The San Marcos and Dos Pueblos swim teams excelled at the Channel League Championship meet on a busy Thursday on the pool deck at Elings Aquatic Center.
The Royals captured the combined team championship with 1,040 points, as the San Marcos girls won the girls meet with 572 points and the Dos Pueblos boys team won the boys meet with its score of 496.
The Charger girls secured second place with 466 points, while San Marcos’ boys came in second at 468 points. Santa Barbara placed fifth out of the eight schools on the boys and girls sides.
As a result, the San Marcos girls were crowned Channel League champions, while the Dos Pueblos and San Marcos boys teams were named co-league champions after the Royals’ undefeated regular season.
“We had so many highlights of the meet and so many athletes who truly stepped up for their school and swam their hearts out,” San Marcos head coach Chuckie Roth said.
“I am beyond proud of all the hard work, discipline, grit, and positive attitudes. This was a great swim season, and I am a very proud Coach.”
San Marcos
The Royals’ girls swept the freestyle relay events, with the team of Sophie Yonker, McKenna Stuart, Ella Grube and Sophia Hall touching first in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.23.
Meanwhile, Grube and Hall were joined by Charlotte Raisin and Kalista Hall in the 400 freestyle relay, where their time of 3:34.54 was good for first place.
Individually, Nya Cable claimed the top spot in the 100 butterfly at 1:00.21 and Bethany King earned a league title in the 100 breaststroke at 1:09.89. Estella Young also captured the 1-meter diving championship with a score of 289.95.
The San Marcos boys also found success in the relays, beginning with a win in the 200 medley relay by Duncan Hunt, Will Stuart, Nolan Clark and Christian Yonker after a time of 1:37.71.
Yonker, Stuary and Clark then teamed up with Cole Racich to finish the 400 freestyle relay in 3:10.13 for the top podium spot.
Clark’s big day carried over to the individual races, as he scored a Channel League title in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM with times of 50.49 seconds and 1:57.11, respectively.
Jacob Angel won the 500 freestyle for the Royals with a time of 4:48.63, and Stuart rounded out the Royals’ first-place finishers with a win in the 100 breaststroke and a new school record time of 57.26 seconds.
Dos Pueblos
Eli Carnaghe turned in a historic performance to lead the Charger boys to the win, breaking a 20-year-old school record and the Channel League record in the 50 freestyle with a blistering time of 20.61 seconds.
He also placed first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.29 seconds, and he teamed up with Adam Gelman, Ben Fuhrer and Channing Wigo to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:27.95.
Grant Nelson capped off the Dos Pueblos winners by finishing the 100 backstroke in 55.92 seconds to claim first place.
Riley Moore finished the day as a double Channel League individual champion with victories in the 100 backstroke (59.32) and 200 IM (2:14.40).
The Charger girls 200 medley relay team of Moore, Gwyneth Kinports, Dasha Dzreeva recorded a strong time of 1:51.80 to secure first place and help their squad earn a second-place finish.
Santa Barbara High
The Dons’ sophomore standout Jules Horton was the team’s lone league champion, earning first place in the 200 freestyle (1:55.12) and 500 freestyle (5:06.81).