2016 CIF-SS Division I Finals: Santa Margarita Girls Three-Peat

2016 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Swimming & Diving Championships

  • Diving: Monday, May 9, 2016
  • Swimming: Prelims – Thursday, May 12; Finals – Saturday, May 14, 2015
  • Location: Riverside City College
  • Defending Champions: Santa Margarita girls, University boys (2015 D1 Results)
  • Psych Sheet: Division I
  • Live Results: Available
  • Championship Central

Santa Margarita girls were expected to win by a large margin after their performance in prelims of the CIF-Southern Section Division I Championships on Thursday. Only a relay DQ could have bumped them from their perch and given Woodbridge a shot at the team title. But the Eagles held on for the win and Woodbridge settled for the runner-up plaque.

Girls’ Meet

The meet began in thrilling fashion when Woodbridge’s Sydney Okubo (26.05), Isis Choi (30.27), Whitney Ching-Wen Chang (24.88), and Molly McCance (23.51) came from behind to out-touch Mater Dei (Aislinn Light, Lauren Openshaw, Brianna Buckle, and Kayla Constandse), 1:44.71 to 1:44.75, to win the 200 medley relay. Seconds later a D appeared next to Woodbridge’s time on the scoreboard and the crowd let out a collective groan. After a short pause the 1 reappeared and the DQ was given to Fountain Valley instead. The results held, and it was Woodbridge first, Mater Dei second, and Ventura third (1:46.36).

Santa Margarita sophomore Samantha Shelton kicked off the individual events with a 1:45.06-to-1:45.96 win over Woodbridge junior Kate Krolikowski in the 200 free; both picked up new PBs with their swims. Shelton later won the 100 fly with her first sub-54, going 53.72. Marina freshman Sage Matsushima was runner-up with 54.25, while Woodbridge junior Chang came in third with 54.70.

Krolikowski won the 500 free in a heated battle with JSerra junior Katie Glavinovich that saw the pair trade stroke for stroke for the entirety of the race. Krolikowski was always just a touch ahead, and she won with 4:47.54. Glavinovich took second with 4:48.30.

Alemany senior Katherine Wagner doubled in the sprint freestyle events. She won the 50 in 22.84, with Santa Margarita freshman Mackenzie Degn just behind in 22.95. Third in that race was Valencia freshman Julia Wolf with 23.31. Later in the 100 free, Wagner went 49.67 to top freshmen Ayla Spitz of Newport Harbor (49.77) and Degn (49.91).

Edison sophomore Nora Deleske pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win in the 200 IM, touching in 1:59.53 for a PB; it was only her second time under 2:01. Canyon sophomore Alexandra Skorus-Neely was runner-up with 2:00.38, coming to the wall just ahead of a hard-charging Courtney Mykkanen of Foothill (2:00.86). Mykkanen won the 100 back in 54.19, holding off University freshman Riley Lexvold (54.38) and Mater Dei senior Aislinn Light (54.63).

Valencia sophomore Kaila Wong took the field by surprise in the 100 breast, winning in 1:02.30 over Ventura junior Alicia Harrison (1:02.63), Skorus-Neely (1:02.81), and Deleske (1:02.96).

Santa Margarita sealed their team title with wins in both freestyle relays. Degn (23.86), Marriott Hoffmann (23.99), Jeni Griffin (24.70), and Shelton (23.21) went 1:35.76 in the 4×50, while Valencia beat San Marcos, 1:36.12 to 1:36.17 for second. Shelton (50.49), Emily Boggess (52.51), Isabela Patino (52.77), and Degn (49.89) cleaned up in the 4×100, combining for 3:25.66 to win by more than 3 seconds over Woodbridge (3:28.75).

Final Team Scores

  1. Santa Margarita 309
  2. Woodbridge 271.5
  3. Tesoro 197
  4. San Marcos 158
  5. Edison 150
  6. Mater Dei 143
  7. Valencia-Valencia 141
  8. Marina 137
  9. Los Alamitos 132
  10. Ventura 111
  11. University 100
  12. Foothill 92
  13. Harvard-Westlake 73
  14. Capistrano Valley 72
  15. Newport Harbor 71
  16. Hart 71
  17. Fountain Valley 69
  18. Irvine 68
  19. Alemany 44
  20. Dana Hills 44
  21. Northwood 44
  22. Trabuco Hills 41
  23. Lutheran-Orange 41
  24. Canyon-Canyon Country 41
  25. Jserra 36
  26. Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy 32
  27. West Ranch 31
  28. Corona del Mar 21
  29. Rosary 20
  30. San Clemente 20
  31. Dos Pueblos 15
  32. Yorba Linda 7.5
  33. Villa Park 6
  34. Saugus 5
  35. Notre Dame-SO 4
  36. Huntington Beach 2

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EIE
8 years ago

Best team money can buy!

NotBetty
8 years ago

Congratulations on all the amazing swims. A big Thanks to Nora Deleske who noticed Alicia Harrison in distress and helped her out of the pool after the 100 Breast. Seems the girl was stung by a bee as she grabbed the blocks on the start. It can be(e) seen in the video. Yikes! I spoke with her earlier in the day. Her medley relay split was fast and she was hoping to get a double O or better in the 100.

About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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