Summer Age Group Championships Recap (July 20-23, 2023)

Summer Age Group Championships (July 20-23, 2023)
We are the champions, my friends.  We did it.  The athletes made it happen with their effort throughout the season and, then, with their grit and determination over a grueling four day prelims/finals competition.  The parents laid the foundation by prepping and hosting a fabulous meet, not to mention supporting their young athletes throughout the season and at the meet.  The coaches did what they do best and guided our young athletes to yet another level of excellence in swimming.  It takes a TEAM to accomplish something like this and it is never easy: it is earned.

Congratulations to your 2023 Summer Age Group Champions: Beach Cities Swimming!

Combined Team Scores
1. Beach Cities Swimming - 3,561
2. Canyons Aquatic Club - 2,769
3. Swim Torrance - 2,327

Women's Scores
1. Beach Cities Swimming - 1,686
2. Canyons Aquatic Club - 1,582
3. Sandpipers - 1,462.5

Men's Scores
1. Beach Cities Swimming - 1,875
2. Swim Torrance - 1,243
3. Alpha Aquatics - 1,227

Congratulations to first-time qualifiers:

Gabi Brito - Winter Junior Nationals (50 Free)
Fred Brown - Futures (50 Free)
Avalon Kim - Sectionals (200 Back)
Gabby Nicholas - Sectionals (100 Breast)
Brooke Patel - Sectionals (200 Back)

And congratulations to the 13-14 Girls 200 Free Relay (Gabi Brito, Meagan Gordon, Kayla Sun, Andi Taylor) on their new team record!

On to the rest of the highlights!


Beach 1
Edison Cheng (5-10 Boys)
Mr. Cheng is not just an Age Group Champs qualifier for the first time, but he is a Finalist!  In the 100 Breast, he swam a solid race in Prelims to qualify for the B Final, then zoomed to a best time by 1.32 seconds in Finals to take home 11th place points in the event.  His 100 Free was also solid, finishing the event in 21st.  Unfortunately, he was DQd in his third individual event, the 50 Breast.  On the relays, he helped his teams power to 4th (200 Free) and 3rd (200 Medley) place finishes, respectively.  Congratulations, Edison!

Sohum Kulkarni (5-10 Boys)
Mr. Kulkarni was also competing in his first Age Group Champs meet and he did not disappoint!  He raced to best times in both Breaststroke events, finishing in 12th (100 Breast) and 9th (50 Breast) place, respectively.  He also placed 20th in the 100 Free and contributed to the 4th (200 Free) and 3rd (200 Medley) place relay finishes for the 10&Under Boys.  Well done, Sohum!


Beach 2
Alysha Annamalai

Alysha’s lineup consisted of the 200 Medley and the 200 Freestyle relays. She anchored the freestyle relay to a top-10 finish (10th) and the Medley Relay to a near top-10 finish (11th). Fantastic work, Alysha! 

Fiona Cooley

After some time away from the pool, Fiona came to her first Summer Age Group with three individual events: the 100 Back, 50 Breast, and the 100 Breast. She swam her heart out in all of them and was not far from returning for finals in her 100 Breast (21st). In addition to her individual events, she swam in the 200 Medley (breaststroke, 11th) and the 200 Freestyle relay (10th) with Alysha. Your first long course season was one for the books, Fiona!

Tyson Imai

Tyson’s first Summer Age Group lineup was the 50 and 100 Breast, where he qualified for finals in both! He placed 13th overall in the 50 (-0.96) and was close to a podium finish in the 100 (5th, -1.50). He was part of the 200 Medley (breaststroke, 3rd) and the 200 Free relays (4th) which were huge point scorers. Well done, Tyson!

Capri Pierce

Capri came in with energy and was ready for fast swimming under the lights. With Alysha and Fiona, she was part of the 10th place 200 Free relay and the 11th place 200 Medley relay (butterfly). Let’s go, Capri!


Beach 3
We started off with a bang on day 1 and trailed Canyons by 4 points. Each day we got better and better. Sunday morning it became clear that we would win this meet. We ended this season with our 2nd JO victory in 10 years. Congrats Beach Cities! Congrats Beach 3 for your contributions to this win by adding 120 individual points and 640 Relay points to our teams total. Super proud of you all! This was my last meet with BCS, and it could not have ended in a more fitting way. Thank you for allowing me to be your Coach and leader for the last 10 years. I will miss you all. 

Santi Baranda - 400 Free Relay 4th place - Santi came in and swam his heart out on this relay and got his first taste of Age Group Champs. Well Done Santi! 

Olivia Chi - 50 Back 14th place, 100 Back 15th place, 100 Fly 14th place. 50 fly 12th place, 50 back 19th place. Olivia had solid swims in this meet. We certainly look forward to the day she is attached and can add to the relay depth. Way to go Olivia. 

Nina Haubner - 50 Breast and 200 Medley Relay, 10th place and 200 Free Relay 11th place.. Nina was not feeling her best at this meet and swam her heart out the weekend prior, but she swung for the fences and raced hard for BCS! Great Job Nina! 

Hana Imai - Hana had a very strong meet after coming off of the previous weekend and some big time drops. She swam 50 Breast 18th place, 200 free relay 8th place,, 100 Breast 19th place, 50 Free 36th place, 400 Free Relay 9th place. Bringing in some championship points. GO Hana! 

Aria Kim - Aria came in to support her team on these relays. Her contributions in the 200 Medley Relay 8th place, 400 Medley Relay 8th place and 400 Free relay 9th place helped boost our team points and add to the win. Great Work Aria! 

Hailey Kuo - Hailey came in and helped her team with the 50 Breast 23rd place,, 200 Medley Relay 8th place, , 200 Free Relay 8th place, , 50 fly 29th place,, 100 Breast 23rd place. Keep smiling Hailey!!! 

Helena Morgan - Helena added some depth and points by swimming fast legs in the 200 Free Relay 8th place,, 200 Medley Relay 8th place, 400 Free relay 9th place. Good work, keep it up! 

Mateo Sanchez - Matteo hitting his first champs meet with a full schedule did some damage in the 50 Breast 25th place, 200 Free Relay 4th place , 200 Medley Relay 5th place, 50 Fly 20th place, 200 IM 12th place, 100 Breast 18th place, 50 Back 11th place, 50 Free 12th place, 400 Free relay 4th place. Super proud of you Sanchez! 

Barrett Poole - Barrett had a full schedule at this meet and the one the weekend before. He swung for the fences as he usually does in the 100 Fly 17th place, 100 Free 24th place, 50 breast 18th place,, 200 Free Relay 4th place, 200 Medley Relay 5th place,, 50 Fly 13th place, 400 Medley Relay 4th place, 100 Breast 12th place, 50 Free 7th, 400 Free Relay 4th place. Way to go Barrett, keep working! 

Mateo Trombley - Trombley got in with the big boys and swam the 100 Fly 19th place, 100 Free 22nd place,, 200 Medley Relay 5th place, 400 Medley Relay 4th place, 50 free 23rd place, 200 Free Relay 4th place. And the “World Class Character Award goes to……Matteo Trombley! Helping others out and being unselfish, what a guy. Very proud of this young man. Watch out though, he is a card shark. 

Patrick Wang - Patrick was the big point getter from this group with 114 points, plus his points from the scoring relays. Patrick was 1st place in all but one individual swim (100 Fly, 50 Breast, 50 Fly, 200 IM, 100 Breast) He had a best time in the 50 free and placed 5th. He was part of all of the 10 and under relays. 200 Free Relay 4th place , 200 Medley Relay, 3rd place. What a champ, well deserved, way to go Patek!!!!!!


Beach 4
Adam Kim
Coming in fresh from success at the Torrance hosted meet Adam was competing in the 100 and 200 Breast 1 week away from his best time. The adrenaline rush from AG champs pushed Adam to drop yet again 2 more seconds in the 100 Breast having cleaned up some pivotal parts of his technique, as well as an improved race strategy that accumulated into his best swim yet. The 200 Breast unfortunately saw some struggle to close the final 50 meters concluding a small time add. Adam represented Beach Cities in 3 relays carried over from the Torrance meet as well, shaving considerable time from all 3 with his team.

Sebastian Martinez
With some really solid effort on changing his stroke adding some vital underwater kicks and less breathing attempts, Sebastian cleaned up his 100 freestyle to come into SAG with a 1.4 second drop 1 week after his best time. However success in the 50 Breast was elusive this time having attempted a different race strategy that didn't pay off for him in the end. Its good to try new strategies from time to time even if they are less successful, and learn from them. Sebastians team in the 400 Medley relay dropped a staggering 14 seconds, a quarter of that success coming from him, 5 seconds in the 200 free relay and finally 5 seconds in the 400 free relay. Huge achievements for the representation of Beach Cities swimming.

Alex Miyashita
Alex represented Beach Cities Swimming in 4 relays at SAG’s with 4 second cumulative drops in both the 200 and 400 Free relay events. There were some marginal gains in the 200 and 400 Medley relays.


Beach 5
Eryn Arnold (13-14 Girls)
Miss Arnold raced her heart out over 4 days in Torrance last weekend, including a monster win and a nearly 4 second drop in the 200 Fly, as well as four 2nd place finishes in the 100 Fly, 200 Breast, 200 IM and 400 IM.  She had 5 best times in 6 individual races.  Her biggest improvement came in the 400 IM, which was also a new LCM Sectionals cut, with a drop of more than 10 seconds!  To boot, she was a member of four victorious relays (800 Free, 200 Medley, 400 Medley, 400 Free) and an 11th place relay (200 Free).  Outstanding racing, Eryn!

Gabi Brito (13-14 Girls)
Miss Brito improved in every individual swim (8 for 8), which included two relay lead-off swims (50/100 Free).  One of those relay lead-offs was her first Winter Junior National cut in the 50 Free (26.86)!  She also bagged a LCM Futures cut in the 200 Breast and a LCM Sectionals cut in the 200 Back.  She won four events (100 Breast, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 IM) and finished in the top 3 in two others (100 Back, 100 Fly).  Her biggest improvement came in the 100 Breast, where she dropped nearly 4 seconds.  On the relay front, she was part of all five victorious 13-14 Girls relay teams, including a new team record in the 200 Free Relay.  Congratulations on a great season, Gabi!

Penny Chiu (11-12 Girls)
Miss Chiu was number 2 in two events (100 Free, 50 Breast) and posted 5 new best times in her 6 individual races.  Her biggest improvement came in the 50 Free, a 2.56 second drop.  She was all over the scoreboard all weekend, finishing no lower than 9th place in each of her individual events.  She was a member of the 8th place 200 Free, 200 Medley and 400 Medley Relays, as well as the 9th place 400 Free Relay.  She made some huge improvements across the board in all strokes and distances this season and it was fun to see her shine at this meet.  Well done, Penny!

Meagan Gordon (13-14 Girls)
Miss Gordon blazed her way to 4 new best times (100/200 Breast, 100 Free, 1500 Free) in her 6 individual races, claiming 2nd place in the 100 Breast and finishing in the top 16 in all events.  She also had a huge drop of 7.13 in the 200 Breast to claim 3rd place in the event.  It was exciting to see her select some longer races at her Championship meet this summer, opting for the 800 Free (15th place) and 1500 Free (8th place), scoring valuable points for the team.  She was part of 3 victorious relays (200 Free, 200 Medley, 400 Medley), including the team record-setting 200 Free Relay, and she also contributed to the 6th place 800 Free Relay and the 10th place 400 Free Relay.  All in all, an amazing effort, Meagan!

Avalon Kim (13-14 Girls)
Miss Kim achieved her loftiest goal of the season in her final competition when she bagged her first Sectionals cut in the 200 Back with an aggressive Prelims swim of 2:28.43.  She finished 4th in the 100 Back (-0.58) and 5th in the 200 Back (-1.91) and was part of the victorious 200/400 Medley Relays.  She also contributed on three other scoring relays (800 Free - 6th, 200 Free - 11th, 400 Free - 10th).  Congratulations, Avalon!

Zoey Lewis (13-14 Girls)
As always, Miss Lewis shows up big on race day and this meet was no exception.  She bagged four new best times in her six individual races, with the biggest improvement coming in the 400 Free (-8.37).  Her best finish was 6th in the 1500 Free, a race in which she dropped 28.69 seconds.  She scored points in 4 of her 6 individual swims and was a member of four scoring relays, including the victorious 800 Free Relay.  A great end to a breakthrough season for you, Zoey!

Raya Lluz (13-14 Girls)
Miss Lluz struggled a bit in her final competition of the season, narrowly missing best times in her 3 individual races.  Her best finish was 30th in the 200 Back and she did score points as a member of the 11th place 200 Free Relay, though.  Back to work in August, Raya, and good luck at the Senior level!

Olive Richmon (13-14 Girls)
Miss Richmon had another solid outing, especially in the longer Freestyle races, bagging three new best times in her four individual races.  Her best finish was 3rd place in the 1500 Free and her biggest improvement came in the 400 Free (-11.53, 7th place).  She also placed 6th in the 800 Free with a 15 second drop and was a member of the 6th place 800 Free Relay.  Great weekend, Olive!

Alejandro Safa (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Safa was, get this, nine for nine with 100% best times, including new best times in the 200/400/800 Freestyle with his splits in the 1500…WOW!  On top of that, he also bagged a new best time in the 100 Fly (-6.82, his biggest improvement) with his leadoff split in the 400 IM.  His best finish was 3rd place in the 1500 Free, with a drop of more than 23 seconds.  He also scored in the 200 Back (9th), 400 Free (11th), 400 IM (8th) and 800 Free (6th) and was a member of four scoring relays (200 Free, 200 Medley, 400 Medley, 400 Free).  It was a big season for Alejandro and he capped it off with an outstanding performance!

Kayla Sun (13-14 Girls)
Miss Sun had a very good meet, her first Championship meet as a member of the 13-14 age group.  She went for three new best times in her six individual races, including a top finish of 5th place in the 100 Free.  Her biggest improvement came in the 200 Free (-0.70), where she finished 12th.  She scored in all but two of her individual races and came up big in the relay department as a member of three victorious relays (800 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free), including the team record-setting 200 Free Relay.  She also contributed to two top 5 finishes in the 200/400 Medley Relays.  Great season, Kayla!

Max Wang (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Max Wang improved in just one of his 6 individual races (200 IM, 12th place), in his first Championship meet as a member of the 13-14 age group.  It’s a whole new world with the bigger boys!  Still, he scored in two races (100 Back, 200 IM) and threw down some great efforts as a member of 5 scoring relays, including the victorious 200 Free Relay and the 2nd place 800 Free Relay.  Well done, Max!

Sam Wang (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Sam Wang also struggled a little bit against some stiff competition in the 13-14 age group, but was able to bag a huge new best time in the 200 Breast, with a 23.5 second drop and a 7th place finish in the race.  His best finish came in the 200 IM (6th) and he scored in four of his six individual events.  His relay swims were very good, too, helping his team to victories in the 200/400 Medley Relays, 2nd place in the 800 Free Relay and 3rd place in the 400 Free Relay.  Way to go, Sam!

Danny Zimmerman (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Zimmerman had another solid outing at a Championship meet.  The higher the stakes, the better he performs.  He posted four new best times in his six individual races, including a big 4.5 second improvement in the 200 Back to capture 2nd place in the event.  He finished no lower than 9th in any of his individual races and was a member of the victorious 200 Free, 200 Medley and 400 Medley Relays.  His 800 Free Relay placed 2nd and his 400 Free Relay placed 3rd.  All in all, an outstanding effort and performance…now he’s just gotta develop better recovery habits after his races :-).  Great effort, Danny!


Senior 3
Aiden Barrett swam his last meet with Beach Cities as a senior in high school. Aiden swam the 400, 800, and 1500 M Free. All his swims were right on his best time ending on a high note to his swimming career. Good luck at UC Santa Cruz! 

Sebastiano Bystedt had multiple Summer Age Group cuts but only swam the 200 Breast. He got a best time going a 2:41.5, knocking on the door of a sectional bonus cut. We hope to see you more in the next season and that sectional cut will be a guarantee. 

Cayden Garcia had another stellar meet back-to-back after Pac Champs. Cayden dropped another 10 seconds in the 800 and 1500 M free while slightly under the weather. Cayden never disappoints and always swims with all his heart. 

Maddie Fu worked hard to get her 50 Free cut at JAG as she had to secure the cut for the next age group. She swam the 50 Free and 100 Free as her bonus event as well as relays, going right on best times. 

Amelia Iwai swam a time trail at PAC Champs and managed to grab her 100 Fly cut which was her only event at SAG. Congratulations Amelia on your first-ever champs cut, keep up the hard work. 

Aya Olszewski was one of our relay-only swimmers swimming the 200-free relay.


Senior 4
Senior 4 sent almost the entire group to SAG which was awesome to see. We spent all year geared towards this meet and the athletes showed up to RACE! Huge shoutout to the amazing parent volunteers as well.

Evan Brutscher - Evan had a great meet with time drops in nearly every event. Evan started with a 3 second drop in his 200 Back and then dropped a second in his 100 Free going 58.8. Friday Evan dropped 2 seconds in the 100 Breast and then was super helpful on both 200 Relays including an impressive 27.7 50 Fly split. Saturday Evan found himself in a swim off for an alternate spot in the 100 Fly. He won the swim off (yay!) right on his best time and then did get to swim in the B Final for the event. By Sunday Evan was a bit tired but continued to race and was right off his best times in the 100 Back and 50 Free. Evan was also helpful in all 5 relays.

Miki D’Adamo - Miki had a bit of a breakout meet which was amazing to see. Miki kicked off her meet with her first long course 200 Back and then had over a minute drop in the 1500. That evening she got to swim on one of the 800 Free relays and held her own with the rest of the ladies. Saturday Miki had a fantastic (and very sprinty) 400 Free where she dropped 8 seconds and found herself in the A final. She replicated her time and dropped a bit more to grab 5th place. Sunday Miki dropped an impressive 26 seconds in her 800 Free to grab 5th place in that as well.

Jake Everitt - Jake kicked off Thursday with a 2.8 second drop in his 200 Fly to grab top seed at night. He unfortunately got touched out in Finals but did finish 2nd. Jake also had a bit 20 second drop in his 1500 to finish 4th overall and helped his 800 Free relay to a 2nd place finish. Friday Jake dropped a bit of time in the 200 Free and finished 10th overall with a 2:07. He helped both his 200 Relays win with some fast 50s. Saturday Jake was right on his best time in the 100 Fly and came to win the event that evening and also put up a solid 100 Fly split in the 400 Medley relay for a win. Sunday he continued his win streak with (of all events) a win in the 50 Free with a .4 second drop going 26.12.

Kevin Han - Kevin started his meet on Friday with grabbing a spot in the A final in the 100 Breast. That evening he dropped 1.7 to finish 4th, just missing a Sectional time. Kevin also helped both the 200 Relays to wins that evening including a solid 50 Breast split. Saturday Kevin dropped 2.3 in the 200 IM to finish 2nd overall and helped the 400 Medley relay win with another 1:11 Breast split. Sunday Kevin was fully loaded with 3 events grabbing A final spots in two of them. He dropped 5.6 in the 200 Breast to finish 2nd and then was right off his best 100 Back time to grab 3rd. 

Gabby Nicholas - Gabby had a full slate and kicked off Thursday with a small drop in the 100 Free going 1:05 and helped her 800 Free relay to a 6th place finish. Friday Gabby had a 1.8 second drop in the 100 Breast to grab a spot in the A final. She was able to drop a bit more time that evening to get her first Sectional cut! Gabby also helped out on the 200 Relays. Saturday Gabby was able to secure a spot in the B final in the 100 Fly dropping 4 seconds going 1:09.9 and also grabbed a spot in the A final in the 200 IM after dropping 2.4 in the morning (and finished 8th at Finals). That evening Gabby helped the 400 Medley B relay to a 3rd place finish. Sunday Gabby was able to swim more breaststroke and dropped 4.5 seconds in total for a 7th place finish. She also showed how sprinty she can be in the 50 Free with a .6 drop and going under 30 for the first time with a 29.5.

Heather O’Brien - Heather arrived Friday to join the meet after a quick vacation and started with a great 200 Free. She finished 12th overall with a 3 second drop going 2:15. Heather helped both 200 B Relays that evening finish 4th. Saturday Heather dropped 3.8 in the 400 Free to grab a spot in the B final and then dropped another 5 seconds that evening going 4:46 and finishing 10th. Heather also had a small drop in her 100 Fly. Sunday Heather was right off her best time in the 50 Free and then struggled a bit in the 800 Free but came back to help her 400 Free B relay finish 2nd (Yes B relay!) with an impressive 1:02 split.

Pierce Ryan - Pierce had a great meet starting off with a 1.4 second drop in the 200 Back on Thursday going 2:26. Friday Pierce had a small drop in his 100 Breast to join the 1:13 crew in the group. He also helped on 200 Relays that evening. Saturday Pierce lead off a 400 Medley relay right off his best 100 Back time.Sunday Pierce dropped a bit in his 200 Breast but did secure a spot in the B Final. He also also grabbed a spot in the B Final in the 100 Back dropping a bit in prelims going 1:05 and finishing 15th. He also split a 59 in his 400 Free relay.

Ben Schlehuber - Ben started Thursday off with a 2.7 drop in the 200 Back to grab a spot in the B final going 2:24 at prelims. Ben also had a small drop in the 100 Free with a 58.08. Ben added a bit on Friday in his 200 Free and also had a small add in the 400 IM having just grabbed that cut the weekend before. He helped on both 200 Relays that evening. Ben was a bit off his best times in both the 400 and 800 Free but did have a solid relay split on Sunday in the 400 Free relay. Ben also time trialed the 100 Breast dropping about 3 seconds going 1:16. 

Andi Taylor - Andi arrived Friday and came in hot with a great 200 Free dropping 2.9 and finishing 7th overall. Andi also helped the 200 Free Relay finish 1st and then helped the 200 Medley B relay grab 2nd with a 50 Fly leg. Andi showed she can do more than just the sprints by throwing down a 4:54 400 Free going under 5:00 for the first time and dropping 6 seconds to grab 6th. Andi swam the fly leg on the 400 Medley B team with a best time of 1:11 for a 3rd place finish. Sunday Andi dropped .3 in her 50 to make the A final and came back even stronger in the evening to win the event and throw down a 27.96 to go under 28 for the first time. Andi also swam on the winning 400 Free relay.

Josh Truong - Josh’s first race was the 100 Free on Thursday where he dropped .4 to go 58.99. On Saturday Josh was also part of the 1:13 100 Breast group, right off his best time. Josh helped on 200 Relays with a solid 50 Breast time. In the 400 Medley relay he was able to once again replicate his 1:13 100 Breast. Sunday the 200 Breast was an add but Josh threw down a 26.0 in the 50 Free just narrowly missing a Sectional cut but did grab a spot in Finals. He had a solid Finals swim to finish 15th. That evening he had a very nice 57.7 100 Free split on the 400 Free relay.

Ian Tumamak - Ian began Thursday with the 200 Back where he dropped 2.5 going 2:28 and then had a quick turnaround to the 200 Fly where he dropped 5 seconds, grabbing a spot in Finals and finishing 15th. On Friday he had a very nice 400 IM dropping 8 seconds in prelims then dropped another 2 at Finals to finish 11th with a 5:05. Ian also helped on both 200 Relays that evening. Saturday Ian dropped a bit in the 100 Fly going 1:05 and then led off the the D 400 Medley relay. Sunday Ian continued his drops in the 200s with a 2.8 drop in the 200 Breast with a 2:47. He had a bit of an add in the 100 Back and came back that evening to help on a 400 Free relay.

Vincent Wang - Vincent started Thursday with a solid 200 Back dropping 2.8 total and finishing 6th. He was a bit off his best time in the 100 Free but still threw down a 55.2 to grab a spot in Finals and finish 8th. Vincent also swam on the winning 800 Free relay. Friday Vincent had a great 200 Free dropping 2.4 in the morning and then dropped another 1.5 that evening to finish 10th and grab another Sectional time. Vincent swam on the winning 200 Free relay and also helped on a medley as well. In the 100 Fly Vincent dropped 1.5 to finish 1:02.1 just off a Sectional time in that. He anchored the 400 Medley C team that evening with an impressive 54.5 split. Sunday Vincent had a double with a great 100 Back dropping 3.3 seconds to finish 3rd overall. He also got a spot in the 50 Free A final and finished 5th with a 25.49 and a small drop. He swam on the 2nd place 400 Free B team with a solid 54.9 leadoff.


Senior 5/High Performance
Last weekend BCS hosted SAG and it was a weekend for the memory books! Not only was the swimming fast but the energy was contagious from athletes, coaches and parents! So thank you to everyone who made the weekend memorable. Now onto the swimming! High 5 were in fine form in the competition pool. We walked away with 36 new personal bests, 1 Futures Cut and 1 Sectionals Cut. A highly successful swim meet and I’m so proud of everyone in High 5, congratulations team!

Kotaro Bell
Kotaro ended his long-course season on a high note, after having a tough start to the season with illness he came back and finished really strong. He was within  1-2 seconds of all of his best times and walked away with a new personal best in the 200 Back. Kotaro also threw down some really impressive relay swims. Most notably he swam his leg in the 400 free relay in a time of 54.66 to help the boys finish in 1st place and secure 40 points for the team! Kotaro I was so happy and proud to see you racing at your best and I can’t wait to see what you achieve in your short course season!

Anderson Bennet
Anderson had himself a very successful SAG, he was 3 for 5 on best times, and his most significant drop was in the 800 free where he dropped a whopping 14 seconds! Although Anderson didn’t snag his futures cut this go around, he is well on his way to grabbing multiple cuts in the very near future! Anderson your work ethic this season has been impeccable and I know you were disappointed not to snag your 1st futures cut, but you are well on your way to grabbing multiple and going beyond futures! Keep up the excellent work and get ready to crush Short course season!

Fred Brown
This was an exceptional meet for Fred, he was 6 for 6 on best times! His most significant drop came in the 100 Breast where he dropped 9.92 seconds, he also had 4.27 drop in his 200 Free. However his most memorable swim came in his 50 Free final where he swam a 24.85 finishing 2nd, but with this time he snagged his 1st futures cut! Congratulations Fred on securing your 1st futures cut, now it’s time to focus, rest for short course season and go grab some more cuts!

Isaac Chang
Isaac ended his long course season in impressive fashion he walked away with 5 new personal best times, his biggest drop coming in the 200 fly where he dropped 7.52 seconds! This wasn’t the only success though Isaac added the 100 Breast to his Sectionals roster! Congratulations Isaac you ended the season on a high note and I hope you carry the momentum over into Short course season! It’s time to go and snag more sectional cuts!

Alex Chun
Alex almost walked away with 100% best times at SAG, he posted 5 new personal best out of 6 swims. His most impressive swim came in the 400 Free, in prelims he dropped just over 3s, but in finals he managed to drop 8.3 seconds off his seed time! The excitement didn't stop there as Alex had to swim in a swim-off for the 50 free where he just missed out on his 1st sectional cut! Alex, it was such a pleasure to watch you race and post so many personal best times. I hope this trend continues on into short course season!

Mia Crisera
Mia had a busy schedule during SAG as she wanted to get some racing behind before she travels to Sacramento for Futures! She was 100% on making it back for finals and she got some valuable racing in her legs! I am looking forward to watching Mia race again at Futures! It’s been a whirlwind of year for Mia and I’m so proud of the progress she has made after spraining her ankle and then breaking her wrist. Mia, your resilience is a true testament to your character and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for you!

Ethan Hott
Ethan was entered into the 20 FLy and 400 Im at SAG, he finished 1 second of his personal best in the 200 Fly and a few seconds off in the 400 IM. Two tough events but this didn’t stop Ethan from having a smile on his face and spreading his good energy to his teammates. Ethan you have been a pillar of good energy all season long, and it has been contagious with your teammates. I know great things are on the horizon for you and I can’t wait to see you accomplish them!

Isabel Merica-Jones
Isabel put her best foot forward during SAG, and although she didn’t walk away with any best times she did not let that deter her from leaving it all out in the pool and keeping her bubbly spirit up! Isabel, I know that this upcoming short course season has a lot in store for you. You were really working hard this last month and now that you are all healed up you can focus on your training and get back to swimming personal best times!

Brooke Patel
SAG was a meet for the memory books for Brooke, she walked away with 4 new best times! Her largest time drop came in the 800 Free where she dropped 9 seconds narrowly missing going under the 10 Minute mark for the first time. However, the biggest swim of the weekend came in the 200 Back where Brooke was able to achieve her 1st Sectional cut and drop 5.96 seconds, finishing with a time of 2:26.30! Which now puts her 3s away from her 1st Futures Cut! Brooke I’m so proud of the work you have put in and I’m so happy to see you racing at your best! Short course season is going to be very fun for you!

Andy Pham
Andy had a very successful Summer Age groups, he left the meet with 3 new best times, dropping 2.5 seconds in the 100 fly and 1.7 in the 200 IM! He narrowly missed his 1st sectional cut in the 100 Back, but he is now knocking on the door of multiple sectional cuts. Andy, it’s only a matter of time till you snag the first of many sectional cuts. Your work ethic over the past few months has been impeccable and I hope you carry that over into short course season! The future is bright for you and I can’t wait to watch you accomplish your goals!

Adriel Sun
SAG was a huge success for Adriel.  He walked away with 100% best times, 6 finals appearances! Not only did he walk away with 100%  best times, but Adriel also went best times in the morning and then followed each individual race by dropping even more time in finals! Adriel I was so impressed with how you carried yourself and how well you raced all weekend. You have been added to the list of athletes who are going to crush short course season after the break. Congratulations on your hard work!

Relay-Only Swimmers
A special shoutout goes to all of High 5’s relay-only swimmers, their time to shine is coming up at futures and Jr nationals! Bella Brito, Tyler Campbell, Sammie Hall, Delaney Herr, Catalina Kahan, Peyton Kuo, Mikki Maemura, Madie Malone and Jack O’Shaughnessy were all instrumental in helping Beach Cities secure the win with some truly outstanding relay swims! Now their focus moves to Futures in Sacramento and Junior National in Irvine!