When the Dons swimmers left Acalanes on Friday morning, no one expected that one of the most memorable experiences of the weekend would be the bus breaking down just south of Kettleman City! Fortunately, many of the swimmers also take Advanced Auto and were able to diagnose the problem – a bad belt. Cue the repairman, things get fixed, and the bus is back on the road! Only…to break down again five minutes later! Cue the replacement bus, head straight into Friday night LA traffic, and the team made it to the hotel in time for a late dinner! The meet should be no problem after that crazy travel day!
The facility where this meet takes place is by far the nicest pool our swimmers have competed at. Plenty of warm up/down lanes, large grandstands – it’s just beautiful! This is a varsity only meet, and only select varsity swimmers go – this is a privilege for the team selected to compete!
The action started off with the Preliminary swims. Perri Smith and Sophia Schwartz started off 15th and 16th with seasons best times in the 200 Free, and qualifying for finals (top 20)! Ella Schlehr was 28th and Avery Tanimura was 33rd. Braden Dunton qualified in 5th, with a solid NCS Cons time. Andrew Tanimura qualified 13th, and Gavin Barclay finished as first alternate (21st). Dand Schurhoff was 25th, Jay Shoenhair was 33rd.
Anna Motes finished 3rd in the 200 IM, swimming a solid CONS time, while Cruz Tamayo finished 6th in the boys race, just casually moving from #8 to #7 on the AHS Top 10 All-Time list! Mason Schlehr also qualified in 14th, Jayden Hwang finished 24th, Owen Andre 32nd, Charlie Holmes 33rd. Anika Rehn finished 5th in the 50 free, with Jayna Guiro qualifying in 12th and Elinor Chen in 16th (all freshmen!!!!). Sara Williams was 23rd, Ava Bell 25th. In the boys race, Wilson Daughters qualified 18th, Max Musch was 23rd, Thomas Butler-Kurimai was 27th, Peter Endemann 34th, Brad Budke 36th.
Tess Veronda qualified 6th in the 100 Fly, with Jayna Guiro in 14th. Sophia Schwartz was 24th. Cruz Tamayo and Braden Dunton finished 4th and 6th, both swimming NCS Cons times. Peter Endemann was 27th. Sara Williams qualified 14th in the 100 free, with Ava Bell in 29th and Mave McAlister 37th. Wilson Daughters and Max Musch qualified 15th and 18th in the boys race, with Thomas Butler-Kurimai the second alternate in 22nd. Brad Budke and Adrian Anderson were 41st and 46th. Gen Balfour finished as first alternate in the 500 Free, with Avery Tanimura in 28th. Andrew Tanimura qualified 13th in the boys race, with Charlie Holmes finishing as second alternate (22nd) for finals. Ryan Gerhardt was 27th.
In the 100 Back, Anika Rehn and Tess Veronda qualified 8th and 9th, while Gen Balfour and Ella Schlehr finished 32nd and 35th. Mason Schlehr qualified in 12th in the boys race, while Dane Schurhoff finished 26th, Adrian Anderson 37th. Addison Shiflet and Anna Motes finished 5th and 6th to qualify for the 100 Breast final, both swimming NCS Cons times. Addison’s time puts her at #10 on the AHS All-Time Top 10 list! Elinor Chen also qualified in 12th with an NCS Cons time, and Perri Smith qualified in 18th. Mave McAlister was 32nd.
The team took a much deserved lunch break after prelims, and came back ready to rock at the finals, which began at 3pm, with the first of three relays. The 200 Medley girls A team of Tess, Anna, Jayna and Anika finished 3rd overall with an NCS Automatic time, and a new #10 on the AHS All Time Top 10 list! The B team of Ava, Addison, Sophia and Sara finished 10th! The boys finished 7th, with Braden, Cruz, Mason and Andrew swimming an NCS Cons time. The B team of Charlie, Jayden, Ryan and Peter finished 17th.
Sophia Schwartz and Perri Smith finished 17th and 20th in the 200 Free finals. Braden Dunton finished 8th in the boys race, with another NCS Cons time. Andrew Tanimura finished 14th. Anna Motes finished 8th in the 200 IM finals, as did Cruz Tamayo, improving his #7 all-time AHS time. Mason Schlehr was 12th. In the 50 Free, Anika Rehn finished 6th, Jayna Guiro finished 11th, and Elinor Chen was 17th. Wilson Daughters finished 18th in the boys race.
Tess Veronda finished 7th in the 100 fly race in an NCS Cons time, while Jayna Guiro finished 14th. Cruz Tamayo finished 4th in the boys race, while Braden Dunton finished 9th. Both swam NCS Cons times. Sara Williams finished 12th in the 100 Free, while Max Musch and Wilson Daughters finished 15th and 20th in the boys race. Andrew Tanimura and Charlie Holmes finished 15th and 17th in the 500 Free.
The second of three relays, the 200 Free Relay, saw the A team of Anna, Jayna, Tess and Anika strike again, finishing 4th overall in an NCS Cons time just one second off an Automatic time. The B team of Elinor, Maddie, Ella and Avery finished 13th in an NCS Cons time! The boys teams finished 14th (Thomas, Wilson, Dane and Max) in an NCS Cons time, and 18th (Brad, Jay, Daniel and Adrian).
Anika Rehn and Tess Veronda finished 7th and 8th in the 100 Back finals, both with NCS Cons times. Mason Schlehr finished 15th in the boys race. Anna Motes and Addison Shiflet finished 6th and 7th in the 100 Breast final, both going NCS Cons times. Perri Smith finished 15th and Elinor Chen finished 19th. Jayden Hwang finished 10th in the boys race.
In the final event of the day, the 400 Free Relay, the girls team of Sara, Sophia, Perri and Addison finished 12th in an NCS Cons time, while the Boys A team of Braden, Andrew, Mason and Cruz finished 9th in an NCS Cons time, and the B team of Gavin, Thomas, Owen and Max finished 14th, improving by nearly 14 seconds, and just missing the NCS Cons cutoff by 0.17 seconds!
What a great meet for our young and talented team! Next up on Thursday, 3/19, AHS hosts Miramonte. GO DONS!