Jada Duncan Takes Down CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Record in 50 Free; Davis Boys Dethrone Jesuit

CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Championship

• April 23-May 3, 2024
• Elk Grove, Calif.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results on MeetMobile: “2024 CIF SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION”

Girls Team Scores

1. Davis – 321
2. St. Francis – 286
3. Oak Ridge – 182
4. Granite Bay – 177
5. Del Oro – 157

Whitney junior Jada Duncan blasted a new section record en route to the 50-yard freestyle title at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Championships last week in Elk Grove, California.

Duncan sprinted to victory in 22.64, taking almost a tenth of a second off her best 50 free time from 2022 (22.71). In the process, the UCLA commit erased the Sac-Joaquin section record of 22.68 set by Amalie Fackenthal in 2018. Duncan heads into this weekend’s CIF State Championships as the top seed in the 50 free, just .01 seconds ahead of Santa Margarita junior Gracyn Aquino (22.65), the defending state champion. She placed 2nd in the 50 free at the 2022 CIF State Championships before skipping last year’s meet.

Duncan also won the 100 butterfly in 53.60, within half a second of her personal-best 53.12 from 2022. She repeated in both events after winning the 50 free (23.00) and 100 fly (53.38) last year. Duncan added a lifetime best in the 50 back with her 25.26 leadoff on Whitney’s 8th-place 200 medley relay.

The other double winner among the girls was St. Mary’s senior Kaydence Bispo, who swept the 100 free (49.78) and 200 free (1:48.77). The San Diego State commit set lifetime bests in both events, putting an end to a couple long plateaus in the process. Bispo dropped almost a second off her previous-best 100 free time (50.60) from 2022 and more than two seconds off her previous-best 200 free time (1:51.28) from 2022. She’s seeded 3rd in the 100 free and 5th in the 200 free for her first CIF State Championships this weekend.

Davis senior Ava Portello defended her 500 free title with a winning time of 4:53.89, powering her squad to a third consecutive section title with 321 points ahead of St. Francis (286). The Rice commit won last year in 4:55.25 and has been as fast as 4:49.62 in March. Portello placed 2nd in the 200 free (1:49.23) behind Bispo, about a second off her best time from March (1:48.04). She also contributed freestyle relay splits of 23.19 and 49.96 anchoring Davis’ victorious 200 free relay (1:36.13) and 400 free relay (3:29.23), respectively. Portello is seeded 3rd in the 500 free at CIF States this weekend.

Runner-up St. Francis got some clutch performances out of senior Grace Mering and junior Erica Jaffe to stay within striking distance of Davis. Mering triumphed in the 200 IM (2:04.21), just a hundredth of a second ahead of Davis junior Ella Ackerman (2:04.22) and slightly off her best time from November (2:02.94). Mering, a San Diego State commit, also placed 2nd in the 100 back (56.97) behind Jaffe (56.62). They combined their talents on Davis’s victorious 200 medley relay (1:45.53), where Mering led off with a 26.68 backstroke leg and Jaffe split 25.38 swimming fly.

The lone freshman champion was Lodi’s Rebecca Welsh, who claimed the 100 breast crown in 1:03.25. She was within a few tenths of her personal-best 1:02.96 from November.

Boys Recap

Team Scores

1. Davis – 355.5
2. Granite Bay – 316
3. Jesuit – 290
4. Oak Ridge – 191
5. St. Mary’s – 179

Jesuit juniors Emi Zamudio and Brady Calkins each collected two individual wins, but it wasn’t enough to lift their team to a third consecutive section title at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Championships last week.

Zamudio swept the 200 free (1:37.68) and 500 free (4:26.72) while Calkins won the 200 IM (1:48.98) and 100 back (48.79) — all in best times. Zamudio dropped more than a second in the 200 free and more than four seconds in the 500 free while Calkins dropped more than a second in the 200 IM and just about a tenth in the 100 back. Zamudio’s 500 free victory was a hard-fought win against Rio Americano’s Charlie Franz (4:26.94), who beat him by two seconds last year.

It was the Davis boys instead who rose to capture the section crown behind 100 breast champion Remo Mann (55.06), who dropped more than half a second off his previous-best 55.77 from last May’s runner-up finish at this meet.

Davis held off a late push from Granite Bay, who got a huge effort out of sophomore Brody Chandler. The sprint specialist clinched the 50 free victory in 20.60, shaving .05 seconds off his best time from December, while also earning a runner-up finish in the 100 free (44.71). He also led off Davis’s winning freestyle relays with momentum-shifting times of 20.78 and 44.99.

Saint Mary’s senior Nate Rasmussen held off Chandler for the 100 free title in 44.54, but he was even quicker leading off his 400 free relay in a personal-best 44.44. His best time heading into the meet stood at 45.24 from last May. Rasmussen also placed 3rd in the 200 free (1:37.89), taking almost a second off his previous-best 1:38.80 from last May.

The other individual champion among the boys was Angelo Rodriguez sophomore Brandon Ha, who cruised to the 100 fly win in 48.48. He knocked almost half a second off his previous-best 48.82 from 2022. Ha added a 4th-place finish in the 200 IM (1:50.40), lowering his lifetime best from last May by more than two seconds.