. The Falcons (452 points) won their eighth straight state championship. Sabino (280) finished second, Scottsdale Chaparral was third (222). Sahuaro (157) was sixth.

Behm, a junior who owns the state record in the 50 free in his native New Mexico, was named the 4A-I boys swimmer of the meet.

Sabino's Tyler Kybartas swam his way to multiple golds, winning the 100 butterfly (50.21), and 100 backstroke (50.90). He also aided in the Sabercats' titles in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

"I zoned everyone else out and focused only on myself," said Kybartas after the butterfly. "I was well tapered and my mental preparation was right."

Another Sabino star, Nick Hadinger, was the top finisher in the 200 individual medley (1:57.06), and was also a member of both Sabino winning relays.

On the girls side of the pool, Sabino sophomore Sarah Denninghoff — the 4A-I girls swimmer of the meet — was unbeatable for the second straight year.

She repeated as 4A-I state champ in the 50 free (23.40) and 100 free (50.52).

"It's not easy and I don't want it to sound like it is," she said. "There are five days and nine practices a week, probably around 20 hours every week, that goes into this."

The girls team championship was uncomfortably close for the Foothills girls, who edged out Scottsdale Chaparral for their eighth straight title.

Ultimately, the Falcons (398) had enough superior individual performances to clinch No. 8, sending the squad into a frenzy when the results were announced at the end of the meet.

"It was phenomenal," Falcons senior Abby Corcoran said. "We knew how close it was. We were able to just pull through."

Sabino (196) finished third and Sahuaro (106) was eighth.

Sophomore Karima Chuk was key in the Falcons' tight victory. She won the 500 free (4:59.44).

"I had to go out hard from the beginning and keep that pace the whole time," Chuk said. "I couldn't risk a slow start."

Sahuaro's Stefanie Wells was again the state's best in the 100 backstroke (55.62), coming in .01 seconds behind the 4A state record. It was her second consecutive 100 back title.

"I thought about what I needed to get done, but didn't dwell on it," Wells said. "I sometimes put too much pressure on myself when I do that, so I try to not think about things too much."

In 4A-II action, Amphi's Isaac Lunsford was the local story of the day.

A ninth-place finisher in the 50 freestyle at the 4A-I state meet a year ago, Lunsford was the state champion on Saturday, snaring the top spot in 21.79 seconds.

"I guess the main (change) was I stopped year-round swimming this year, and just swam in the season," said Lunsford, whose school moved down to 4A-II this year due to decreased enrollment. "Maybe I was more rested."

Lunsford also won the 100 free (48.08), an event he came into as the heavy favorite.

Santa Rita's Nico Montaño was the 4A-II's gold medal winning diver, racking up a final score of 381.35.

And another year brought another gold for Palo Verde's Geordon Price. He easily beat the field in the 100 backstroke (52.62) to defend his title.

"I just wanted to break 53 seconds and I did that by about a half-second," said Price. "It comes down to how hard you train and how bad you want it."

He also was part of Palo Verde's winning 200 free relay team. The Titans won in 1:36.72.