Pacific Committee Championships Recap
2022 SCY Pac Comm Champs (February 25-27, 2022)
Greeted by a traditional Pasadena winter weekend, with frost on the grass in the morning and warm sunshine in the afternoon, our Pacific Committee Championships team of 60+ athletes made a late surge on the third and final day of competition to vault into second place behind the perennially massive Rose Bowl squad in the combined team competition. Congratulations to all Pac Comm Champs participants. Check out the highlights below!
Beach 1
It is always exciting to see members of the Beach 1 group at Pac Comm Champs, as this meet does have time standards that need to be met in order to be eligible. This year’s iteration of the meet saw multiple B1 athletes compete in Pasadena and they did not disappoint. Proud of you two!
John Arnold (9-10 Boys)
Mr. Arnold was Mr. Breaststroke last weekend, chopping more than 2 seconds off his previous best in the 50 and nearly 1.5 seconds in the 100 to finish 9th and 5th, respectively. He also placed 5th in the 200 Free and helped his relay teams to 2 podium finishes (3rd in the 200 Medley, 1st in the 200 Free). Congratulations, John!
Aria Kim (9-10 Girls)
Miss Kim was off to the races on Saturday and was en fuego in her first two races of the day, breaking the 3 minute barrier in the 200 Free for the first time to finish 10th and dropping more than 3 seconds in the 100 Back to finish 7th. Way to go, Aria!
Beach 2
Beach 2 took a small contingent to Pac Com and boy oh boy did they show up to race. Over all Hana Imai, Hailey Kuo, David Arnold, Mateo Trombley had a total of 23 new best times between them! Along with new best times we also were able to compete in relays. Our 1o and under boys raced their hearts out at the end of finals. Kids I’m very proud of how you raced all weekend, to race in Prelims and then come back and race again at finals was great to watch. The Future is very bright for you!
Hana Imai
Hana came into Pac Com with a mission, she wanted to achieve spring Jo’s in the 50 and 100 Breast. I am very proud to say that she completed her mission and she will be joining us at Spring Jo. Congratulations Hana, your hard work is paying off and I am very excited to watch you race again at Spring Jo’s!
Hailey Kuo
Pac Com was a huge success for Hailey, she came to race, and it was fantastic to watch. I’m excited to see what you can do this upcoming Long Course season. Hailey was able to walk away from Pac Com with a handful of JAG and summer Jo cuts. She was also half a second away from Spring Jo in the 50 fly! Keep it up Hailey!
David Arnold
It was a breakout meet for David, this was his first Prelims and Finals meet and he excelled! David walked away from the meet with best times in 6 of 6 events. He is also knocking on the door of JAG and Summer JO’s. Long Course is looking very bright for you David, but before we get there he will be joining us at Spring Jo’s for a relay!
Mateo Trombley
Pac Com was a big success for Mateo, and I have discovered that he loves to race! This was also his first Prelim and Finals meet, he made finals in all of his events and his 2nd swims were very fun to watch. Mateo is also knocking on the door for JAG and Summer JO’s, and those cuts will be coming very soon! A big Highlight for Mateo and our 10 and under boys was winning the 200 Medley relay on the very last day of the meet! I am excited to watch him race in another relay at Spring Jo’s!
Beach 3
The group’s “magnificent seven” rode into Pasadena to have some fun and swim fast and they certainly did both. I was really happy with the overall attitude of the group throughout the weekend, especially after what could be considered a relatively slow start on day one. Anyone who was “struggling” on day 1 bounced back on day 2 in a big way! Proud of this group for their effort and resiliency and excited to take our practice focus and intensity to the next level as we transition to Long Course season. Nice work, Beach 3!
Mazie Adams (11-12 Girls)
Miss Adams had a successful weekend, producing new personal bests in 4 of her 6 individual races, shining brightest and scoring points in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, improving her time by nearly 6 seconds in both. She also contributed to 3 top 8 relay finishes. Go, Mazie!
Santi Baranda (9-10 Boys)
Mr. Baranda started and finished fast, popping off best times in his first race (50 Free) and his last two races (50 Fly, 50 Back), qualifying for Finals in every individual race. He also contributed to 2 podium finishes in relays (3rd in the 200 Medley, 1st in the 200 Free). Congrats, Santi!
Penny Chiu (11-12 Girls)
Miss Chiu performed very well last weekend, achieving personal best times in 4 of her 5 individual races, Finaling in both Breaststroke races and showing some real speed in her 50 yard swims. She also made positive contributions to 3 top 8 relays. Keep it up, Penny!
Talia Cistone (11-12 Girls)
Miss Cistone went 5 for 6 with best times in her individual events, scoring points in both Breaststroke races, as well as the 200 IM. She swam on all 4 relays, which all placed in the top 8. Great effort, Talia. Let’s carry that momentum into practice!
Annie Coyne (11-12 Girls)
After struggling a bit on day one, Miss Coyne showed up in a big way on day 2, cutting almost a second off her 100 Free time, 21 seconds! off her 500 Free (7th place) and 3.5 off her 50 Backstroke. She also contributed to 2 top 8 relay finishes. Happy for you, Annie!
Zoey Lewis (11-12 Girls)
Despite missing some practice time recently, Miss Lewis posted new best times in 4 of her 6 individual races, Finaling in both Backstrokes, as well as the 200 IM, which was a massive 13 second! improvement. She also raced in all 4 relays, which all placed in the top 8. Solid effort, Zoey!
Alejandro Safa (11-12 Boys)
Mr. Safa overcame some recent missed practices and a hiccup (DQ) in his first race of the meet to Final in all 5 of his remaining races, posting new best times in each. His biggest swim of the meet came in the 500 Free, in which he improved by nearly 10 seconds. Kudos, Alejandro!
Beach 4
Beach 4 was represented by seven young ladies both individually and on relays. Each swimmer had at least one best time throughout the weekend. As a group, they scored 57 points for individual events. They also helped the team score points on relays. The group saw one summer championship meet cut: Raya Lluz in the 100 Backstroke.
Maddie Fu swam one day at the meet and was one for three on best times. She was right on her times for her other races, which is great considering she was out most of the week.
Amelia Iwai went two for six on best times, but was also right on her times for her other races. She made it back for the consolation finals in her 200 Breaststroke and swam the same time as she did in the morning. This was her first experience with a prelims/finals meet and it was great to see her get a second chance swim. She also was stoked to break 30 seconds for the first time in her 50 Freestyle, dropping over two seconds to do so!
Avalon Kim swam really well this weekend, going best times in all five of her races. She got a second-chance swim in her 100 Backstroke, adding just a little bit to her best time from the morning. She dropped almost 20 seconds in her well-executed 500 Freestyle, and was also able to crack the 30 second barrier in the 50 Freestyle. Avalon was a part of both Medley Relays that scored 6th in each!
Kate Lanzdorf achieved one best time this weekend in her individual events, but then led off a relay in a best time. She too was right on her best times in the other events she swam. She led off the 200 Medley Relay in a best time for her 50 Backstroke. The two relays she was on scored in the Top 10!
Raya Lluz was on a roll at the meet, achieving best times in five of her six events. She made it back to finals in all of her events. Her 100 Backstroke qualifies for JAG and Summer JO. She was also on two Top 5 placing relays. She unfortunately wasn’t able to compete in her finals swims on Sunday after getting injured during warm-up, but I know she would have had some great second swims!
Jewell Lluz achieved best times in 50% of her races. As with the other swimmers in her group, she was right on her best times in her other events. She qualified for the consolation finals in both her Backstroke races, and was able to improve her placement during her second swims! Jewell was a part of the four relays, and helped them place in 6th for all of them!
Olive Richmon achieved best times in all of her races as well. Her best swims of the weekend were the 500 Freestyle, dropping 15 seconds, and her 200 Individual Medley, dropping 12.5 seconds. She had second-chance swims in the 200 and 500 Freestyle events, and the 200 IM. Olive was also a part of all four relays that scored in the Top 5!
Amelia Tucker was five for six on best times. She swam a very well-executed 500 Freestyle and dropped over 18 seconds in that race, swimming it only for the second time. Amelia achieved a best time in her individual 100 Freestyle, but then went even faster leading off the 400 Freestyle Relay. She was also on all four relays that placed 6th!
Beach 5
Beach 5 only had two swimmers competing at Pac Com, but they represented the group tremendously well! Gabby Nicholas and Marin Lohner came into the meet hungry to race. They had some really great individual races, they walked away with 9 best times between them both. They also put in some huge swims on the relays. I am very excited to watch these girls practice and compete in long course, breakout swims on their horizon!
Gabby Nicholas
Gabby Started off the meet with a bang, taking first in the mile and dropping a whopping 28.13 seconds! She continued her run off good form by making finals in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly, Finishing 8th and 12th overall. Gabby really shone on her relays, she swam with aggression and confidence and helped the girls come 2nd in three of the 4 relays. Now it’s time to see Relay Gabby in her individual races! Cuts are coming your way!
Marin Lohner
Marin also had a very successful meet; she walked away with 5 new best times. She is really starting to blossom in the water, and I am very excited to see how Long course season and the summer will play out for her. I was particularly impressed with how Marin Performed on the relays as well, but if I’m being honest her attitude throughout the meet was impeccable. She exuded world class character the whole weekend and her swimming excelled and will continue to excel because of it!
Senior 2
Senior 2 was represented by five swimmers, both individually and on relays. The swimmers swam smart races and were able to achieve 14 best times! Some of the swimmers also stepped up at the last minute when we needed them for relays!
Seb Bystedt went best times in five of his six events. One of his swims he actually swam his exact time. He dropped over five seconds in his 200 IM and made it back to consolation finals in that race! Seb’s swim of the meet was his consistent 500 Freestyle, where he dropped almost 20 seconds!
Cierra Garcia recently joined our meet and this was her second meet with Beach Cities. She achieved two best times out of her five swims. Cierra dropped almost 12 seconds in her 500 Freestyle! When she checked out after her races, Cierra always asked what she could do better and sometimes was even able to analyze her own swims.
Miles Hardin was only able to swim one day and was right on his best times in both his races. The first half of his races went well, but then it became obvious that he had been out of the pool all week. There is definitely room for improvement, which we talked about after each of his races.
Bennett Sootkoos achieved two best times over the course of the weekend. He was right on his best times for his other races, most of them within a second. He is close to breaking the 28 second barrier in his 50 Freestyle, but was actually able to do that on one of the relays he swam on! Bennett also has a nice 100 Breaststroke split in the relay, and he helped both relays place Top 5!
Hattie Wildes was five for six on best times throughout the weekend. Her largest time drops came in the 100 and 200 Freestyle races, dropping over four seconds in each! She qualified for the consolation finals in the 100 Backstroke, helping score points for the team individually. She was also on two relays that both placed 6th!
Senior 3
Senior 3 did a great job at Pac Champs! You all showed up in force, excited for relays and executed race plans well. We nabbed some new Spring JO, Summer JO and JAG cuts along the way as well over the weekend. I think what was most impressive was our ability to swim better at finals and most moved up a place or two. Super proud of how far this group has come.
Boden Allen - Boden swam Sunday and had a terrific 200 free, dropping almost 4 seconds and going under 2:00 for the first time! Boden also had a small drop on his 100 fly and as always brought nothing but his positive attitude!
Aiden Barrett - Aiden had a fantastic 500 free dropping 6 seconds and grabbed 15th place with his 5:23. Aiden also had a small drop on his 100 fly and has been doing a great job adjust his DPS and head position on his strokes.
Evan Brutscher - Evan came out strong with a new Spring JO cut in the 200 back with a 2:07 and managed to win the event that evening. He also had a big drop in his 100 free with a 5th place going 53.3 We still haven’t quite cracked the 2:00 mark in the 200 free but Evan had some small drops in his 50 free.
Cayden Garcia - Cayden had some nice drops in most of his events including a 2:17 200 IM, and a very nice 500 free dropping almost 12 seconds to finish 14th with a 5:22. On Sunday Cayden had made finals in the 200 breast to finish 15th with a 2 second drop going 2:32.
Skylar Grampp - Skylar showed up with a full slate and swam with no fear. Skylar had some drops in his 100/200 free, a big 4 sec drop in his 200 IM and a 1:00 in his 100 fly. Skylar was also a huge help in all the relays putting up a 55.5 100 free split and a 59 100 fly split.
Franco Lee - Franco had some great prelim swims to earn some spots in Finals and did even better in the evening! Frano nabbed 10th in the 200 IM with a 2:11 and also 10th in the 100 breast with a drop going 1:05.4, just off the JAG cut. Franco also had a nice drop in his 200 free going 1:57 and split a 30.0 50 breast split on the 200 medley relay.
Chase Little - Chase had some teachable moments over the course of the meet after missing two events but managed to turn it around on the events he swam. He had a nice 5 second drop on the 200 IM making finals and going 2:16 along with another drop in his 100 breast with a 1:10. On Sunday Chase dropped under 2:00 for the first time in his 200 free going 1:58.
Justin Rash - This was Justin’s first champs meet back after injury and he was great, helping on all the relays, cheering for everyone along with putting up some solid time drops. Justin dropped 3.4 in his 100 breast on Saturday and split a 23 in his 50 free on the medley relay. Sunday Justin managed to snag a spot in finals in the 100 fly and dropped another 2 seconds from prelims to finals going 57.8 and finishing 12th.
Lucas Ro - Lucas swam Saturday and started with a small drop in his 100 free. A bit later he dropped a bit in the 100 breast to snag a spot in finals. That evening he dropped 1.6 going 1:08 and grabbing a Spring JO cut. Lucas also helped on both the 200 medley relay with a 32 breast split and on the 400 free relay.
Ben Schlehuber - Ben continues to learn how to swim and race with tempo and it paid off big time for him. He managed to grab new Summer JO cuts in the 500 free going 5:27 and dropping 8 seconds for a 7th place finish, in the 200 free going 2:00 finishing 11th and lastly in the 100 back with a 1:04.9 finishing 10th. Ben was also a huge help on all the relays with consistently quick splits.
Kattalee Segal - Kattalee joined us Sunday and dropped in all three of her events with a 1.6 drop in the fly going 1:05.3, a .2 drop in the 50 free and making finals in the 200 breast and finishing 11th with a 2:44.
Bella Tieman - Bella had drops in all her events and also was a huge asset in all four relays. Bella finished 11th in the 200 IM with a nice drop going 2:31 and also made finals in the 100 breast finishing 16th. On Sunday Bella dropped a bit in her 200 breast with a 2:56 and finished 11th.
Joshua Troung - Josh was coming off a week of snowboarding so swam a bit tired but still had some great swims. Josh made finals in the 100 breast and finished 11th with a 1:05.5. Josh had an impressive 5 second drop in his 200 free going 2:02 and also managed a Summer JO cut in his 200 breast with a 2:28.0. Josh was also helpful on relays including a 1:04 breast split in the 400 medley.
Jodi Yoshiara - Jodi had drops in all her events and was off to a fantastic meet until she unfortunately hit her foot on the 100 back (while still going a best time!) and had to drop out of the 50. On Saturday she dropped 1.5 in the 100 free going 1:01, and had a nice 5 second drop in the 200 IM to make finals going 2:28. Jodi also had a big 2.7 drop in her 100 fly going 1:06.
Senior 4
Senior 4 had a solid showing at Pac Com, athletes were super helpful on relays, cheered for each other and did a great job with their race plans, their walls and trying to move up places in finals. Super happy with the effort the group put forth, quite a few were coming off ski weeks or recently adding on high school practices but we still put down some great times and added some new JO and Senior D times.
Leo Antioco - Leo started Saturday strong with a drop in the 100 free going 50.7 and making finals to finish 15h. Leo also had a terrific prelim swim in the 200 IM with a 6 second drop going 2:09 just off Summer JO times in both events. Leo was right on his best times in the 200 free and 100 fly where he finished 7th. Leo also had a small drop in his 50 free going under 24 for the first time.
Anderson Bennett - Anderson was right on his best times Saturday in the 100 breast and the 500 free where he finished 8th. Sunday Anderson had some better races with a drop in his 200 free going 1:57, a 1.9 drop in the 100 fly with a 1:01. Anderson was also helpful on all the relays including a nice 32 second 50 breast split.
Fred Brown - Fred had an incredible meet with drops in all his events. Fred started with a 4.5 second drop in his 200 back going 2:10 and grabbing a JAG/Summer JO cut. Fred also dropped 1.3 in his 100 free grabbing a Senior D cut with a 50.9. On Sunday Fred swam a fantastic 200 free in finals to get 12th place and go 1:52 and finally broke that 1:00 mark in the 100 back with a 59.9. Fred’s prelim 50 free of 23.19 was also a new Senior D and Summer JO cut.
Kaela Hashimoto - Kaela was fighting not feeling well all weekend but still showed up for the team, swam all her events, made finals in 5 out of 6 of her events and swam all the relays. MVP for sure. Friday evening Kaela dropped 5 seconds in her 400 IM to finish 5th going 5:09. Kaela finished 10th in the 200 back, 9th in the 200 IM and 2nd in the 200 fly on Saturday and managed must better final swims than prelims. On Sunday she finished 8th in the 100 fly and 6th in the 200 breast along with helping her 400 Free, 200 Free and 200 Medley relays finish 2nd.
Audrey Lie - Audrey started off strong with a drop in her 200 back dropping 1.3 to finish 6th with a 2:18. Audrey also dropped 2.2 in her 200 IM going 2:22 to finish 10th. On Sunday Audrey had a small drop in her 100 fly going 1:04.0 finishing 14th and finished 12th in the 100 back with a 1:05.5
Giulia Paganelli - Giulia had a nice 2.5 second drop in her 100 breast on Saturday going 1:23 along with splitting a 26.4 in the 200 medley relay. On Sunday Giulia had a small drop in her 200 free and 50 free, making finals in the 50 free to finish 13th with a 26.7. Giulia also anchored the winning 200 free relay and the 400 medley relay which finished 2nd.
Pierce Ryan - Pierce started Saturday with a drop in his 200 back going 2:18 and finishing 11th followed by a 12th place finish in the 200 IM with another drop going 2:18. Pierce also swam on both the 200 medley and 400 free relay which finished 3rd. On Sunday Pierce dropped 2.2 in his 100 fly to finish 7th and also finished 7th in the 100 back with a 1:04 and a small drop in his 50 free.
Ian Tumamak - Ian had a great meet which started with a drop in his 200 back going 2:15 and finishing 10th and a 13th place finish in the 200 IM. Ian was on both relays Saturday evening which finished 3rd. On Sunday Ian grabbed a new JAG cut in the 100 fly going 1:01.4 and finishing 10th along with a 12th place finish in the 50 free and a small drop to go 25.3
Senior 5
Senior 5 swam really well at the Pac Comm Championship meet, swimming away with several 1st place finishes and new qualifying cuts. Catalina had the swims of the weekend for the group, netting two new SC Sectional times (100 FLY and 100 FR), but as a group, Senior 5 showed grit and speed throughout the meet.
Catalina Kahan (15-Over Girls)
100 FLY 1st 58.37 (2.26)
100 FR - 1st 53.24 (1.78)
200 FR - 2nd 1:58.20 (2.25)
100 BR - 3rd 1:09.67p (.53)
200 IM - 5th 2:15.98p (3.32)
Isabel Merica-Jones (13-14 Girls)
200 BK - 1st 2:15.24 (4.41)
200 IM - 2nd 2:19.13 (.71)
400 IM - 3rd 4:58.69 (.37)
200 FR - 3rd 2:04.11
100 FLY - 5th 1:05.49 (.12)
100 BK - 4th 1:04.32 (.31)
100 FR - 10th 57.03
Tiara Jackson (15-Over Girls)
500 FR - 2nd 5:15.65 (2.18)
100 BK - 2nd 1:03.00 (.19) (went 1:02.87 later that night in the relay)
1650 FR - 2nd 18:21.40
200 FR - 3rd 1:58.49 (1.63)
100 FR - 8th 57.00 (.28)
200 BK - 11th 2:20.48
James Coyne (15-Over Boys)
200 FR - 2nd 1:47.01 (2.88)
500 FR - 2nd 4:57.26 (.16)
100 FR - 4th 48.95p (.74)
50 FR - 5th 23.13p (.46)
100 FLY - 6th 57.36
200 FLY - 2:03.51p (1.35)
Andy Pham (15-Over Boys)
100 BK - 3rd 56.87
200 BK - 4th 2:04.37
200 IM - 6th 2:06.57p (8.65)
100 BR - 15th (1:07.45)
100 FLY - 15th 57.27p (1.22)
50 FR - 16th 23.51p (.89)
Alex Chun (15-Over Boys)
50 FR - 4th 23.26
200 BK - 6th 2:06.95
500 FR - 6th 5:12.10
100 FR - 8th 49.77p (.88)
200 FR - 8th 1:54.12
100 FLY - 8th 55.21p (2.47)
Lucas Sorensen
100 FLY - 9th 56.84 (.55)
200 FR - 15th 1:54.78
Emery Arnold (15-Over Girls)
200 BR - 6th 2:37.69 (2.14)
200 FR - 11th 2:01.45 (-2.14)
Ethan Hott (15-Over Boys)
400 IM - 7th 4:42.25 (1.76)
200 FLY - 7th 2:05.64 (3.63)
Brooke Patel (15-Over Girls)
100 BK - 16th 1:07.46
