Swimmer’s personal best comes up just short in state meet
Earlier this month Brawley Union High Wildcat swimmer CJ Manuel made local high school swim team history by being the first Valley swimmer to qualify for the CIF-State swimming championship meet, an event that didn’t exist before 2015.
Manuel qualified for the state meet when he finished in the top three overall for both divisions in the 100-meter backstroke event at the CIFSan Diego Section Championship Meet.
As Manuel prepared for his 100-meter backstroke preliminary qualifying heat at the state meet, the significance of the event was not lost on the Brawley junior.
“I was a little nervous at the CIF finals but I was also in a zone with the help of my coaches, and I knew what I could do,” Manuel said. “But this was special because it had a deeper meaning and purpose. ... I was representing the Valley and wanted to do them proud and my coaches and parents.”
For Manuel the history-making swim lasted less than a minute, as he finished with a time of 51.41 seconds.
However, his effort was 0.10 second off qualifying for the state finals.
“I did a personal best,” he said. “It’s a progression as I’ve improved every race, and I was only a second off qualifying, and all the others had a longer reach and just beat me to the wall,” Manuel said. “Knowing that, there’s nothing I can do now but work harder and beat them to the wall.”
And while Manuel’s season ended in less than a blink-ofan-eye, for the Brawley native, getting there was been a lifelong commitment.
“I started swimming at 7 years old and I played some youth soccer and I played basketball at Barbara Worth just because I wanted to try them,” Manuel said. “But swimming was always there and it has been a commitment including practicing every day Monday through Friday and sometimes Saturday.”
And by “practicing,” Manuel goes beyond what the common assumption is for the word.
“When I’m training, it’s weight train in the morning, then two and half hours in the pool in the afternoon practicing all the strokes, control speeds, distances. … It’s three to four miles and it’s a grind,” Manuel said.
“During the high school season, I swim with Brawley High from 3 to 5:30 p.m., and then if I feel like I need to practice more, I’ll go another two hours with the swim club.”
Outside of the Imperial Valley League swim season, Manuel works and competes with the Imperial Valley Desert Aquatics team and acknowledges his commitment to swimming could not have been possible without his family and his IVDA coaches.
“Since I was a 10-year-old, I have understood what it would take to be successful, and seeing my coaches and my parents happy with my success motivated me to do more,” Manuel said.
At the CIF-State meet, Manuel’s parents, Christopher and Kimberly Manuel, joined Brawley High Swim Coach D’Ann Luckey, along with his IVDA coaches Nikie Lopez, who coaches Southwest High’s swim teams, and Daniel Crabtree.
If it seems that Manuel is self-motivated, Luckey notes that Manuel indeed enjoys a challenge.
“He responds well to challenges, and as a coach you have to fine-tune his technique,” said Luckey, who has coached the Wildcats for 25 seasons. “For example, the only individual record CJ doesn’t hold for Brawley High is the breaststroke, and despite not regularly swimming that event he was determined to get it at the IVL meet but came up a tenth of a second short.”
While Manuel came up short of that goal, he was named the IVL Meet’s Swimmer-of-the-Year, finishing first in the breaststroke and in the 100 yard freestyle at the IVL League Meet.
Manuel picked up two more first place medals as part of the IVL Championship 200 yard freestyle and 200 yard medley relay teams along with Wildcat teammates Luke Goddard, Jared Carpio and Davidjay Escalera.
The relay victories come as no surprise to Luckey who has watched Manuel inspire all his teammates.
“CJ has had a saying at our practices which is, ‘How bad?’
— as in, ‘ How bad do you want it?’” Luckey said. “We had stickers made up because he challenges himself and his teammates ... and they step up and swim really well.”
With his senior year approaching, Manuel is now focused on returning to state next year while also setting his sights on finding the right fit to continue his education and swim career.
“I have always worked hard in the classroom, and college is a given,” said Manuel, who has a 4.3 GPA. “I’m aiming toward UCSD because they have a D-I swim team and an outstanding pre-med program, and that is the combination I’m looking for.”