Scots sweep swim titles

But the Scots proved Saturday that they are still a force to be dealt with. Using their depth, Carlmont captured the team title at the Bay Division individual championships at Menlo-Atherton.

The Scots posted a score of 394, holding off Menlo-Atherton (336) and Mills (315).

The same could be said on the girls’ side. The Lady Scots had won the last four Bay Division regular-season crowns, but were knocked off by Menlo-Atherton this year.

But the Carlmont girls’ followed the boys’ lead, winning the team championship with 433 points. Menlo-Atherton was right behind with 420 points and Woodside finishing a distant third with 328 points.

In the Ocean Division, the Westmoor boys’ dominated the competition at the Ocean Division championships at Oceana. The Rams, which went a perfect 7-0 in dual meets, added the Ocean Division championship with 275 points, nearly 100 p0ints better than second-place El Camino, which finished with 183.

The Ocean girls’ title was a tight contest, with Terra Nova emerging the winner, holding off Half Moon Bay, 237-232. El Camino, which won the dual-meet title with a 7-0 record, finished third.

Record-setting swims

Woodside’s Seth Collet already owns a pair of PAL records, setting new marks in the 500 free and 100 back in 2024.

The senior, who is bound for UC Santa Barbara, added another PAL record to his resume as he dominated in winning the 200 free. He had already shattered the record during the prelims Thursday, where his time of 1:38.57 smashed the previous record of 1:42.42 set by Burlingame’s Wyatt Butler in 2010.

In Saturday’s final, with just his determination driving him, Collet better his own record, finishing with a 1:37.62.

Collet would go on to add the 500 free title, as well. His time of 4:25.79 was just off his PAL record time of 4:25.30.

On the girls’ side, M-A’s Hailey Preuss dominated in winning the 200 individual medley, winning by nearly five seconds over Carlmont’s Louise Scherrer. Preuss and Scherrer were fairly even through the butterfly and backstroke legs of the race, but Preuss pulled away in her signature stroke, the breaststroke, as she finished with a time of 2:03.45.

Not only was a new personal best for Preuss, but it broke the M-A school record that stood for 19 years. Preuss’ time better the time Heidi Kucera set in 2006 of 2:05.13.

Preuss later added the 100 breast crown with a time of 1:03.85, holding off Woodside’s Kate Stevenson, who posted a 1:04.15.

Mills proves it wasn’t a fluke

While the Vikings fell short of adding the team championship to the dual meet title, they certainly made their presence felt with four individual titles.

Alex Vasquez joined Collet as a two-time individual winner. He held off San Mateo’s Ivan Chang to claim the title of “Fastest Swimmer in the PAL” in the 50 free with a time of 21.83. Chang finished with a 22.07. Vasquez came back later to add the 100 fly championship, as well, posting a time of 51.39.

Ben Nopper gave Mills the sweep in the sprints as he took the 100 free title in a time of 47.71, with Chang, again, coming up just short and settling for second. Dylan Yang captured the 200 IM title with a time of 1:52.13, winning by more than four seconds.

The Vikings also added wins in the 200 and 400 free relays.

On the girls’ side, Mills senior Angelina Komashko wrapped up her PAL career in style, with wins in the two distance races. She won the 200 free in a time of 1:51.94, nearly four seconds faster than second place. She also added the 500 free title with a swim of 5:04.53. Second place was nearly 10 seconds behind.

Woodside freshman makes waves

The Wildcats graduated a pair of stars in Audrey Chung and Edana Huang, who shared the Daily Journal’s Girls’ Swimmer of the Year honors in 2024.

But freshman sprinter Clara Young showed she is ready to take over as the face of Woodside swimming as she earned the title of “Fastest Swimmer in the PAL” by winning the 50 free.

She held off M-A’s Addison Finn in winning the 50 free with a time of 23.75, bettering Finn’s time of 24.42. Young then added the 100 fly crown in dominating fashion. Her time of 56.53 was nearly two seconds faster than Burlingame's Catherine Kwong, who finished with a 59.65.

Westmoor boys’ dominate

The Rams won three individual title and two relay crowns as they owned the Ocean Division championships.

George Seftel won the 200 free in a time of 1:54.18; Justin Ferrer was the champion in the 200 IM. His time of 1:54.77 was the only sub-2 minute time of the race as second place finished with a time of 2:14.10.

Kyle Chen gave Westmoor its third individual title, winning the 50 free in a time of 22.52, just ahead of teammate Jackson Grafilo, who posted a time of 22.66.

The Rams also captured the 200 medley and the 200 free relays.

Terra Nova, Half Moon Bay girls’ neck and neck

The Tigers and Cougars, which finished second and third during the dual meet season behind El Camino, battled all day long, with the teams finishing 1-2 in four events — with Terra Nova coming out on top in all four.

The Tigers’ 200 medley relay team cruised to the title with a time of 2:02.80, with Half Moon bay coming in with a 2:07.40.

Terra Nova’s Kamryn Stevenson won a pair of championships. She dominated the 200 free with a time of 2:01.72, easily out-pacing HMB’s Juliana Sousa, who had a time of 2:09.7. Stevenson then added 100 free title, this time beating HMB’s Louisa Kearns, 56.11 to 58.14.

And in the 500 free, Terra Nova’s Bryer Rose cruised to the win with a time of 5:32.47. Sousa was a distant second, with a time of 5:54.94.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to show that Woodside's Clara Young won the 50 free and 100 fly.

This article has been updated to show the Menlo-Atherton girls' team finished second behind Carlmont.