Willow Canyon Swimmer Wins State Championship

Ryley Clark, a senior at Willow Canyon High School, was crowned the state champion in the 100 meter backstroke this past weekend at the AIA Division II State Championship Swim Meet.  She also added a silver medal to her collection by finishing second in the 200 meter individual medley with a time of 2:06.72.  

For both events, she entered ranked second with high hopes of earning a medal.  

“For backstroke, I wasn’t really lined up to win, but I pulled it out in the end,” she shared.  “I could see the girl next to me, in my peripheral.  She was just a little ahead of me.  I know I have a really good stroke, so I just really had to hone in on my last 25 and just try and get to the wall first.  I was really excited because you could just hear my team scream when I won.”    

Ryley finished the backstroke race with a winning time of 56.48, just a tenth of a second off her personal record. 

“I’m happy about it, but I see so much more on my horizon,” Ryley shared with a smirk on her face.  “I feel like this was just more of a stepping stone to lead up to bigger things.”  

Those bigger things start with signing her Division I letter of intent to swim collegiately at Fresno State University.  She will major in Nutrition Sciences with an alternate of psychology.  

“The coach has been watching me for about a year and a half,” she said.  “I was her top recruit.  She was really looking to coach me and I felt a good connection with her.”  

Going into college, Ryley has the ultimate goal in mind of making the Olympics in 2028.

“There’s a lot more to go, and I’m excited,” she said.

The one thing Ryley is taking away from this year’s state championship experience is not giving up on herself and knowing just how far she can go with swimming.

“I don’t think I have had the best high school state experience,” Ryley shared.  “Not saying that I did badly, but I didn’t swim as well as I wanted to for the past couple of years.  Building up that confidence again and standing on the podium in first place, reminds me I can do it.”