NCS qualifies a crowd for 1st state meet
For the first time in California Interscholastic Federation history, there will be a state swim meet, taking place Friday and Saturday in Clovis (Fresno County).
The North Coast Section showed off its swimming prowess by registering 173 qualifying marks Saturday at Concord Community Pool.
The section qualified 66 automatically — the top three in each final — and it piled on an additional 107, including 10 events in which individual or relay teams in consolation finals bettered the at-large standard to advance to state.
If the other sections swam as well as the NCS competitors, next week’s state meet will be fast and crowded.
The most acclaimed NCS swimmer of the bunch, Granada-Livermore junior Maxime Rooney, repeated as section 200- and 500-yard freestyle champion but said he won’t be in individual events at state.
He said it was an agreement between his club and high school coach in order for Rooney to begin training this week for the long-course season, which concludes with nationals in San Antonio.
The University of Florida commit broke his 200 free meet record in Friday’s trials at 1 minute, 34.58 seconds, but severe allergies helped cut Rooney winning times Saturday to 1:35.49 and 4:28.33. The latter was well off Friday’s trials time of 4:24.76 and his meet record of 4:20.60 last year.
Rooney said he had had mixed emotions on missing out on possibly winning a state individual title or two. “It’s always great to race kids from Southern California, and I’d love that opportunity,” he said. “But I understand the coaches’ view that I need to build up for the long-course season to fully prepare for nationals.”
Among the many standouts Saturday were Castro Valley senior Carson Sand, who approached meet records while taking the 200 individual medley (1:48.00) and 100 breaststroke (53.50), and Campolindo-Moraga senior Mary Ashby, who won the 50 free (23.25) and 100 free (50.26).
The Northgate-Walnut Creek 200 medley boys team of Calvin Kirkpatrick, Stanley Wu, Mason Tittle and Maxwell Bottene won in 1:30.26, breaking the 2013 meet mark of 1:30.52 by Campolindo.
Northgate (261) won the boys meet over runner-up San Ramon Valley-Danville (229), which won the girls meet with 318 points to 171 for runner-up Carondelet-Concord.
CCS: Georgia-bound senior Aidan Burns won the 500 freestyle (4:24.19) and contributed to two relay wins, leading Bellarmine to its 31st straight Central Coast Section title at the Santa Clara International Swim Center. … Bellarmine won with 292 points to 214 for runner-up Gunn-Palo Alto. … Bellarmine won the 200 free relay (1:23.73) and the 400 free relay (3:03.49). … Mitty’s girls didn’t win a single race but took the title with 250 points to 220 for Palo Alto, which got two wins from sophomore Grace Zhao, in the 50 free (23.18) and 100 breaststroke (1:02.04). … CCS swimmers and relay teams met the qualifying mark for state 115 times, 66 of which were automatic spots for finishing in the top three. The 49 others earned at-large berths.