CIF-SS D2 Girls: Young Team Puts Glendora Back on Top

Hearkening back to the glory days of 2010 and 2011 when they broke records and won championships, the Glendora High girls swimming and diving team was back on top again this year with a new Division 2 title. And given that most of the squad is comprised of freshmen and sophomores it looks like they could have another dynasty on their hands.

Glendora opened the meet with a 1:47.63 win in the 200 medley relay, featuring a team composed of all underclassmen: freshman Alexis Margett (27.84), sophomore Amelia Feick (30.35), freshman Gisel Olvera (25.93), and sophomore Catherine Sanchez (23.51). Chaparral took second, and Long Beach Poly touched out Vista Murrieta by .10 to get third.

Taylor Ault won the 200 and 500 freestyles. Photo: Anne Lepesant

The 200 free looked like it was anyone’s race at the beginning; five lanes turned together at the 50 and again at the 100. Then Sonora freshman Taylor Ault, swimming in lane 8, began to break away from the field. She finished first by 1.5 seconds, touching in 1:48.56, her personal best time by nearly a second. Defending champion Kat Wickham of Palm Springs, a Utah commit, moved from fourth into second thanks to a strong final 50; Crescenta Valley sophomore Heather Mac Dougal was third.

Sonia Wang in the 200 IM. Photo: Anne Lepesant

Upland junior Sonia Wang won the first of her two events with a 2:00.13 romp in the 200 IM. Ahead by one second at the 50 and by nearly two at the 100, Wang kept building her lead and finished 3.6 seconds in front of her nearest competitor, Jasmine Margetts of North Torrance. Sophomore Ksenia Afonicheva of West Torrance was third.

Amy Okada, a sophomore from Beverly Hills, won a tightly-packed 50 free final in 23.60. Runner-up for the second year in a row was Ayala’s Kenisha Liu. Junior Elle Inscore of Redondo Union took third.

Freshman Briana Thai of Alhambra was the top diver with 542.55 points. Mark Keppel senior Alisha Mah (521.45) took second; Mira Costa freshman Paige Richardson (421.15), third.

Glendora freshman Margett won the 100 fly in 54.52. West Torrance’s Afonicheva placed second ahead of junior Shelby Andrade from Xavier Prep.

The 100 free featured another come-from-behind victory as Ayala’s Liu split 24.59-25.88 (50.47) to overtake top seed Mac Dougal of Crescenta Valley. Glendora’s Sanchez was third.

Sonora freshman Ault doubled up in the longer free events with a resounding win in the 500. Ault steadily built her lead splitting mostly 29-mids and ended with 4:49.67. El Segundo senior Kira Makuta went 4:55.37 for second; Palm Springs’ Wickham finished 1.3 back to claim third.

Vista Murrieta’s 200 free relay. Photo: Anne Lepesant

The Vista Murrieta quartet of Leanne Sun (24.61), Amira VanBuren (25.27), Miriam Gonzalez (24.22), and Angie Phetbenjakul (23.35) won a close 200 free relay in 1:37.45. Ayala, who set the record last year with 1:37.24, came in second, a mere .07 ahead of Wilson Long Beach.

Having won the 100 fly the last two years Upland’s Wang decided to try another event this year. It was a good idea; the junior won the 100 back with a new CIF-SS D2 record time of 53.77, eclipsing the old mark of 54.21 set by Yumi So in 2009. Three seconds later Margetts of North Torrance and UC Santa Barbara commit Faith Travis of Palm Springs hit the wall together, or so it seemed; Margetts eked it out, 56.57 to 56.58, for second place.

Beverly Hills’s Okada racked up her second win, going 1:03.51 to take the 100 breast. Second place went to Vista Murrieta’s Phetbenjakul; third to Lauren Wood of Chaparral.

Glendora ended the meet with a 3:32.12 win in the 400 free relay from Margett (53.42), Olvera (53.93), senior Michelle Basham (54.43), and Sanchez (50.34). They just touched out Ayala (3:32.38, three-quarters of whom were on last year’s record-setting relay) and ML King (3:32.89).

Final Standings