Last week, down at the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, the Foothill League Swim Finals took place, and in an EPIC Olympic-like race, GV's own Dieter Ignacio became the new League Champion in the 100yd Breast stroke.
He went into the race seeded second after Hart's, Nolan Yokoama, and only tenths of a second separated them, so we were all anticipating a great race. It was gut-wrenching as they swam next to each other, almost synchronized at times, to the point it was almost a photo finish, and to make it worse, their times didn't pop up on the scoreboard, leaving us all in agony just waiting to hear the confirmation... YES! Dieter clocked in with a new school record of 57.11, just beating Nolan's 57.22. Dieter also took home second place in his 100 Fly (also breaking his own school record again) to a SHS Senior. Up next for Dieter will be CIF next week, with the hopes of some more great races, possibilities of earning some medals, and even earning a ticket to State Championships. We are so proud of what he is achieving for himself and GV!!
More exciting news from the pool, our Varsity Girls Medley Relay qualified for CIF!! The team of Chloe Cortez, Chloe Cho, Keira Felix, and Hannah Bautista earned themselves a ticket straight to CIF Finals next Thurs! Chloe Cho has already earned spots in her individuals, while we wait to find out if the other three girls will make it in their individuals. All three have earned CIF consideration time, so we will know by Sunday. Good luck, girls, and we are proud of you either way! Keep up the great teamwork.
Varsity boys, Jacob Estrella, also dropped more time and earned a CIF consideration time in his 200 Free and 100 backstroke. We saw some amazing swims from our JV Boys, Matthew Larson, Jayden Priestly, Jasper Um, and Michael Maleeb. These four moving up to Varsity next year, along with Dieter and Jacob, are going to really give GV the boost it needs. Exciting times ahead!
Thank you to everyone who has supported these student swimmers along the way. It is definitely more challenging when you practice and compete off campus, but these athletes continue to rise above it all and shine... GOLDEN!!!
STAY TUNED FOR NEXT WEEK'S CIF EVENTS!!!