For the sixth straight year, Santa Margarita’s girls’ swimming team is on top of the world — at least, the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 swimming world.
In another dominant performance, Santa Margarita opened and closed the girls’ meet with a relay victories and scored in practically every event, amassing 489 points to overwhelm runner-up Tesoro (275) and third-place Mater Dei (198). The only other Catholic school team to record points was Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy (2).
The championship is the seventh overall for Santa Margarita, which won a Division II title in 2000, and twice have been D-1 runners-up. Over the 20-year period, the Eagles have been coached by Rich and Ron Blanc.
Eagle stars last weekend were plentiful, such as junior Anicka Delgado who won the 50 Free (.56 ahead of her freshman teammate, runnerup Lindsay Ervin) and 100 Fly (ahead of another freshman teammate, third-place Isabella Abrajan).
Abrajan, juniors Katie Nugent and Mia Ristic, and senior Miranda Renner combined to win the 200 Medley Relay, while Delgado, Ervin, junior Ella Ristic and senior Mackenzie Degn won both the 200 and 400 Free Relays. Ella Ristic was second in the 200 Free and third in the 100 Free races, Degn was second in the 500 Free (0.1 seconds from first), and Renner was third in the 100 Breast.
Also scoring for Santa Margarita were juniors Natalie Oien, Josette Odgers and Junie Carlos, and senior Kimberly Woolfenden.
For Mater Dei, senior Stephanie Su was third in the 500 Free and swam on the Monarchs’ third-place 400 Free Relay team with sophomore Lizzie Mackowiak and juniors Alyssa Watson and Lily Olson. The Monarchs also realized points from freshman Kaitlin Buckle, sophomore Kailia Utley and senior Brooke Sloman.
Flintridge Sacred Heart’s points came from junior Emily Giesler in the 100 Breast.
Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).
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