2023 CIF-SS Swimming and Diving Division III Championships
- April 27-May 6, 2023
- Riverside Aquatic Complex
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Results
- Champions:
- Girls: Upland
- Boys: Costa Mesa
Seven swimmers secured automatic bids to the upcoming CIF State Championships at the CIF-SS Division III’s championship meet. Leading the way was El Modena junior Grace Wharton, who picked up wins in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Her first event was the 500 free, where she earned the win in 4:57.77. She was the only swimmer in the field to break 5 minutes, and won by over 12 seconds. Her best is 4:52.75, from November 2022.
She was back up in the 100 backstroke, with only the boys’ 500 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relays in between her races. In the 100 back, she popped 56.11, which is less than a second off her best of 55.21 from Winter Juniors – West. She established her lead early, turning at the 50 in 27.47, over half a second ahead of runner-up Jaydah Godbolt. Wharton extended her lead over the second half of the race, eventually winning by over two seconds.
Wharton was the only girl to earn an automatic State cut, but there were several others who earned State consideration cuts, including Ava Otteson, who also earned two individual and one relay wins. The Xavier Prep freshman rolled off a 200 medley relay win to a win in the 200 freestyle. She was out first at the 50 (25.78) and never looked back, taking the win in 1:51.66. Later, she dropped .72 seconds from her lifetime best to the win the 100 free in 51.91.
Blair’s Ella Lesnever also earned a State consideration cut with her win in the 50 free. Lesnever swam a personal best 23.76, going sub-24 for the first time. She was the only one in the field under the barrier, and she won the event by over a second.
The other swimmers who automatically punched their tickets to State came on the boys side of the race. First, Pierce Downs blasted 1:39.79 to win the 200 free, hitting both his State cut and All-American consideration. The swim was a massive best time for Downs, who’s committed to NYU. It marks his first time breaking 1:40, and is a .77 second drop from the best he set in prelims. Prior to this meet, his best was a 1:41.69 from 2021.
Nordhoff’s Quin Seider, a junior verbally committed to ASU, also hit an Automatic All-American cut with his 50 freestyle win. Seider threw down a lifetime best 20.45. That chops five-hundredths off his previous best, which came at Winter Juniors – West. Athan Boutakidis finished second in 20.65, earning an automatic bid to State and All-American consideration.
Both Seider and Downs earned another State automatic time in the 100 free. Seider won in 44.61, with Downs following in 45.57.
Joshua Peace followed up Wharton hitting her cut in the 500 free by making his cut in the same event. The Yucapica swimmer built into the race, passing 100 fly champion Avrum Xagorarakis and earning the win in a personal best 4:30.40. The time cuts over four seconds off the personal best he swam at Carlsbad Sectionals in March. Xagorarakis followed over a second behind in 4:31.94, also hitting a lifetime best and securing an automatic bid to State. It was Xagorarakis’ second cut of the meet, as he’d earned All-American Consideration with his 49.30 to win the 100 fly.
Then, in the 100 backstroke, Jack O’Shaughnessy punched his ticket with a personal best 49.41, breaking 50 seconds for the first time. Like Wharton in the girls’ edition of the race, O’Shaughnessy also won his race decisively, stopping the clock two seconds before the runner-up Jaiden Monroe. Both Monroe and third-place Miles Blackson-Dunbar earned State consideration times of 51.56 and 51.62.
Full List of Winners
- Girls 200 Medley Relay: Xavier Prep — 1:53.51
- Boys 200 Medley Relay: Costa Mesa — 1:38.16
- Girls 200 Freestyle: Ava Otteson, Xavier Prep — 1:51.66 (State Consideration)
- Boys 200 Freestyle: Pierce Downs, Viewpoint — 1:39.79 (AA Consideration)
- Girls 200 IM: Raphaela Flores, Whitney — 2:10.95
- Boys 200 IM: March Yuan, Oak Park — 1:56.45
- Girls 50 Freestyle: Ella Lesnever, Blair — 23.76 (State Consideration)
- Boys 50 Freestyle: Quin Seider, Nordhoff — 20.45 (AA Automatic)
- Girls 100 Butterfly: Spencer Damaske, Upland — 57.47 (State Consideration)
- Boys 100 Butterfly: Avrum Xagorarakis, Costa Mesa — 49.30 (AA Consideration)
- Girls 100 Freestyle: Ava Otteson, Xavier Prep — 51.91 (State Consideration)
- Boys 100 Freestyle: Quin Seider, Nordhoff — 41.61 (AA Automatic)
- Girls 500 Freestyle: Grace Wharton, El Modena — 4:57.77 (State Automatic)
- Boys 500 Freestyle: Joshua Peace, Yucaipa — 4:30.40 (State Automatic)
- Girls 200 Freestyle Relay: Upland — 1:43.10
- Boys 200 Freestyle Relay: Costa Mesa — 1:29.12
- Girls 100 Backstroke: Grace Wharton, El Modena — 56.11 (State Automatic)
- Boys 100 Backstroke: Jack O’Shaughnessy, Bishop Montgomery — 49.41 (State Automatic)
- Girls 100 Breaststroke: Hillary Nguyen, Palos Verdes — 1:06.46
- Boys 100 Breaststroke: Jared Ladinez, King — 57.91 (State Consideration)
- Girls 400 Freestyle Relay: Upland — 3:44.60
- Boys 400 Freestyle Relay: Viewpoint — 3:13.65 (AA Consideration)
