High School State Swimming Championships: CIF Southern 2A

RIVERSIDE, California, May 12. Eight division marks fell–six boys and two girls–were lowered during the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Championships May 10-11 in Riverside, California.

Boys
Los Osos claimed the boys team title with 285 points on the strength of their two record-setting relays and one individual standard. Crescenta Valley, with one swimmer and one relay setting new standards, took second with 234 points. Third place went to Arroyo Grande (142), followed by Santiago/Corona (140.5) and Murrieta Valley (134). The next four teams were separated by just three points: Lakewood (132); San Luis Obispo (131); and Damien and Walnut, which tied with 130 points apiece.

The Grizzlies set new free relay records. Junior Jared Strong led off classmate Michael Forbes, senior Gabriel Forbes and junior Kyle Coan for a 1:24.65, erasing the 1:25.04 put up by Oaks Christian in 2010. Senior Nick Bell joined Strong, Michael Forbes and Coan in taking down Crescenta Valley's 2012 mark of 3:05.50 in the 400 free relay with their 3:04.14.

Coan bettered the 200 free record set by Andrew Saeta in 2009 with his 1:35.69 and earned a second victory in the 100 fly (48.66). Forbes was tops in both sprint free events, cruising to times of 20.81 in the 50 free and 45.86 in the 100 free.

This year's Crescenta Valley team lowered the D2 record the school set in 2011 (1:33.79) to 1:33.39 with the quartet of seniors Harrison Thai, Young Tae Seo and Jacob Ksendzov–with sophomore Edward Yi swimming third. Tae Seo went on to better his 2011 division mark of 1:48.38 in the 200 IM with his winning 1:47.80.

Arroyo Grande junior Zachary Stevens posted a record-setting 55.15 in the prelims of the 100 breast and bettered that by 2-hundredths in finals to 55.13.

Ryan Kao, a junior at Kennedy, captured the 500 free in 4:20.28. Daniel McArthur, a Lakewood sophomore, came to the wall first in the 100 back (49.21). Vista Murrietta junior Ryan Russi was the top diver with 515.05 points.

Girls
The top three teams were determined by only seven points. Troy scored 207 points for the team title, with Ayala second (201) and Martin Luther King third (200). Palm Springs placed fourth (187), followed by Crescenta Valley (159).

Ayala's girls squad, like Los Osos' boys, set D2 records in both free relays. Freshman Megan Delgado led off junior Cori Casper, freshman Kenisha Liu and junior Ashley Tse for a 1:37.24, knocking down Westlake's 2008 mark of 1:37.80. Another freshman, Shannon Steele, led off the 400 free relay of Casper, Liu and Tse to come in at 3:30.01. That replaced the standard that Riverside Poly set back in 1980 of 3:30.27. Tse nabbed the only individual victory for the Bulldogs with her 1:03.77 in the 100 breast.

Palm Springs prevented an Ayala relay sweep with their victorious 1:47.88 in the 200 medley relay. Taking part in the relay were juniors Faith Travis, Alexa Wasserman and Kat Wickham, plus senior Sophie MacEwen on the third leg. Wickham picked up an individual title in the 200 free (1:50.36).

Upland sophomore Sonia Wang was the only two-event champion with her 1:59.16 in the 200 IM plus her 53.35 in the 100 fly.

Several seniors ended on a winning note: Long Beach Poly's Savannah Steffen (50 free, 23.54), Glendora's Kate Santilena (100 back, 55.78) and Vista Murrietta's Madison Hudkins (diving, 545.05 points). On the other end of the spectrum, Crescenta Valley freshman Heather MacDougall topped the field in the 100 free (50.92).

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use