Turlock High and Pitman High swim teams competed in the Central California Athletic League finals on Thursday afternoon. Turlock High came away with most of the first-place finishes and secured a league championship. Pitman swimmers shined in their own right and the Pride broke some records as well.
For the boys, Turlock finished first with a score of 503 and Pitman finished third with 402. For the girls, Turlock finished first again with a score of 570 and Pitman finished second with 347. Turlock boys and girls are atop of the CCAL and secured a league championship. Pitman boys sit at fourth while the girls sit at fifth.
“We tell the boys to give it their all at every meet and they worked hard this season,” said Turlock High boys head coach Zach Glidden. “It’s a great feeling seeing the boys consistently swim their best times at every meet and build up to where they are now. This is a big win for these guys and I’m so proud of how they have worked as a team all year long and pushed each other to a conference win.”
The Turlock boys finished second in the 200-yard relay. Christian Souza finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:54:83. The Bulldogs had two top five finishes in the 200-yard IM with second place Cohen Harris (2:15:42) and fourth place Evan Christopher (2:30:63).
Luke Thomas took home first place in the 50-yard freestyle relay with a time of 22.70. Souza and Thomas finished second and third respectively in the 100-yard freestyle with times of 50.35 and 51.22. Turlock finished first in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:33:93. Finally, Cohen and Cooper Harris finished first and second in the 100-yard breast relay, respectively.
The Turlock girls finished first in the 200-yard relay with a time of 2:05:95. Abigail Braley finished first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:03:84 which set a season record. The Bulldogs had the top three finishes in the 200-yard IM with Emily Wilson, Tiffany Figurell and Breyanne Pierce.
Wilson finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:04:68. Livia and Lia Romero finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 100-yard freestyle. Kaylee Amarant finished first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:44:07. The girls finished first in the 200-yard freestyle medley with a time of 1:51:05. Braley and Figurell finished first and third, respectively, in the 100-yard freestyle.
“I am extremely proud of the girls,” said Turlock girls head coach Anne Cornell. “They have been working hard all season and have earned the CCAL title. Abi Braley and Kaylee Amarant set new meet records and were double winners in their individual races, their hard work has paid off. The entire team pulled together and earned the win.”
Pitman’s Rick VanderVeen finished first in the 550-yard freestyle (5:18:16) and 100 yard-backstroke (1:02:77). The boys finished third in the 400-yard freestyle with a time of 3:49.87.
The Pitman girls finished second in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 2:11.29. Lily Martin finished the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:14:62. Megan Hall finished first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.97 and Mia Ngo finished third with a time of 28.21.
Avery Ahlem finished second in the 100-yard fly with a time of 1:10:54. Megan Hall finished second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 58.13. The girls team finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:51:82.
