Dos Pueblos’ Alex Valente won the 100 butterfly by over five seconds with a time of 48.65.
The Channel League’s top swimmers upped the ante at Thursday’s league championships as a handful of new meet records were set.
Team championships were also decided, with Dos Pueblos’ girls clinching an out-right title. Ventura’s boys won the league meet after Dos Pueblos’ boys team swept the regular season.
In individual events, Dos Pueblos’ Alex Valente set two meet records in the 100 butterfly (48.65) and 100 backstroke (51.53). Valente also contributed to another meet record as the DP boys medley relay team.
His fly time of 48.65 was a season best for the Chargers. He touched more than five seconds ahead of Ventura’s Skyler Schilke in second place.
“During the race I felt pretty good,” Valente said. “A couple of turns there that wasn’t perfect but all-in-all it was a pretty good race. I’m proud of it.”
The Chargers medley team lowered its Channel League record that it set a few weeks ago at the Mt. SAC Meet of Champions.
“We’re really happy with that great group effort,” Valente said.
The Chargers fell to Ventura 334-297. DP was hurt by two disqualifications for first-place finishers.
The Cougars dominated the 200 IM and 200 free, sweeping the top three spots in each. Niles Biolley took the league title in the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.83. Junior Austin Takeda captured the 200 free in 1:42.54.
Santa Barbara High claimed a new meet record in the girls 200 freestyle relay. Freshman Kristina Garcia joined seniors Sophie Trabucco, Dana Sloan and Kelsey O’Brien to accomplish the feat.
O’Brien, who won individual titles in the 50 and 100 freestyle sprints, swam the fastest split of the relay at?24.22.
“That was pretty macho,” Walsh said.
Garcia hadn’t been competing on the relay team all year until this week.
“She came out of nowhere and swam great,” Walsh said.
Tarry Burkhardt and Evan Robertson did well for the Dons boys. Burkhardt swept the 50 and 100 freestyle sprints in personal bests while Robertson posted season bests in both his events.
San Marcos freshman Olivia Smith earned her first league title, winning the 100 butterfly in a time of 58.84. She said her goal was to get under 59 seconds.
Smith wasn’t the only freshman to win a league title, as Ventura’s Brigid McNally won two. With a time of 1:53.88, McNally edged Dos Pueblos’ Shannon Cleary by .11 in the 200-yard freestyle. In the 500 free, McNally narrowly defeated another Charger, Janelle Nguyen, by .32 of a second with a winning time of 4:56.03.
Nguyen had previously won the 200 IM in a personal best time of 2:04.22.
The Charger girls were especially strong in the 100 butterfly, with four swimmers making the A-Final. It was DP’s highest scoring race of the day with 46 points coming from Nicole Berari, Madison Faulkner, Courtney Nuttall and Emily Swindle.
“We had four girls in that race and all four of them were going extremely fast,” said Chargers coach Kevin Kuga.
TEAM SCORES
BOYS VARSITY
1. Ventura High School 334
2. Dos Pueblos High School 297
3. Santa Barbara 229
4. Buena High School 179
5. San Marcos High School 129GIRLS VARSITY
1. Dos Pueblos High School 337
2. Santa Barbara 304
3. Ventura High School 234
4. San Marcos High School 224
5. Buena High School 95BOYS JUNIOR VARSITY
1. Buena High School 253
2. Santa Barbara 243
3. Dos Pueblos High School 214
4. Ventura High School 204
5. San Marcos High School 184GIRLS JUNIOR VARSITY
1. San Marcos High School 325
2. Santa Barbara 263
3. Buena High School 175
4. Dos Pueblos High School 129
5. Ventura High School 91
