2025 CIF San Diego Section Division I Swimming and Diving Championships
- May 7-11, 2025
- Granite Hills High School – El Cajon, Calif.
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Full Results
The San Marcos girls won their fourth straight CIF San Diego Section Division I title last weekend. They scored 366.5 points to claim this year’s crown, fending off Torrey Pines, which won five events and set section records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relay. While the Torrey Pines girls ended up second with 347 points, the school’s boys team defended their team title. The boys team pulled away from the rest of the schools, putting up 384.5 points to win by over a hundred points.
Girls’ Recap
San Marcos’ Push
The San Marcos girls were able to hold off Torrey Pines and win by 19 points in large part thanks to senior Cassidy Allison. She won two individual events for the third straight season, defending her titles in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.
The SMU commit led a 1-2 finish for San Marco in both events, sharing the podium with her junior teammate Madison McCormick. Allison won the 200 IM in 2:02.09 with McCormick touching second in 2:03.62. The gap between them was slightly narrower in the 100 butterfly, but Allison still won by over a second, swimming 54.16 while McCormick clocked 55.19 for silver. Both times were lifetime bests for McCormick.
Allison also helped San Marcos begin their title defense strongly, winning the 200 medley relay. Gabby Esposito, Lauren Putman, Allison, and Chloe Lee swam 1:45.72 for gold. Later, Esposito swam a 55.88 for her third-straight 100 backstroke title, coming from behind to out-touch Torrey Pines’ Anita Qian by a tenth.
Torrey Pines’ Record Breaking Day
The Torrey Pines girls broke several records on the way to their second-place finish in the team standings. Junior Aya Ferguson got the team started, firing off a lifetime best 1:47.82 and taking down the 1:48.05 meet record Whitney Spence set in 2004. The Northwestern commit has seen a huge drop in this event in the past 12 months; her lifetime best this time last year was a 1:49.63.
After defending her 100 freestyle title (49.83), Ferguson swam on the team’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays, which both broke section records. She teamed with Sophie Kelley, Katerina Wietfield, and Qian for a 1:34.16 on the 200 freestyle relay. Then, Qian, Wietfeld, and Ferguson teamed with Carolyn Han for a 3:26.09 record in the 400 freestyle relay, ending the meet on a high note. San Marcos’ squad sealed their title with a 3:26.30 for silver.
The team’s 200 freestyle relay was bolstered by the fact that they had the top two finishers in the individual 50 freestyle on the team. Katerina Wietfieldt dominated the 50 freestyle, swimming a 23.79 for the team title. Her teammate Kelley earned the silver in 24.34.
More Highlights
A pair of freshmen girls impressed in their section championship debuts, winning the other two individual swimming events. Granite Hills’ Ella Morgan crushed the 500 freestyle with a 4:53.65 for gold. Earlier in the meet, she finished second in the 200 freestyle to Ferguson, posting a 1:48.13 that just missed the former 200 freestyle meet record (1:48.05).
Then, Carlsbad’s Shelby Evans won the 100 breaststroke with a 1:03.41, giving the team their first win of the meet on the final individual event.
On the board, Brielle Martinez won with 232.90 points, giving the fourth-place Canyon Crest Academy a win.
Boys’ Recap
Torrey Pines Pulls Away
Sprint freestyle is a strength for Torrey Pines. Sophomores Aidan Copeland and Hamilton Gates tied for gold in the 100 freestyle, both stopping the clock in 45.72, .13 seconds ahead of Poway senior Benjamin Stone.
Copeland and Gates were also central to Torrey Pines’ wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, securing a sweep for the program in both events. Copeland, Lukas Stein, Kale Lozano, and Gates teamed up for a 1:25.21 to win the first freestyle relay, dropping over two seconds from the school’s prelims time. The quartet kept the same order for the 400 freestyle relay, powering to the win in 3:05.46 and securing the team title.
These three event wins highlighted Torrey Pines’ title defense as it was their depth that powered them to such a decisive victory.
Benjamin Stone Breaks Meet Record
Before Stone took third behind the Torrey Pines’ tie in the 100 freestyle, he set a meet record of 20.47 in the 50 freestyle. It was a personal best for Stone, undercutting the 20.59 he swam in prelims. He entered the meet with a 21.47.
Stone was the only boy in the 50 freestyle field to break 21 seconds as Copeland earned silver in 21.01.
Double Event Winners
Del Norte senior and Cal commit Julien Rousseau swept the distance events at the Oceanside Speedo Sectionals in January. Though the 500 freestyle is the longest even on offer in the high school championship format, Rousseau was still in control of the schedule’s longest events, winning the 200 and 500 freestyle.
Rousseau began his individual event slate by rattling the 200 freestyle meet record which was set 13 years ago. Rousseau popped a 1:37.08, coming just five-hundredths from the mark. The swim was a lifetime best for Rousseau, improving on the 1:37.48 he swam in December.
Later, he won the 500 freestyle in 4:21.47, which was just off the 4:20.90 lifetime best he posted at the Oceanside Speedo Sectionals.
As the senior Rousseau controlled the distance freestyle events, Westview freshman Derek Ho took over the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke double. He won the first individual final of his section championship career by over three seconds with a 1:51.10. Then, he made it 2-for-2 at the end of the meet, swimming 56.14 for the 100 breaststroke win. It’s a personal best for him, bettering the 56.27 he swam in December.
More Highlights
Canyon Crest had a strong day as well. First Darmen Yessengeldy, Tony Yang, Payton Lee, and Ronald Seto won the 200 medley relay in 1:34.86, holding off Eastlake and winning by .16 seconds.
Later, the junior Yessengeldy won the 100 backstroke with a lifetime best 48.44. The UC-San Diego commit got under the 48.87 he swam at the Winter Juniors Championship – West in December.
Grossmont’s Aramis Williett added another win for the freshman class, clocking a 48.32 to win the 100 butterfly.
Finally, Poway’s Connor Liddle won the 1-meter diving title, scoring 264.00 points.
Final Results
Girls Top Five:
- San Marcos High School – 366.5
- Torrey Pines High School – 347
- Del Norte High School – 189.5
- Canyon Crest Academy – 185
- Granite Hills High School/Eastlake Swim & Dive – 153
Boys Top Five:
- Torrey Pines High School – 384.5
- Canyon Crest Academy – 272
- Del Norte High School – 207
- Westview High School – 206
- Eastlake Swim & Dive — 182
Let’s Gooo!
Good luck at CIF State!