With five meet records alone set in the Division I portion of last Saturday’s San Diego Section swimming championships at Granite Hills High School (and six overall), it appears the sport isn’t ready to take a nosedive any time soon.
In fact, Mesa League champion Eastlake helped define the upward surge.
The Lady Titans, braced by championship swims in five events, finished second deep among the 28 participating teams in the Division I girls field with 233 points while Olympian placed 11th with 96 points and Bonita Vista was right behind in 12th place with 93 points.
Eastlake shared elite company with Division I girls champion San Marcos (288 points).
“It was so close,” EHS coach Steve Wiggs said. “There were a few things here and there that made the difference. But second place? We’ve never been there before, so I’ll take that.”
It was a well-rewarded season and one that isn’t over quite yet with several qualifiers for this weekend’s posh state meet.
In the boys field, Eastlake finished sixth with 138 points – the highest-placing non-North County team.
Swimmers with the top eight prelim times advanced to last Saturday’s championship heat finals and received medals while swimmers with the next eight best times competed in the consolation finals.
Consolation heat swimmers did not receive medals but earned points for their respective teams.
Eastlake High School senior Emily Lundgren snared four gold medals at last Saturday’s Division I girls finals to spearhead the Lady Titans to a meteoric second place team finish.
Making a splash
On an individual basis, there was a lot to celebrate.
EHS senior Emily Lundgren, the 2022 Mesa League Female Swimmer of the Year, stepped out of the pool with four gold medals and qualified for the state meet in all four events. She won her third title in girls 200-yard individual medley in 2:03.46, sped to a two-peat in the 100 breaststroke final in 1:01.16, and competed on a pair of first-place relay teams – winning the meet-opening 200 medley relay in 1:47.17 and the meet-concluding 400 freestyle relay in 3:34.32.
The breaststroke time, which was just off her section record of 1:00.96 set last year, is the top qualifying time in the event for this weekend’s state meet.
Sophomore Victoria Naval and seniors Aranza Martha and Mirsha Lora combined talent with Lundgren in both victorious relays.
Martha, the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle Mesa League champion, finished the day with three gold medals after winning the 50-yard freestyle sprint in 24.12 to go with her two relay firsts.
Eastlake finished the Division I final with six gold medals overall as sophomore Zane Johnson won the boys 100 butterfly in 49.94.
Not to be outdone, Bonita Vista sophomore Sarah Hardin won the girls 100 freestyle title in 52.23 while placing second to Martha in the 50 sprint (24.16).
“It feels like crazy being a CIF champion,” said Hardin, the reigning league 100 backstroke champion. “It feels like a dream.”
The one-two finish in a CIF final by two South County swimmers is surely an eye-opener.
“I honestly think the South Bay is carrying a lot of talent and is competitive now and can go against anyone,” Wiggs said.
Lundgren easily out-touched Valhalla junior Rachel Munch (2:07.97) to win the 200 IM and topped Poway sophomore Ashlyn Hernandez (1:03.83) by nearly three seconds to win the breaststroke event.
“That was definitely one of my goals — to get the three-peat in the IM,” said Lundgren, who previously won the event in 2019 and 2021. “I was affected a little by nerves but I focused on my own ability and everything was fine when I got in the water.”
Lundgren did face some adversity apart from the competition when her suit ripped and she had to get into another one prior to the breaststroke final.
She has set a goal of dipping under one minute in the event. “I definitely want to go under a minute — either at state or in college,” she said. “I’m glad I still have that goal.”
Martha finished fourth in the 100 freestyle (53.22) to go with her three winning times.
“It’s really rewarding,” she said. “We’ve worked hard for this. It’s special. It’s beyond exciting.”
Johnson, the Mesa League champion in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly, was the only swimmer in the Division I butterfly field to dip under 50 seconds. He out-touched Torrey Pines junior Andy Li (50.59) for the gold medal.
“It feels really nice,” said Johnson, who also finished ninth as the consolation heat champion in the 200 IM in 1:56.57. “The competition was super strong. It was nerve-racking before I jumped into the water. When I saw that I had first, I was super happy.”
Both finals times were personal records for Johnson, whose older brother Christian won the 50 freestyle at last year’s Division I championships.
The extraordinary performances were not limited simply to Eastlake. Olympian freshman Audrey Hill placed second in the girls 100 butterfly (57.16) to qualify for this weekend’s state meet while also placing sixth in the 100 backstroke (59.72).
Hill finished first in the 100 butterfly and second in the 100 backstroke at the preceding league finals.
Olympian sophomore Poppy Constantino also turned in a breakthrough showing with swims in two championship heats, placing third in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.98) and fifth in the 200 IM (2:12.44).
Hill and Constantino helped the Lady Eagles to a sixth-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:44.50. Freshman Anna Luna and senior Grace Hill also contributed talent to the quartet. The same group also finished 12th in the 200 medley relay (1:57.67).
Constantino was second in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 200 IM at the league finals.
Bonita Vista, braced by Hardin, freshman Aparri Tarpley, freshman Olivia Gutierrez and senior Paola Castillo, finished eighth in the same 200 freestyle relay field in 1:45.83. The foursome previously placed 13th in the 200 medley relay (1:57.92).
Castillo ended her four-year career as a Lady Baron with a fifth-place finish in the girls 200 freestyle (1:56.67) and a seventh in the 500 freestyle (5:10.92). She was second in last year’s 500 freestyle final (5:04.08) and sixth in the 200 freestyle final (1:54.29).
Lora also swam in the 200 freestyle championship heat, placing fourth in 1:56.58.
Naval finished eighth in the 100 freestyle (54.64) and 11th in the 100 backstroke (1:01.37).
In consolation heats:
The quartet of junior Morgan Watson, junior Dani Ramirez-Ruvalcaba and seniors Melinda Espinosa and Erin Gidley combined forces to place ninth place in the girls 200 freestyle relay in 1:44.61.
Gidley also placed 14th in the 200 freestyle (2:03.26).
Otay Ranch sophomore Isa Dang finished 15th in the girls 100 breaststroke (1:12.71).
Remember the Titans
Eastlake senior Colby Hughes, the 2022 Mesa League Male Swimmer of the Year, keyed the boys team with a third-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:34.76) and a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:42.53).
He also swam legs on the 200 medley relay (fourth, 1:37.66) and 400 freestyle relay (fifth, 3:15.92).
Hughes joined freshman John Luca Calma, Johnson and sophomore Edgar Martinez on both relays.
Martinez, the league 100 backstroke champion, finished 14th in the 200 freestyle (1:50.20) and 15th in the 100 backstroke (57.71). Calma finished 15th in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.53) and 16th in the 100 freestyle (50.60).
Eastlake finished 14th in the boys 200 freestyle relay while Otay Ranch was 16th in the same consolation heat. The Titans were braced by junior Zane Derrod, sophomore Pablo Estrada, junior William Coziahr and freshman Eduardo Flores Hidalgo in 1:37.14.
The Mustang foursome of juniors Jadon Fernandez, Alex Jarugui Perez and Rodney Jiao, along with sophomore Roman Silva, timed 1:38.37.
Estrada finished 15th in the boys 200 IM (2:07.71).
Hidalgo placed 14th in the 500 freestyle (4:56.41) and 16th in the 200 freestyle (1:51.64).
The Titans placed three swimmers in the 200 freestyle field: Hughes in the championship heat and Martinez and Hidalgo, both in the consolation heat.
DIVISION II FINALS
Mater Dei Catholic freshmen Isabella Chavez-Varela and Aslan Lofthus excelled in the afternoon Division II finals as Chavez-Varlelra posted a runner-up finish in both the girls 200 IM (2:02.13) and 500 freestyle (4:56.03) while Lofthus finished fourth in the boys 200 freestyle (1:44.93) and sixth in the boys 100 freestyle (47.11).
Chavez-Varela qualified for the state meet in both events.
Sophomore Mary Jackson placed seventh in the girls 100 breaststroke (1:09.67) and 15th in the 100 butterfly (1:03.34).
The Mater Dei Catholic quartet of sophomore Emilia Garcia, freshman Samantha Labrada, Jackson and Chavez-Varela finished 12th in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:04.37 while the Lady Crusaders foursome of Chavez-Varela, Jackson, Labrada and junior Lauren Nicanor finished 15th in the girls 200 medley relay in 2:01.99.
Mar Vista senior Thomas Spaulding finished seventh in the boys 200 IM in 2:02.09 and 16th in the 100 butterfly in 56.24 while Hilltop sophomore Samuel Del Real finished 13th in 2:08.31.
Hilltop placed 15th in the boys 200 medley relay in 1:51.27 with legs from sophomore Carlos Lago, junior Petros Kapetanios, junior Aidan Garces and Del Real.
Lagos placed 15th in the boys 200 freestyle (1:52.03).
Mater Dei Catholic finished 13th in the Division II boys standings with 48 points and 14th in the Division II girls standings with 62 points.
Mar Vista finished 19th in the Division II boys standings with 13 points while Hilltop was 22nd with 10 points.
University City won the Division II girls team title with 299.5 points while Cathedral Catholic won the Division II boys team title with 332.5 points.
