Swimming and Diving District Championships took place on January 23 and 25th. The first gold was brought home by the diver Iliya Ehterami. He qualified for Regionals and won gold with a score of 415.35 points. Excellent job Iliya!

That Saturday, there was a lot of action in the swimming pool. Swimmers showed their determination and great attitude in their swims. Some of the outstanding results were: 

Carlos Baez qualified in the 200 free, stopping the clock in 1:49.97. It was a fun and fast race to watch. Well done Carlos!

Then Haley Harris struck everyone by finishing 4th on the 50 free with a time of 26.12. She was close to breaking the barrier of 26, but she has a another chance at Regionals! Beautiful swim Haley!

Our distance swimmer, Ellison Mandacina qualified in the 500 free by finishing 4th with a time of 5:09.12. She also had a solid performance of her 200 free. Great job Ellison! 

Soleil Elammari achieved one of her personal goals by dropping a second in her 100 back, finishing with a 1:01.41, stealing the last spot for Regionals by 0.05 sec. Insane finish Soleil! 

On the boys side, Mr. Dylan Faux made absolutely sure to secure his spot in the 100 backstroke. Moving his arms faster than it has been ever seen, he finished in 4th place with a time of 55.18. Absolutely crazy and without breaking a sweat! Good job Dylan!

The last individual qualifier for the Regional Championship was Lilly Dreher in the 100 breastroke. She also finished in 4th place, to not break the trend, with a time of 1:14.18. She also broke her personal best! Well done Lilly! 

On the relay side, the girls 200 Yard Medley Relay qualified in 5th with a time of 1:57.71. The boys 200 Yard Medley Relay qualified in 5th as well with a time of 1:42.79. The ladies 200 Yard Freestyle Relay finished again in 5th with a time of 1:48.08. The boys stopped the clock at 1:40.68, finishing in 6th and qualifying to Regionals as well. The girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay won 3rd place!!!!!!!!!!! These ladies showed a lot of determination and hard work throughout the season and they happily collected a medal, given to them by our beloved administrator, Mrs. Melissa Jobson. The boys relay 400 Freestyle finished in 5th, qualifying the last relay to Regionals. Excellent job to all the swimmers who participated in the relays. 

Soleil Elammari, Lilly Dreher, Shia Camarillo, and Haley Harris: award ceremony in 200 yard medley relay

Dylan Faux, Jase-Wardlow Gomez, Graham Funk, and Carlos Baez del Bosque - 200 Yard Medley Relay 

Shia Camarillo, Kait Morataya, Lilly Dreher, Ellison Mandacina - 200 Yard Freestyle Relay 

Gregory Huffaker, Connor Hsieh, Rafael Guerrero, and Charlie Capener - 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

Soleil Elammari, Haley Harris, Kait Morataya, and Ellison Mandacina - 400 Yards Freestyle Relay, 3rd place

Dylan Faux, Graham Funk, Jase Wardlow-Gomez, Carlos Baez del Bosque- 400 Yards Freestyle Relay

Congratulations to all the swimmers who qualified for Regional Championships! But, District Championships had other amazing highlights. Just to name a few: Alberto Motola swam for the 1st time the 200 free and Sophie Pomeroy dropped almost 8 seconds in that same event. Niv Pakala dropped 8 seconds in the 200 IM, and Megan Webb broke the 3 min barrier in this hard event. Olivia Salazar finished top 10 in the 50 free, and Marissa Buchek was able to race after long months in recovery from an injury. Lexi Hsieh broke the 30 second barrier in the 50 free and Edgar Munoz gave a wonderful performance in his 100 breast. Avery Wilson, Sofia  Mercado, and Devin Funk showed a lot of resilience finishing the 100 fly, one of the hardest events. James Martinez kept everyone on edge in his 100 free, 0.1 away from the 59! Besides good swimming, each cougar supported each other throughout the meet and there was a  lot of cheering. Parents were able to come out and support the swimmers as well! We are all part of one great team after all. 

One of the best moments was to watch our seniors walk down the pool saying goodbye to High School Swimming, a big chapter of their lives. It was a meet for the books! 

Cougars seniors: Sofia Mercado, Jase Wardlow-Gomez, James Martinez, and Ian Engel

We are very proud of our athletes! Great season and to those who still need to race, we wish you the best of luck! 

Go Cougars!