Swimming in its own backyard, the Palo Alto girls’ swim team (10-0) claimed its seventh consecutive Santa Clara Valley Athletic League championship on Friday afternoon.
With numerous swimmers having qualified for finals, the Vikings were positioned to handily win the meet. On a beautiful summer day, seven schools converged on the Paly pool to decide the championship. Outdistancing its closest rival by more than 100 points, Palo Alto emerged victorious with 486 points, while Monta Vista High School came in second with 327 points and Gunn and Lynbrook High Schools tied for third with 264.5 points.
Setting the tone for fast times throughout the day, Paly won the 200-yard medley relay with an All-American time of 1 minute 48.01 seconds that would have won the Central Coast Section last year. The team of sophomores Paige Devine and Sarah Liang and freshmen Jasmine Tosky and Margaret Wenzlau shattered the league record of 1:51.09 and almost had the school record of 1:48.00, set in 1998.
In the 200-yard freestyle freshman Abby Duckett placed second with a time of 1:55.03, which would have made her eighth in last year’s CCS. Freshman Rochelle Holmgren took eighth in 1:59.53.
The Vikings went one-two in the 200-yard individual medley. Tosky clocked an All-American and league record time of 2:02.99, breaking her school record of 2:03.64 set earlier this year. Tosky’s time would have placed her second in CCS last year. Liang finished second with another All-American time of 2:04.95, faster than her time of 2:05.10 that gave her third in CCS in 2008.
“The 200 IM has never been my favorite event,” Liang said. “But I did my best to hold on until the end. Overall it is my second best time so I can’t be too upset. I’m definitely more excited for the breaststroke.”
Tosky agrees with her teammate.
“Sarah and I pushed through,” Tosky said, “We both got our best times for the high school season which resulted in a good meet right before CCS. I was feeling sluggish at the start of the meet but when it came to the race, it didn’t matter.”
Palo Alto was also aided by a strong performance in diving by senior Noa Palmon, who placed third with 407.45 points.
Senior Allie Bollella placed sixth in the 50-yard freestyle in a CCS qualifying time of 24.73.
The 100-yard butterfly was stacked with Paly swimmers. Tosky claimed first with yet another All-American and league record time of 55.75, outdistancing her competition by more than one and a half seconds. Wenzlau placed third in 58.49 and Devine finished sixth at 101.2, both CCS times.
Sophomore Sabrina Lee was timed at 53.88 in the 100-yard freestyle, good for fifth place, while Bollella came in seventh with a time of 54.64.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Duckett was victorious in a quick 4:58.47, an All-American Consideration time, and was the only swimmer to break five minutes. Holmgren was seventh at 5:25.07.
Lee, Liang, Wenzlau and Bollella placed third in the 200-yard freestyle relay in an All-American Consideration time of 1:38.57.
The 100-yard backstroke was one of the few events in which Palo Alto did not place in the top three. Nevertheless, strong performances by Lee, who finished fifth in 59.89, and Devine, who finished eighth in 1:03.62, ensured the Vikings points.
In the final individual event of the day, the 100-yard breaststroke, Liang dominated the field with an All-American and league record time of 1:04.45. She also shattered the school record of 1:05.48 set in 1979 and came close to her 2008 CCS winning time of 1:04.10. Freshman Laura Cui finished fifth in 1:09.87 and freshman Maddie Berger cam in seventh at 1:10.89, demonstrating the depth of the Viking roster.
Sparked by Tosky’s blazing 50.82 lead leg, Palo Alto, represented by Tosky, Duckett, Bollella and Lee placed second in the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:32.40.
With the SCVAL title all wrapped up, the team went hunting for head coach Danny Dye to give him a celebratory dunking in the Palo Alto pool. The team gathered on the edge of the pool awaiting for the announcement that they were league champions yet again. Senior Mark Higgins, an integral member of the SCVAL champion boys’ team, grabbed Dye and tossed him in the pool, ending a highly successful league season for both teams.
Dye was pleased with the girls’ performances today.
“It feels great to win leagues again,” Dye said. “We had a whole new batch of girls this year and the girls did awesome. We are in a good position to perform well at CCS. A lot of the girls did not shave and taper yet so faster times will come.”
The Vikings look to carry their momentum into a strong performance in CCS, where they will match up against perennial powerhouses Archbishop Mitty and Monta Vista High Schools. Having defeated Monta Vista in dual meet action, Palo Alto has a good chance of improving last year’s third place finish. With record-breaking individual performances, great depth and at least three girls qualified for CCS in the final meet, Paly has its work cut out for them if it wants to bring home another title this year.
Select Palo Alto swimmers will compete at CCS on May 15 at the George F. Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara. [Time TBD]