It was a scintillating finish for the Eastlake High School swim team at this year’s Mesa League finals.

When times from the final event had flashed on the scoreboard April 25 at the Southwestern College pool there were some highly decorated swimmers climbing out of the water, most notably the foursome of Pia Davila, Cecelia Hagewood, Emily Lundgren and Aranza Martha.

Davila, a junior, and Lundgren, a freshmen, each had four gold medals hanging around their necks while Hagewood, a sophomore, and Martha, a freshmen, each had three gold medals and one silver medal to show for their aquatic exploits.

The foursome, which collected a combined 16 medals (14 of them gold), left the pool as champions in the meet-opening girls 200-yard medley relay (1:50.82) and meet-concluding 400-yard freestyle relay (3:39.17) with meet record times in both events.

The foursome knocked nearly six seconds off the previous meet records of 1:50.82 in the medley relay and 3:45.93 in the freestyle relay set last year by Titan swimmers.

Davila (backstroke), Martha (breaststroke), Lundgren (butterfly) and Hagewood (freestyle) each swam legs in that order on the medley relay.

Between those two relay events, the talented quartet was busy amassing six individual gold medals among themselves.

Davila captured first-place finishes in the 100 butterfly (1:01.01) and 100 backstroke (1:01.70), with both times meeting the San Diego Section’s automatic qualifying standard.

Lundgren touched first in the 200 individual medley (2:05.12) and 100 breaststroke (1:03.10) events. Lundgren’s times in both events set new meet records.

She blasted former Titan standout Angelika Yngson’s meet record of 2:13.55 in the 200 IM by nearly eight seconds and shaved four seconds off Hagewood’s previous meet record of 1:07.10 in the breaststroke event.

Not surprisingly, Lundgren earned the Female Swimmer of the Year award.

She is a favorite to challenge for CIF titles and a berth in the state championship meet in just her first year as a high school swimmer.

She draws on the mentality of Olympic champions for self-motivation.

“Swimming so many meets so often (in high school) I start feeling tired but I work through it and push myself,” the Titan frosh star explained. “When there’s a wall, I keep going and break through it.”

“Her ceiling is really high,” EHS head coach Steve Wiggs noted about her potential.

Hagewood won her individual gold medal in the 50 freestyle (24.20) while Martha captured first place in the 100 freestyle (55.23). Both times met the section’s automatic qualifying standard.

Hagewood initially specialized in the breaststroke before moving to the shorter freestyle distances. “I love that feeling of going top speed, going so fast is a rush,” she said.

The performance by the Titan ladies was breathtaking.

Eastlake rocketed past the rest of the Mesa League field with 625 points to easily top the girls team standings ahead of runner-up Olympian’s 239 points. Mar Vista finished third with 235 points, followed by Otay Ranch (225 points), Hilltop (212 points), Bonita Vista (175 points) and Mater Dei Catholic (171 points).

“We have a lot of talent and it’s still a young team,” Wiggs said. “It’s a special group.”

“It feels really amazing to know that I’m a part of it,” Davila said.

Eastlake’s gold rush was no less impressive on the boys side.

Eastlake won the boys team title with 542 points to out distance runner-up Olympian with 321 points and third place Mar Vista with 268 points. Bonita Vista finished fourth in the team standings with 260 points, followed by Hilltop (194 points), Mater Dei Catholic (90 points) and Otay Ranch (43 points).

EHS senior Emilo Camarillo, who earned the Male Swimmer of the Year award, won individual gold medals in the 200 IM (2:01.77) and 100 butterfly (53.48). His time in the latter event set a new meet record, eclipsing the 53.72 mark set last year by Mar Vista’s Oscar Vargas.

He also swam legs on the Titans’ victorious 200 freestyle (1:31.97) and 400 freestyle (3:25.57) relay teams.

The 200 freestyle relay, which included Nate Bjornstad, Jeremy Redden and Eli Stewart, set a meet record by four seconds.

Bjornstad, a sophomore, collected an individual gold medal in the 100 breaststroke (58.63) and a silver medal in the 50 freestyle (22.35). He also earned two relay gold medals (1:42.80 in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle).

Bjornstad set a new meet record with his winning breaststroke time to top the old meet record of 1:00.13 set by Otay Ranch’s Ryan Gagarin in 2016.

It was a personal breakthrough for the Titan swimmer, who had been out of the water for eight months while recovering from a water polo injury.

“It was great to come back and do a great time so long after missing the water polo season,” Bjornstad said. “My main goal was to get a best time in Mesa and take it from there in CIF.”

The Titan swimmer finished just 0.13 seconds behind Stewart in a lightning quick 50 freestyle finish.

Stewart won the event with an automatic qualifying time of 22.22 to finish just off the meet record of 22.15. “I could feel myself going fast,” he said.

Colby Hughes won an individual gold medal in the 500 freestyle with a meet record time of 4:47.28. His winning time was almost 10 seconds faster than the previous meet record of 4:57.43 set by Eastlake’s Cade Erickson last year.

Redden, a senior, deserves honorable mention after swimming on two winning freestyle relays, setting one meet record, and taking fourth in both the 50 freestyle (23.19) and 100 freestyle (50.21) to finish with four medals in the meet.

The Titans did not exactly have the talent market cornered:

• Bonita Vista freshman Paola Castillo doubled in winning the girls 200 freestyle (1:55.18) and 500 freestyle (5:07.41). Both times met the section automatic qualifying standard.

• Otay Ranch junior Samuel Gomez doubled in winning the boys 100 freestyle (48.59) and 200 freestyle (1:46.38). He set a new meet record in the shorter distance, bettering his own mark of 48.89 set last year.
• Bonita Vista junior Ezra Aguimatang repeated as the boys 100 backstroke champion with a time of 54.45 to better his own meet record of 55.03 set last year. Aguimiatang finished third in the 100 butterfly (54.31).

Castillo as been swimming since she was 8. “I just got thrown into the water,” she said. “I’ve always loved the water since I was little. My family moved into a new house and we got into the sport. I fell in love with it right away.”

She began swimming with South Bay Aquatics and eventually her talent took her to the Mexican national team. At the Far Western regional meet, she won gold medals in the 800 and 1500 distances.

High school, however, presented a new challenge.

“As a freshman, I wanted to beat the school records or be close to them,” she said.

She’s closing in on school records in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events, less than three seconds off in the 500 freestyle and less than four seconds in the 200 freestyle.

Gomez, another SBA product, began swimming at Otay Ranch last year. He’s been a dedicated swimmer since age 9 and has been working hard since then.

The results are obviously showing. He dropped his own meet record by 0.30 seconds in winning the 100 freestyle this year. He was just off the meet record by 0.35 seconds in the 200 freestyle.

“Swimming is really repetitive but winning never gets old,” he said. “It feels cool (to repeat as a league champion). I just wish I had more competition like last year but my friend moved to Singapore.”

Anyone up for the challenge next season?

Eastlake girls – 2019 Mesa League team champions

Mesa League Swimming Championships

Girls Results

200 medley relay: Eastlake 1:50.82 (meet record)

200 freestyle: Paola Castillo (Bonita Vista) 1:55.18

200 individual medley: Emily Lundgren (Eastlake) 2:05.12 (meet record)

50 freestyle: Cecilia Hagewood (Eastlake) 24.20

100 butterfly: Pia Davila (Eastlake) 1:01.01

100 freestyle: Aranza Martha (Eastlake) 55.23

500 freestyle: Paola Castillo (Bonita Vista) 5:07.41

200 freestyle relay: Eastlake 1:46.66

100 backstroke: Pia Davila (Eastlake) 1:01.70

100 breaststroke: Emily Lundgren (Eastlake) 1:03.10 (meet record)

400 freestyle relay: Eastlake 3:39.17 (meet record)

Team standings (points): 1. Eastlake 625, 2. Olympian 239, 3. Mar Vista 235, 4. Otay Ranch 225, 5. Hilltop 212, 6. Bonita Vista 175, 7. Mater Dei Catholic 171

 

Boys Results

200 medley relay: Eastlake 1:42.80

200 freestyle: Samuel Gomez (Otay Ranch) 1:46.38

200 individual medley: Emilio Camarillo (Eastlake) 2:01.77

50 freestyle: Elijah Stewart (Eastlake) 22.22

100 butterfly: Emilio Camarillo (Eastlake) 53.48 (meet record)

100 freestyle: Samuel Gomez (Otay Ranch) 48.59 (meet record)

500 freestyle: Colby Hughes (Eastlake) 4:47.28 (meet record)

200 freestyle relay: Eastlake 1:31.97 (meet record)

100 backstroke: Ezra Aguimatang (Bonita Vista) 54.45 (meet record)

100 breaststroke: Nathaniel Bjornstad (Eastlake) 58.63 (meet record)

400 freestyle relay: Eastlake 3:25.57

Team standings (points): 1. Eastlake 542, 2. Olympian 321, 3. Mar Vista 268, 4. Bonita Vista 260, 5. Hilltop 194, 6. Mater Dei Catholic 90, 7, Otay Ranch 43

 

Sportsmanship Awards:
Mesa League

Christine Sigle – Mar Vista High School (Female)

Evan Giffen – Hilltop High School (Male)

 

SOUTH BAY LEAGUE FINALS:

Southwest Raiders, San Ysidro Cougars are top teams at South Bay League swim finals

The Southwest High School boys swim team repeated as South Bay League dual meet champions this spring and it wasn’t necessarily an easy feat, according to coach John Carson.

“It’s been an amazing two years with amazing teams on both sides,” Carson noted. “I didn’t think our boys team could repeat this year but things fell into place. We were better than I expected.”

The Raiders continued to make a splash by piling up a meet high 483 points to top runner-up Castle Park’s 279 points to win the team title at last Friday’s league finals at Southwestern College.

Key swimmers for the Raiders include Jadon Garcia, Xavier Finley, Alex Rodriguez, Joaquin Gutierrez and Henry Torija.

“They all made their impact,” Carson said.

Garcia doubled in winning the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. He won the sprint distance in a meet record 24.86 and timed 1:14.08 in the breaststroke event.

Torija won the 100 backstroke in a meet record 1:00.26.

San Ysidro won the regular season dual meet title on the girls side and duplicated that with a first-place finish at last Friday’s league finals.

Cougar coach Tom Grahl called it an “honor” to coach the team.

“Coaching these girls has been a blessing,” he said. “There are a lot from water polo and a lot from different walks of life. It’s been a pleasure to coach them. Every one of the girls are great kids. Not only are they good swimmers but they are good students as well.”

San Ysidro won seven of the 11 events at the league finals, setting meet records in all of them.

Dania Alvarez doubled in winning the 200 freestyle (2:13.63) and 500 freestyle (5:54.07) while Miranda Mitra doubled in winning the 200 individual medley (2:25.94) and 100 breaststroke (1:15.74).

Itzel Murguia-Serrano won the backstroke in 1:10.95.

San Ysidro also won two relay events.

Southwest’s girls team finished second behind San Ysidro at the league finals.

 

South Bay League Swimming Championships

Girls Results

200 medley relay: San Ysidro 2:10.10 (meet record)

200 freestyle: Dania Alvarez (San Ysidro) 2:13.63 (meet record)

200 individual medley: Miranda Mitra (San Ysidro) 2:25.94 (meet record)

50 freestyle: Natalie Ramirez (Chula Vista) 28.09

100 butterfly: Allison Simon (Chula Vista) 1:07.55

100 freestyle: Natalie Ramirez (Chula Vista) 1:00.12 (meet record)

500 freestyle: Dania Alvarez (San Ysidro) 5:54.07 (meet record)

200 freestyle relay: Chula Vista 2:02.26 (meet record)

100 backstroke: Itzel Murguia-Serrano (San Ysidro) 1:10.95 (meet record)

100 breaststroke: Miranda Mitra (San Ysidro) 1:15.74 (meet record)

400 freestyle relay: San Ysidro 4:11.13 (meet record)

Team standings (points): 1. San Ysidro 356, 2.Southwest 329, 3. Sweetwater 314.5 4. Chula Vista 310.5, 5. Montgomery 284, 6. Castle Park 150

Boys Results

200 medley relay: San Ysidro 1:52.25 (meet record)

200 freestyle: Ian Osuna-Urrea (San Ysidro) 2:09.58

200 individual medley: Edwin Inzunza (San Ysidro) 2:05.12

50 freestyle: Jadon Garcia (Southwest) 24.86 (meet record)

100 butterfly: Pablo Wells (San Ysidro) 1:02.39

100 freestyle: Eduardo Zepeda-Gutierrez (San Ysidro) 55.84 (meet record)

500 freestyle: Edwin Inzunza (San Ysidro) 5:08.27

200 freestyle relay: Southwest 1:42.90

100 backstroke: Henry Torija (Southwest) 1:00.26 (meet record)

100 breaststroke: Jadon Garcia (Southwest) 1:14.08

400 freestyle relay: San Ysidro 3:47.53

Team standings (points): 1. Southwest 446, 2. Castle Park 279, 3. San Ysidro 276, 4. Sweetwater 240, 5. Montgomery 197, 6. Chula Vista 160