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Draper Journal

Corner Canyon swimmer breaks school record

Feb 04, 2019 11:01AM ● By Catherine Garrett

Corner Canyon junior Rivers Johnson swam the 200 individual medley in 2:18:76 on Jan. 3 breaking the previous school record. (Photo courtesy Keith Bangerter)

By Catherine Garrett | [email protected] 

Corner Canyon High junior Rivers Johnson swam the 200 individual medley in 2:18.76 Jan. 3 at Cottonwood High School, breaking the previous school record that was held by 2017 graduate Kate Miller, who is swimming collegiately in Colorado. The All-State swimmer is also the school record holder in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke and some relays. 

“It was a great performance and something that she has been aiming for several years,” said Corner Canyon swim coach Patrick Thurman. “I’m happy for her adding her name again to the record board. The individual medley is probably the toughest race to compete in because it requires a great deal of ability in all four strokes, and it also requires the mental and physical training to handle a middle distance race. If a swimmer can do an IM well, a swimmer can do everything well.” 

Thurman looks to Johnson as a leader on his large squad. “Rivers’ talent and ability in the water is incredible and she is one of the best swimmers in the state,” he said. “But she is admired by her teammates even more because of how nice and personable she is to her teammates. She is so talented in many different activities and could be intimidating to others, but she is quick to make friends and show that she genuinely is interested in others. So while I have had swimmers as talented as Rivers in the past, she is unique in her ability to make connections with her teammates and bridge that gap of potentially being intimidated by her talents.” (Photo courtesy Keith Bangerter)