Bentonville's strength in numbers led to a sweep of the 6A/7A state swimming championships Saturday at Arkansas-Little Rock.

Coach Nick Nersesian said he took a school-record 33 participants to this weekend's event, surpassing the previous mark of 24, and Bentonville won both title in convincing fashion. The Tigers claimed their 10th straight boys title with 409 points to 260 for second-place finisher Little Rock Central, while Bentonville's girls regained state supremacy by a 471-253 margin over defending champion Conway.

"The margins even surprised us because we didn't project ourselves scoring that many points," Nersesian said. "The kids stepped up.

"It's a testament to the dedication these athletes have, as well as their parents, coaches and community. It's a team effort all the way around, and the sport is growing. Coaches are having to find ways to make points, and it means work at all areas."

Bentonville's first-place finishes included a state record performance by Terrell Palmer in the 1-meter diving. Palmer scored 448.83 points and broke the previous mark of 433.90 set by Doug Tyler of Conway in 1986, and he teammed Austin Passmore to give the Tigers a one-two finish in that event.

Bentonville also picked up firsts from Jared Crosby in the 200-yard intermediate medley (1 minute, 54.3 seconds) and the 200 freestyle relay (1:30.65). The Tigers had three swimmers finish in the top 10 in three events and had four place in the top 10 in the 500 freestyle.

In the girls division, Bentonville's depth stood out even more. The Lady Tigers had three participants that finished in the top 10 in five events.

Bentonville produced a state record in the 200 freestyle relay as the team of Alexa Tininenko, Alexis Abernathy, Eunsol Chon and Emiley Horton finished in 1:38.15. The previous mark was 1:39.69 set by Conway last year.

Chon also gave Bentonville a first-place finish in the 200 intermediate medley, while Taylor Pike won the 100 butterfly (58.37) and the 500 freestyle (5:09.16).

-- HENRY APPLE • @NWAHenry

Sports on 03/03/2014