Leave it to a freshman to become the Metro Conference’s first place-winner at the state swimming championship meet. Bonita Vista frosh Julissa Arzave did just that after placing 16th in the girls 500-yard freestyle event at the second annual state swim and dive championships May 20-21 at Clovis West High School.
A club swimmer since she was 8 with the local South Bay Aquatics organization, Arzave said she realized she had a shot at qualifying for the high school state meet very early in the season.
“Looking at the times from the other swimmers at the start of the season, I knew I had a chance,” she said. “My goal the whole year was to swim in high school and get to the sate meet.”
And she did just that while setting a personal record along the way.
Arzave qualified for the state meet after placing fifth at the San Diego Section Division I championship meet May 14 at Granite Hills High School.
Arzave touched with a time of 5:02.27 to become one of six state meet qualifiers in the event. She didn’t win the event — that honor went to Carlsbad freshman Lindsay Turner with an automatic qualifying time of 4:57.23 — but the Lady Baron swimmer did meet the consideration qualifying standard of 5:10.30 with ease.
Arzave placed 16th in preliminary qualifying with a personal record time of 4:59.71 May 20 at Clovis West High School.
The time met her personal goal for her first year of prep swimming.
“I was really proud,” she said. “My goal was to beat 5:00, so I was really happy.”
Three girls went under the five-minute mark at the Division I finals. Torrey Pines junior Julee Keenan-Rivers (second, 4:58.92) and San Marcos senior Lindsay Ladman (third, 4:59.23) joined Turner with that honor, though only Turner met the automatic qualifying standard (4:58.30) for the state meet.
Carlsbad sophomore Kalie Novosedliak (fourth, 5:00.11) and Carlsbad freshman Anna Brooker (sixth, 5:02.85) also met the state consideration qualifying standard in a deep and talented field.
There were five swimmers who also notched qualifying times for the state meet from the section’s Division II finals, also held May 14 at Granite Hills High School. They included West Hills senior Sarah Nowaksi (first, 4:50.10), West Hills freshman Danielle Nowaski (second, 4;58.23), both of whom met the automatic standard, Clairemont junior Morgan Giordano (third, 5:05.23), La Costa Canyon freshman Bella Bram (fourth, 5:06.31) and Cathedral Catholic sophomore Mia Thomas (fifth, 5:06.69).
Sarah Nowaski’s time met the All-American automatic standard of 4:52.32, but did not match the section record of 4:43.75 set in 2005 by Blake Hayter.
Nowaski also shattered her winning time of 4:53.80 at last year’s swim finals.
At the state prelims, Sarah Nowaski timed 4:51.23 to place fifth in qualifying while Danielle Nowaski timed 4:55.23 to place 10th in qualifying.
Sarah Nowaski advanced to the top eight finalists the following day, placing fourth with a time of 4:49.775. She was the only San Diego Section swimmer to make the championship finals.
Danielle Nowaski placed 12th overall in the event after touching fourth in the B-final with a time of 4:56.82.
Arzave was 16th overall after touching eighth in the B-final in 4:59.95 to better the five-minute mark twice while competing at the state finals.
“I hope to make state all my four years in high school,” Arzave said. “My next goal is to make the top eight for finals and the top six for medals.”
Arzave captured first place at the Mesa League Finals on April 30 with a 5:17.24 time to start her journey to the state meet.
Golden State swim finals stocked with San Diego Section medalists
The Crean Lutheran Saints (girls) and Oak Ridge Trojans (boys) each won team titles at this year’s state swimming and diving championship meet.
University City’s Brendan Santana led San Diego Section swimmers at the state meet with a silver medal in the boys 100-yard butterfly (48.20) and a bronze medal in the boys 100 backstroke (49.19). Torrey Pines’ Jordan Blitz placed third in the boys 500 freestyle (4:28.46).
Coronado’s Riley Ferguson placed fourth in the 50 freestyle (20.67) for the second consecutive year while La Jolla’s Parker Seale placed fifth in the boys 100 breaststroke (56.81).
Del Norte finished fourth in the boys 200 freestyle relay (1:24.84). Also for the Nighthawks, Liam McCallum placed eighth in the boys 50 freestyle (21.12).
West Hills’ Sarah Nowaski was the highest place-finisher among the section’s female finals qualifiers with fourth place in the 500 freestyle (4:49.77).
The boys diving finals took place on May 20 while the girls diving finals took place on May 21, both in the morning before the afternoon swim meets.
Torrey Pines’ Jackie Im placed fourth with a score of 462.30 points while Rancho Bernardo’s Caroline Doi placed 11th with a score of 444.20 points. Valhalla freshman Isabelle Shane finished 21st in the field of 27 female divers with 171.35.
The top 16 divers scored points for their respective teams.
Granite Hills’ Cody Dreesen placed fifth in the boys diving finals with a score of 482.20 points while Del Norte’s Sam Schneider finished 15th with 383.40 points.
A total of 22 section swimmers advanced to A- and B-finals heats at this year’s state championship meet.
Three state records were set at this year’s meet. Ayala’s Kenisha Liu timed 49.01 in the girls 100 freestyle while Glendora’s Alex Margett timed 52.77 in the girls 100 butterfly. Palo Alto also set a state record with a 1:33.64 time in the girls 200 freestyle relay.
SAN DIEGO SECTION SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 14 at Granite Hills High School
Division I
Girls Finals
200 medley relay: 1. Torrey Pines (Julee Keenan-Rivers, Danielle Rosenthal, Leah Coffin, Katherine Lauerman) 1:47.28; 5. Eastlake (Elisabeth Lundgren, Angelika Yngson, Paola Rivas, Valerie Chin) 1:55.59. B-final: 10. Otay Ranch (Julie Parsons, Karina Espinoza, Ivana Reyes, Kristine Tapia) 1:59.07
200 freestyle: 1. Lindsay Turner (Carlsbad) 1:51.11; 7. Julissa Arzave (Bonita Vista) 1:56.85
200 individual medley: 1. Isabela Boese (Torrey Pines) 2:06.62; 5. Angelika Yngson (Eastlake) 2:12.24. B-final: 14. Paola Rivas (Eastlake) 2:19.61.
50 freestyle: 1. Pina Simone (Torrey Pines) 24.36. B-final: 10. Kristine Tapia (Otay Ranch) 25.37.
100 butterfly: 1. Leah Coffin (Torrey Pines) 55.30. B-final: 15. Paola Rivas (Eastlake) 1:04.08.
100 freestyle: 1. Julianna Natale (San Diego) 52.82; 5. Kristine Tapia (Otay Ranch) 53.90. B-final: 16. Valerie Chin (Eastlake) 57.81.
500 freestyle: 1. Lindsay Turner (Carlsbad) 4:57.23; 5. Julissa Arzave (Bonita Vista) 5:02.27.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Torrey Pines (Lindsey Anderson, Isabela Boese, Jordan Naughton, Pina Simone) 1:39.04; 8. Eastlake (Ana Manriques Graf, Sofia Lopez, Natalie Bautista, Katie Mercer) 1:47.64. B-final: 13. Otay Ranch (Ivana Reyes, Isabel Filson, Adriana Meza, Kristine Tapia) 1;48.12.
100 backstroke: 1. Jordan Payne (El Camino) 55.98; 4. Julie Parsons (Otay Ranch) 59.61. B-final: 9. Elisabeth Lundgren (Eastlake) 1:02.04.
100 breaststroke: 1. Isabela Boese (Torrey Pines) 1:05.19; 6. Angelika Yngson (Eastlake) 1:08.08.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Carlsbad (Skylar Swan, Kalie Novosedliak, Anna Brooker, Lindsay Turner) 3:32.75. B-final: 16. Bonita Vista 4:09.04.
Division I
Boys Finals
200 medley relay: 1. Torrey Pines (Alexander Tete, Alec Dickstein, Jordan Blitz, Michael Caylor) 1:37.80. B-final: 9. Eastlake (Cade Erickson, Cayden Pangelinan, Stephen Sterlitz, Jack Fischer) 1:45.58; 14. Olympian (Karl Moreno, Kevin Reynoso, Garrett Wesley, Sean Sebree) 1:47.75; 15. Otay Ranch (Bryan Thai, Ryan Gagarin, Ohj Nobles, Mitchell Kim) 1:49.44.
200 freestyle: 1. Jordan Blitz (Torrey Pines) 1:40.82.
200 individual medley: 1. Joshua Parmenter (San Marcos) 1:52.62; 7. Ryan Gagarin (Otay Ranch) 2:01.79. B-final: 15. Kevin Reynoso (Olympian) 2:07.07; 16. Edwin Inzunza (San Ysidro) 2:07.99.
50 freestyle: 1. Tin Huynh (Rancho Bernardo) 20.93. B-final: 14. Sydney Aki (Hilltop) 23.18.
100 butterfly: 1. Sukhman Singh (Carlsbad) 49.59; 8. Stephen Sterlitz (Eastlake) 54.31.
100 freestyle: 1. Tin Huynh (Rancho Bernardo) 46.43. B-final: 16. Stephen Sterlitz (Eastlake) 51.25.
500 freestyle: 1. Jordan Blitz (Torrey Pines) 4:33.29.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Rancho Bernardo (Tin Huynh, Jack Spitser, Nick Bell, Tristan Williamson) 1:28.08.
100 backstroke: 1. Sukhman Singh (Carlsbad) 50.96.
100 breaststroke: 1. Joshua Parmenter (San Marcos) 57.87; 6. Ryan Gagarin (Otay Ranch) 59.79. B-final: 9. Cayden Pangelinan (Eastlake) 1:01.00; 13. Sydney Aki (Hilltop) 1:04.08; 15. Kevin Reynoso (Olympian) 1:04.27.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Torrey Pines (Marcelo Ohno-Machado, Noah Ayers, Alexandere Tete, Jordan Blitz) 3:14.05. B-final: 13. Eastlake (Stephen Sterlitz, Josh Randall, Jesse DeAlva, Cade Erickson) 3:31.42; Olympian (Garrett Wesley, Kevin Reynoso, Karl Moreno, Sean Sebree) DQ.
Division II Girls Finals:
Mater Dei Catholic’s Yichen Liu finished sixth in he girls 200 freestyle (1:55.38) and sixth in the girls 100 freestyle (52.47).
SAN DIEGO SECTION DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 19 at San Diego Mesa College
Division I Finals
Girls Leaders
Points: 1. Jackie Im (Torrey Pines) 295.80; 14. Britnee Beilstein (Eastlake) 158.90
Boys Leaders
Points: 1. Cody Dreesen (Granite Hills) 321.25; 11. Josh Fischer (Hilltop) 181.90; 15. Xavier Sanchez (Olympian) 161.35; 19. Jason Wilder (Eastlake) 156.80; 27. Logan Eyer (Eastlake) 94.35
Division II Finals
Girls Leaders
Points: 1. Isabelle Shane (Valhalla) 271.40; 32. Sydney Snaith (Mar Vista) 99.30
Boys Leaders
Points: 1. Cole Owens (Christian) 287.0 points.
