The third annual CIF state swimming and diving championships will take place Friday through Saturday, May 19-20, at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex at Clovis West High School in Clovis.
Bonita Vista High School sophomore Julissa Arzave will once again represent the Metro Conference at the elite state championship meet for high school swimmers.
Arzave entered her name into history as the conference’s first state meet qualifier last year as a freshman. Not only did she qualify for the state meet, but earned 16th place in her specialty event, the 500-yard freestyle.
She’s going to Clovis this spring to compete in two events after adding the 200 freestyle to her entry list.
Forty swimmers are included in each event at the state meet.
Arzave earned the Female Swimmer of the Year award at this year’s Mesa League championship meet May 6 at Mater Dei Catholic High School. She went on to qualify for the state meet by placing second in the girls 500 freestyle (4:55.86) and fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:52.74) at last Saturday’s Division I championship meet at Granite Hills High School.
Arzave won both events at the league finals, clocking 5:03.82 in the 500 freestyle and 1:56.26 in the 200 freestyle events.
She enters the state meet ranked 13th in the 500 freestyle and 29th in the 200 freestyle events.
She clocked 4:59.71 at last year’s state meet after qualifying with a time of 5:02.27 that placed her fifth overall in a deep and talented championship heat at the 2016 Division I finals.
“I was really proud,” she said in regard to last year’s time. “My goal was to beat 5:00, so I was really happy.”
She’s going even faster a year later.
Arzave finished three seconds behind 500 freestyle race winner Kalie Novosedliak of Carlsbad (4:52.69) at the section finals.
Division II champion Danielle Nowaski of West Hills (4:53.39) ranks 10th overall among state meet qualifiers in the event. Nowaski ranks eighth in the 200 freestyle event with a time of 1:50.08 after placing second in the Division II meet.
Section honor roll
Mesa League champion Eastlake’s boys and girls teams, along with Mesa League girls runner-up Otay Ranch, turned in a solid meet at last Saturday’s Division I finals.
Swimmers with the top eight times from the preceding section prelims qualified to compete in the championship heat while swimmers with the next eight best times qualified to compete in the consolation heat (places nine through 16).
Among individuals:
•Otay Ranch senior Julie Parsons finished fifth in the girls 100 backstroke in 59.62 and 12th overall in the 200 individual medley in 2:13.66.
•Otay Ranch sophomore Kristine Tapia placed sixth in the girls 50 freestyle (25.34) and seventh in the 100 freestyle (54.65).
•Eastlake junior Jack Fischer finished seventh in the boys 50 freestyle in 22.18.
•Eastlake junior Cayden Pangelinan placed seventh in the boys 100 breaststroke in 1:00.96.
•Eastlake freshman Skylar Kinney finished eighth in the boys 100 butterfly in 55.55.
In relay events, Eastlake placed sixth (1:54.32) and Otay Ranch placed seventh (1:57.82) in the meet opening girls 200 medley relay while Eastlake finished fourth (3:41.39) and Otay Ranch finished eighth (3:45.82) in the meet closing girls 400 freestyle relay.
•Tapia won both events at the league finals by timing 25.49 in the 50 freestyle and 54.93 in the 100 freestyle.
•Parsons won the backstroke event at the league finals in 59.06.
•Fischer won the 50 freestyle in 22.55 at the league finals. He clocked 22.06 at the section prelims.
•Kinney finished runner-up to Mar Vista’s Oscar Vargas, the Mesa League Swimmer of the Year, in the 100 butterfly in 55.97. Kinney timed 55.01 at the section prelims.
•Pangelinan timed 1:02.14 to win the 100 breaststroke at the league finals.
In Division I consolation finals at last Saturday’s meet:
•Eastlake finished 10th overall in the boys 200 freestyle relay in 1:32.59, 11th overall in the boys 200 medley relay field in 1:43.50 and 16th overall in the boys 400 freestyle relay in 3:29.53.
•Eastlake placed 10th overall in the girls 200 freestyle relay in 1:43.85.
•Eastlake senior Angelika Yngson placed ninth overall in the girls 100 breaststroke (1:08.81) and 10th overall in the girls 200 individual medley (2:12.56).
•Eastlake junior Elisabeth Lundgren finished 10th overall in the girls 100 backstroke in 1:01.40 and 11th overall in the girls 200 freestyle in 2:00.47.
•Eastlake senior Valerie Chin placed 12th overall in the girls 50 freestyle in 25.59 and 15th overall in the girls 100 freestyle in 56.14.
•San Ysidro sophomore Edwin Inzunza, the South Bay League’s Male Swimmer of the Year, placed 13th overall in the Division I boys 200 IM in 2:04.05.
•Eastlake freshman Pia Davila finished 13th overall in the girls 100 backstroke in 1:02.62.
•Bonita Vista freshman Ezra Aguimatang placed 14th overall in the boys 100 backstroke in 58.03.
•Hilltop sophomore Yzatis Silva finished 15th overall in the girls 50 freestyle in 25.85.
In Division II consolation finals at last weekend’s section finals:
•Mar Vista’s Vargas finished 10th overall in the boys 100 butterfly in 53.56.
•Mar Vista finished 14th overall in boys 400 freestyle relay in 3:34.56.
Dive right in
The state meet diving card features three-time San Diego Section Division I boys champion Cody Dreesen, a senior from Granite Hills High School, two-time Division II boys champion Cole Owens, a sophomore from Christian High School, and reigning Division II girls champion Isabelle Shane, a sophomore from Valhalla High School.
Add Patrick Henry junior Jack Macceca to the talented group.
Dreesen racked up 334.75 points to win his latest CIF dive individual gold medal at last Friday’s six-dive finals at San Diego Mesa College. He will be out to better last year’s fifth-place finish at the state finals when he scored 482.20 points for 11 dives.
Dreesen, whose goal is to one day qualify for the Olympic Trials, had been chasing his older brother Kevin’s six-dive school record of 368.70 points set in 2011.
Kevin Dreesen wrapped up his senior year at BYU by winning the three-meter competition at the 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships; he won the section Division I title twice while competing for the Eagles.
Greg Louganis’ six-dive section record of 566.76 points continues to remain safe.
Macceca placed runner-up in this year’s Division I boys field with 304.25 points while Owens repeated as the Division II boys champion with 265.85 points.
Shane won this year’s Division II girls championship with 255.30 points.
A fourth diver from San Diego County, Fallbrook junior Joey Greenwood, also qualified to compete the boys state championship flight after placing third at last Friday’s Division I finals.
Twenty-eight divers made the cut in both the boys and girls fields.
The girls finals are Friday morning, starting at 8:30 a.m.; the boys finals are Saturday morning, also starting at 8:30 a.m.
Mar Vista junior Luis Godinez, the 2017 Mesa League champion, finished 15th in last Friday’s Division II dive finals with a score of 147.25 points.
He was the lone Metro Conference competitor.
