The Palo Alto girls’ swim team placed second at the Central Coast Section championship meet on Saturday at the George F. Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara, missing the title by three points.
Falling by three heartbreaking points to champion Archbishop Mitty High School, 274-277, the Vikings rewrote the record books over the two-day competition, posting numerous section leading times. 2008 champion Monta Vista High School trailed in third place with 213 points.
Freshman Jasmine Tosky shattered the CCS records for each of her individual events, setting section-leading marks in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley and breaking her own record in the 200 IM that she set in the CCS qualifying meet on Friday. Tosky clocked incredible All-American times of 4 minutes, 43.96 seconds in the preliminary round and 4:45.66 in finals for the 500 freestyle, and 1:57.94 in the 200 IM. She also claimed the CCS record in the 100-yard freestyle by swimming the lead of leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay in an All-American time of 48.98 seconds, beating Paly graduate Liv Jensen’s record of 49.03 seconds.
Sophomore Sarah Liang also set a CCS record in the 100-yard breaststroke, an event she won for a second consecutive year in an All-American time of 1:01.5. In her other individual event, Liang placed third in the 200-yard IM behind Laurence Delisle of Mitty and Tosky in an All-American time of 2:00.51.
Along with their amazing individual performances, the 200-yard medley relay team of Tosky, Liang, freshman Margaret Wenzlau and sophomore Paige Devine crushed the CCS record they set in the qualifying meet with a school record and All-American mark of 1:44.31.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Wenzlau sped to an All-American time of 56.06, earning her fifth place.
Paly had two swimmers in the consolation finals of the 100-yard freestyle; senior Allie Bollella, who won the heat in a time of 52.47 seconds, and sophomore Sabrina Lee, who placed sixth in 53.09 seconds.
The Vikings also failed to place a swimmer within the top eight of the 50-yard freestyle, although Bollella and Wenzlau made the consolation round. Bollella capped an impressive senior campaign by winning the heat in an All-American time of 23.83 seconds. Wenzlau followed with a seventh place finish at 24.82 seconds.
Along with Tosky’s first place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, freshman Abby Duckett placed second in the 500 in an All-American time and season best of 4:57.45.
Duckett also swam in the 200-yard freestyle consolation final and clocked a time of 1:52.37 to take first place. The time, a personal best, would have placed her fourth in finals.
Liang, Lee, Bollella and Wenzlau the teamed together to finish fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay at 1:36.97, good for All-American honors.
In the 100-yard backstroke Paly only had one qualifier, Lee who placed second in the consolation round in a personal best of 58.35 seconds, while Mitty finished one-two in the top eight final.
Entering the final event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Palo Alto was neck and neck with Mitty and needed to win to claim the CCS title. Despite a tremendous effort by Tosky, Lee, Bollella and Duckett, the Vikings could not keep up with Monta Vista High School and finished second in an All-American and school record time of 3:26.05. Sparked by Tosky’s record 100-yard freestyle lead-off leg, the Vikings jumped to an early lead. However, Monta Vista entered the same relay team that claimed the 400 relay title in a CCS record time last year, which chipped away at Paly’s advantage, eventually pulling ahead in a new CCS record of 3:23.53.
Despite being painfully close to claiming its first section title in four years, Palo Alto’s strong finish capped an undefeated league season and is a testament to the incredible youth and talent of the team. All of Paly’s swimmers in finals were underclassmen. With seven CCS records broken over two days of competition, the Vikings future looks bright. Practically all of the school records belong to the 2009 team and as only Bollella graduates, they will retain the core of their CCS lineup, making Palo Alto a tremendous title threat in the coming years.