LODI — The Sierra boys and Ripon girls Valley Oak League champion swim teams represented well in the Sac-Joaquin Section Trials at Tokay High Thursday and Friday.
Scott Tolman qualified for today’s finals in four events while breaking his own Sierra records in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Ripon, meanwhile, entered the girls trials Thursday with eight competitors, and all eight advanced. A pair Indians boys standouts also return today, each in two individual events.
“Across the board, everybody improved times and had an outstanding day,” Sierra coach Dave Breitenbucher said.
Tolman clocked the top-seeded time in the 100 breast in 55.95 seconds, which should be good enough for him to make the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association/Speedo All-America team for a second straight year. He also had the fourth best time of 1 minute, 53.27 seconds in the 200 IM.
Tolman is looking to return to the CIF State Championships at the Clovis West Aquatics Complex on May 20-21. He made the inaugural state meet last year in the 50 free and 100 breast.
Sierra advanced to the section’s consolation finals in the 200 medley (11th seed, 1:41.37) and 200 freestyle relay teams (10th seed). Joining Tolman on both relays are John Buonauro, Trevor Fast and Neil Sandburg.
Fast set a school record in the 100 butterfly (51.86) and earned a spot in the consolation finals as a No. 9 seed. He also swam the 100 back. Buonauro won his heat in the 200 free but did not qualify.
David Tolman advanced in three frosh-soph races. He’s seeded seventh in the 50 free (23.30) and fourth in the 100 breast (1:00.12). Nick Brink, Brooks, Cannon, Esteban Castro and Tolman made the 400 free relay consolation finals as the 16th seed, finishing in 3:41.32 and about 15 seconds better than their previous best.
“We have eight coming back (today), the most ever for our boys team,” Breitenbucher said. “We’re really excited. I’ve never had a group respond this well.”
Ripon has three finalists in varsity competition.
Ty Wells, a 2015 state qualifier, set school records in the 100 breast (third, 56.39) and 100 butterfly (seventh, 51.32) and will swim in both section finals. Daniel Esenwein broke a program record in the 100 back (53.02) and has the seventh best time. He also advanced to the 500 free (4:49.43) consolation race.
Hannah Sweet is the area’s lone individual varsity girls Day 2 qualifier after placing 11th in the 100 breast. Kyra Foley registered the 18th best time in the same event and is a second alternate for the consolation finals.
Ripon’s 200 medley and 200 free relays — both consisting of Kyra Foley, Andria Martin, Taylor Diagre and Sweet — are seeded 14th and 12th, respectively in the consolation finals.
The frosh-soph girls medley and free relay teams of Elizabeth Wenner, Mallory Brubaker, Amber Scheid and Chloe Winter made the finals. They are third for the 200 free and fifth for the 200 medley.
Brubaker set a school record in the 500 free (5:10.09) and qualified for the finals with the fourth best time. She’s also fifth in the 200 free. Wenner is another dual-event finalist with second- and fourth-place finishes in the 50 free and 100 back.
Winter is seeded 12th in the 100 fly and the first alternate for the 100 free. Scheid earned the No. 11 seed for the 100 breast.
“They all did awesome,” Ripon coach Erik Zador said. “The girls all had personal best times all the way through. I’m really excited to see our boys swim, they’re right on top of their best times and are geared up to do even better (in the finals). They’re main focus has always been on (today), and for the girls it was on getting back.”
Manteca had six section trials qualifiers.
The varsity boys 200 freestyle relay team of Austin Welch, Kameron Beamon, Steele Roberts and Jacob Evans finished 30th, and their time of 1:36.77 is nearly 3 seconds better than their previous best.
The 400 free relay of Rafael Calzada, Welch, Roberts and Evans took 25th in 3:37.62 and improved their time by close to 7 seconds.
Alyssa Trejo set personal records in the 100 fly (20th, 1:04.71) and 500 free (22nd, 4:46.90).