High School State Championships: California Northern Boys, Girls Divisions 1, 2

COTTONWOOD, California, November 2. THE CIF Northern Sectional High School Championships — the only section in the state to hold its championship in the fall —took place Oct. 26-27.

Tomorrow, look for coverage of the CIF Northern Masters meet, which took place Oct. 29.

Division 1 (Oct. 27)
Chico High School took first among the girls, scoring 519 points to Pleasant Valley's 433 and Shasta's 235. Red Bluff came in fourth with 204 points, and Foothill took the fifth spot with 176.

Chico had several victories as junior Maddie Johnson won both the 100 breast (1:10.93) and 100 fly (1:00.93); senior Kathleen West in the 100 free (54.94) and sophomore Cydni Aird in the 100 back (1:01.76). Chico teams also swept the relays, with Aird, Johnson, sophomore Paige Treff and West in the 200 medley (1:55.34) and 200 free (1:42.53); freshman Annabell Hopkins, sophomore Elizabeth Keane, juniors Kassandra Graham and Sami Sanders took care of the 400 free relay with their 4:00.87.

Scoring first-place points for the runner-up Pleasant Valley squad were Juniors Gracie Hernandez in both the 200 free (2:01.56) and 500 free (5:20.71), and freshman Keely Johnson in the 200 IM (2:17.79) scored first-place points for runner-up Pleasant Valley. Meanwhile, Shasta freshman Ariella Aung took charge in the 50 free with her 25.23.

Pleasant Valley dominated the boys competition with its total of 622 points. Shasta took second with 292 points, followed by Chico (290), Foothill (176) and Red Bluff (167).

Pleasant Valley senior Dom Soderstrom finished first in the 100 fly, 6-hundredths ahead of teammate Cormac Hotmer, a junior (57.32-57.38). Hotmer placed first in the 50 free in 23.06. Sophomore Ben Sanders contributed an individual victory via his 59.41 win in the 100 back. Pleasant Valley squads came out on top in two of the three contested relays. In the 200 medley, Sanders, sophomore Jonny Borg, Hotmer and senior Zack Williamson combined for a 1:44.81. Senior Nick Lee-Seely joined Williamson, Borg and Hotmer for their victory in the 200 free relay (1:35.58).

Double-event champions included Foothill sophomore Noah Burrill in the 500 free (5:13.45) and 200 IM (2:09.56), and Enterprise senior Jaxon Williams in the 100 (50.94) and 200 (1:52.09) free. Paradise sophomore Andrew Hasek was tops in the 100 breast (1:04.87).

Shasta's team of seniors Aaron Partridge, Brandon Connolly and Matt Lin, as well as junior Theo Workman took first place in the 400 free relay with their 3:32.54.

Division 2 (Oct. 26)
West Valley High School emerged as the CIF Northern Division II girls' champion with their 426 points, ahead of University Prep (274), Winter (254), Anderson (170) and Durham (105).

Two freshmen started off their high school careers capturing two events each. University Prep's Robyn Evans scored wins in the 200 free (2:06.33) and 500 free (5:41.11), and Willow's Molly Bateman placed first in the 100 back (1:03.79) and 100 fly (1:02.55).

West Valley senior Taylor Serna closed out her career with a victory in the 200 IM (2:34.93); classmates Maddie Winton (100 free, 58.34) and Kate Sjoberg (100 breast, 1:17.44), both juniors, also took home titles. Durham junior Lauren Tokunaga earned first in the 50 free (27.53).

West Valley claimed two of the three relays. Seniors Taylor Moebes and Serna combined with Winton and Sjoberg in the 200 medley relay in 2:06.54; sophomore Ande Baldwin teamed up with Moebes, Winton and Serna in the 400 free for their 4:07.33. Winters' quartet of junior Marie Scholl, senior Ashlynne Neal, sophomore Ellie Kreun and freshman Vanessa Arellano were tops in the 200 free with their 1:55.88.

Winters wound up the top boys team, scoring 419 points to West Valley's 365. University Prep edged out Durham for third, 264-262, with American Christian Academy fifth with 151.5 points.

Senior D.J. Tice won a pair of events for Winters in the 100 fly (55.05) and 200 IM (2:05.69), while sophomore Colten Montgomery also earned a pair of titles for Winters in the 100 free (48.91) and 100 back (59.00). Teammate Justin Nitzkowski, a junior, contributed a win in the 100 breast with his 1:08.26. Also hitting the wall first in their events were Willows senior Kasey Foley in the 50 free (23.30), American Christian freshman Joseph Hicks in the 200 free (1:54.23) and University Prep sophomore Greg Lennon in the 500 free (5:10.72).

The Winters 200 medley relay of Montgomery, Nitzkowski, junior Holden Philbrook and Tice won in 1:45.42 and also came in first in the 400 free relay in 3:26.53. The West Valley team of freshman Sean Jordan, senior Steven Jordan, junior Austin Lowry and senior Ryan Parke placed first in the 200 free relay in 1:36.11.

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