2025 CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS
- May 7-9, 2025
- Mt. San Antonio College – Walnut, California
- SCY (25 yards)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet
- PDF Results or on Meet Mobile: “2025 CIF-SS Division 2”
The 2025 California High School Swimming and Diving postseason is in full swing. The CIF Southern—Division II Championships wrapped up on Friday with the Santa Monica girls claiming victory by a comfortable margin of 32.5 points. This marked a significant improvement from their 19th-place finish a year ago, where they scored just 62 points.
On the boys’ side, Ayala moved from runner-up status in 2024 to team champions in 2025, winning by 23 points over 2nd-place Notre Dame. It represents their first section championship in school history.
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.
GIRLS’ RECAP
Santa Monica freshman Gabi Brito, just 14 years old, was one of the stars of the meet as she swept her two individual events and played a key role in two relay wins. She opened the session with a 25.17 lead-off on the 200 medley relay, where she was followed by Daniela Petran (29.04), Sloane Bryant (26.82), and Serena Wu (25.14) for a final time of 1:46.17. Later, she anchored the 400 free relay in a scorching 48.25, teaming up with Paloma Kimura (53.34, lead-off), Alexis Burrell (53.91), and Petran (51.99).
Individually, Brito won the 100 fly in 52.50 and the 200 IM in 1:56.70—both within striking distance of her personal bests: 51.87 in the fly from February’s Speedo Sectionals in Oceanside, and 1:56.39 in the IM from the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in Austin last December. Her 100 fly time also broke the previous Division 2 Meet record of 52.51, set by Eva Merrell of Crean Lutheran in 2017.
The aforementioned Petran, a senior, went on to win the 100 breast with the only sub-1:04 performance of the meet, touching in 1:03.65. This was just outside her career best of 1:03.27, set at the Oceanside meet.
Since swimmers are only eligible to compete on two relays when entered in two individual events, Brito was unable to swim the 200 free relay. La Canada captured that victory in 1:37.64, winning by 1.16 seconds. Their foursome included Meredith O’Grady (23.88), Lilli Perner (24.71), Natalee Yun (24.90), and Mia Bugarin (24.15).
Bugarin and O’Grady, both juniors, went on to punch a 1-2 finish in the 200 free. Bugarin, a UCLA commit, won with a lifetime best of 1:49.49, while O’Grady followed closely in 1:49.72—just off her career record of 1:49.52. Arcadia senior Sophia Xu, a University of Chicago commit, finished 3rd in 1:50.33, smashing her previous personal best of 1:51.64 from early March.
Bugarin went on to claim another mid-distance free win with a time of 4:53.32 in the 500, slightly slower than her 4:51.72 from prelims, where she surpassed her career best of 4:52.68.
Kaylee Richmond, a standout high school freshman like Brito, also made an impression. The Murrieta Valley representative swept the sprint freestyles with times of 22.88 and 49.99. While she’s been as fast as 49.80 in the 100, this marked her first foray into the sub-23 range in the 50.
Megan Wang, a junior from Newbury Park, won the 100 back with a time of 54.28, improving from her best time of 54.42 set at the CA/NV Speedo Sectionals in December. She is committed to the University of California-San Diego, where she will join the team in the fall of 2026.
Final Team Scores:
- Santa Monica — 236 points
- La Canada — 203.5 points
- South Pasadena — 162 points
- Temple City — 148 points
- Quartz Hill — 138 points
BOYS’ RECAP
While Ayala comfortably secured the overall team title, they had just one individual winner on the day. Their strength came from relay dominance and a trio of standout point scorers—Arthur Lin (Sr.), Daniel Benson (Sr.), and Kevin Zheng (Jr.).
Benson captured their lone individual gold in convincing fashion, winning the 100 free in 44.43—more than a second and a half ahead of the field. The Cal Baptist commit also undercut his previous best of 44.90 in the process.
They capped the meet with a win in the 400 free relay (3:06.42). Colin Mulqueen opened in 48.79, followed by Zheng (46.59), Lin (46.87), and a blistering anchor leg from Benson (44.17).
Outside of the team champions, one of the top performers of the day was Rowland sophomore Kyle Tsuei, who won both the 50 free and 100 back titles. In the 50 free, he touched the wall in 20.47, becoming the only boy to break the 21-second barrier. In the 100 back, he won with a time of 48.66, outpacing senior Anneesh Veeravatnam of Royal, who finished 2nd in 49.16 as the only other swimmer under 51 seconds. Tsuei’s best times prior to this meet were 20.67 and 49.11, so he really stepped up when it mattered most in the finals.
Veeravatnam later earned a win of his own in the 100 fly, clocking 48.53 to become the only swimmer under 49 seconds. Redlands junior Maksim Kutsner nabbed 2nd with a time of 49.55, the only other swimmer under 51.
Cerritos had a strong showing with two individual winners on the day. Junior Andrew Vet claimed the 200 IM title in 1:50.94, narrowly edging out his previous best of 1:51.58. His teammate, sophomore Anthony Dornoff, won the 500 free in 4:29.29, just shy of his lifetime best of 4:29.12 from prelims last year. That performance marked a bit of redemption after placing 3rd in last year’s final with a much slower 4:32.24, when the winning time was 4:31.95.
In the 100 breast, Quartz Hill junior Conner Alvarez took gold in 55.28 after a tight battle with Flintridge Prep sophomore Henry Yang. Yang dipped under 56 seconds for the first time in his career, touching second in 55.63. Alvarez also set a new career best, eclipsing his previous PB of 55.75.
Notre Dame won the 200 medley relay in 1:33.79, while Oaks Christian secured the 200 free relay title in 1:24.46. Notre Dame’s winning lineup featured Aiden Shih (24.12), Darell Shin (25.64), Dominic Gutierrez (22.78), and Joseph Zimmerman (21.25). The Oaks Christian squad included Joshua McBride (21.54), Camden Kocur (20.95), Wyatt Williamson (21.24), and Darion Wang (20.73).
- Ayala — 201 points
- Notre Dame — 178 points
- Rowland — 161 points
- Oaks Christian — 147 points
- Brea Olinda — 138 points
Way to go, Samo! It was so much fun to watch everyone have such a positive vibe, having fun in and out of the water! Thank you Coach Flanders and all the Samo parents! We are so proud of all of you! GO VIKINGS 💪🏽
Makes me really proud to be a Samohi alumn! Wishing Gabi Brito and Samohi Aquatics continued success in the sport.