2026 CIF Southern Section Swimming – Division 3 Championships
- April 30-May 9, 2026
- Mt. San Antonio College Aquatic Center, Walnut, California
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals (9 per heat)
- Live Results available on Meet Mobile: “2026 CIF-SS Division 3”
The 2026 CIF Southern Section Division 3 Swimming & Diving Championships unfolded on Friday afternoon at Mt. San Antonio College, and it delivered several standout performances.
- The Southern Section of the CIF has four divisions, with Division 1 generally being the biggest and fastest schools and Division 4 generally being the smallest schools.
While last year’s theme was a tight team battle on both sides, this year was a fairly clear-cut affair. The Costa Mesa girls cleared the rest of the competition by a fairly comfortable 53 points, while the boys meet was slightly closer though not necessarily a nail-biter, with Crossroads winning their second-straight title this time over Oak Park (194-176).
Final Scores
Girls’ Top 5:
- Costa Mesa, 222 points
- Westlake, 169 points
- Sonora, 163 points
- TIE: Agoura & Mission Viejo, 122 points
- N/A
Boys’ Top 5:
- Crossroads, 194 points
- Oak Park, 176 points
- Quartz Hill, 153 points
- Da Vinci Schools, 148 points
- Burroughs-Burbank, 131 points
Girls’ Highlights
Automatic State Qualifiers
Agoura senior Sofija Gelev defended both of her titles in the sprint freestyle events.
In the 50 free, Gelev (23.49) topped Pacifica-Oxnard senior Abigail Tamayo (23.62) by 0.13, with both swimmers dipping under the 23.69 automatic qualifying standard for the CIF State Championships.
In double the distance, Gelev swam 51.08 to slip under the 51.40 standard. Tamayo hit the wall nearly a second back in 51.96, just over a half second shy of the qualifying mark.
A University of California-San Diego commit, Gelev was just shy of her 23.45 best in the 50 free, set at the CIF State Championships last season, but sliced a tenth off her 51.18 in the 100, previously set at the CA/NV Speedo Winter Sectionals in December 2024.
University of California-Santa Barbara commit Tamayo equaled her lifetime best of 23.62 in the 50 and broke 52 seconds for the first time in the 100. Tamayo was second in both events at the smaller D4 meet last season.
The women’s 500 free saw Sonora sophomore Cassie Espinoza (4:52.10) and Mission Viejo freshman Halle Dawson (4:57.68) both undercut the required time of 4:58.09.
Espinoza sliced just over a second off her former best of 4:53.20 from December, while Dawson obliterated her previous PB of 4:59.87 from February.
It’s Espinoza’s first year in the D3 division; she was second in both the 200 free and 100 fly at the 2025 D3 meet.
Hemet senior Jaydan Godbolt (56.23) was the only swimmer under a minute in the 100 back, clocking a tenth quicker than the state cut. A California State University East Bay commit, Godbolt defended her title while dropping almost a full second from her former best of 57.12 set at last year’s meet.
All Event Winners
- 200 Medley Relay: Costa Mesa, 1:51.38
- 200 Freestyle: Cassie Espinoza (SONR), 1:50.46
- 200 IM: Halle Dawson (MIVI), 2:05.14
- 50 Freestyle: Sofija Gelev (AGOU), 23.49
- 100 Butterfly: Key Gonzalez (NOTO), 57.99
- 100 Freestyle: Sofija Gelev (AGOU), 51.08
- 500 Freestyle: Cassie Espinoza (SONR), 4:52.10
- 200 Freestyle Relay: Costa Mesa, 1:39.75
- 100 Backstroke: Jaydah Godbolt (HEME), 56.23
- 100 Breaststroke: Melanie Peng (COME), 1:06.38
- 400 Freestyle Relay: Sonora, 3:42.42
Boys’ Highlights
Automatic State Qualifiers
Miles Blackson-Dunbar, whom SwimSwam ranked as the 15th-best recruit in the class of 2026, dominated the 50 free (20.14) and 100 back (48.35). The defending sectional champion in both events, he easily cleared the 20.89/49.89 CIF automatic state qualifying standards.
The Tennessee commit’s best times in those events remain the 19.37 and 46.78 he clocked at Winter Juniors – West in December; he did not swim at State last year but will enter as the favorite in both races if he chooses to compete this season.
OAPA senior Elliot Drottar put his hand on the wall in 20.68 for silver, also dipping under the 50 free standard, before taking a win of his own in the 100 free, matching the qualifying time exactly with a 45.86 for his first-ever sectional victory.
The University of California Santa Cruz commit matched his best time in the 50, while his time in the 100 was his first time breaking 46.
Drottar’s junior teammate Pablo Ingrum swam 1:39.55 in the 200 free as the only swimmer to dip under both 1:40 and the state cut of 1:39.94. He improved upon his best-ever placement of third at the meet while crushing his pre-meet best of 1:41.39 by nearly two seconds.
Ingrum booked a second ticket to State in the 500 free but fell four hundredths short of a second victory, as Beverly Hills senior Marshall Smith (4:27.80) edged him out. Both well under the 4:29.94 state cut.
Smith took down his 4:28.70 from prelims, itself an improvement from his pre-meet best of 4:29.12, to upgrade from his 2025 bronze, while Ingrum hacked nearly five seconds off his pre-meet best.
Two swimmers dipped under 49 seconds in the 100 fly to book their automatic State tickets, both going personal bests by nearly a second. Saugus senior Logan Divine (48.63) outtouched Crossroads sophomore Nikolai Gilmore (48.85) at the wall for gold. Divine, headed to Washington and Lee University in the fall, upgraded from bronze a year ago, while Gilmore repeated his silver medal finish.
Finally, in the 100 breast, Quartz Hill senior Conner Alvarez busted out a 55.06 to win the event by nearly two seconds and undercut the 56.38 state cut in the process.
- Alvarez won the D2 title in this event a year ago.
Alvarez narrowly missed his best time of 54.93 from Winter Juniors – West in December.
All Event Winners
- 200 Medley Relay: Crossroads, 1:34.24
- 200 Freestyle: Pablo Ingrum (OAPA), 1:39.55
- 200 IM: Noah Quintero (ALLO), 1:53.59
- 50 Freestyle: Miles Blackson-Dunbar (CROS), 20.14
- 100 Butterfly: Logan Divine (SAUG), 48.63
- 100 Freestyle: Elliott Drottar (OAPA), 45.86
- 500 Freestyle: Marshall Smith (BEHI), 4:27.80
- 200 Freestyle Relay: Burroughs-Burbank, 1:28.05
- 100 Backstroke: Miles Blackson-Dunbar (CROS), 48.35
- 100 Breaststroke: Conner Alvarez (QUHI) – 55.06
- 400 Freestyle Relay: Oak Park, 3:10.38
The automatic qualifiers above may not be the only swimmers advancing to State from the meet. For a refresher on the qualification process, head here to see how the qualifiers are determined after every sectional meet is concluded. This Southern Section can advance five swimmers per event, and not all divisions within the Southern Section have competed yet.
