The CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships: A Recap of the Thrilling Finals
The CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships, held in Walnut, California, on May 7-9, 2026, was a spectacle of high school swimming excellence. With the girls' State Champions from last season, Santa Margarita, and other big names in the world of high school swimming in attendance, the prelims results promised a thrilling finals session. And it certainly delivered.
Girls 200 Medley Relay
West Ranch claimed the top spot in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:43.55, narrowly beating Santa Margarita, who finished in 1:43.74. The race was tight after the backstroke legs, with both teams tied heading into the breaststroke leg. West Ranch's Nadine Fernando and Santa Margarita's Serena Ye led off with times of 26.40, touching in an exact tie. Emma Hussein then pulled West Ranch into the lead with a split of 28.08, while Haylee Pramono touched for Santa Margarita in 29.42.
Kalun Zhang split 25.76 for West Ranch in the fly, holding off Santa Margarita's Daniela Scott, who split 24.60. On the freestyle leg, Emma Piltzer and Angela Lim split 23.31 and 23.32 respectively, maintaining their 1st and 2nd place positions. The bronze medal went to San Clemente in 1:44.51, with their team of Wren Collins, Neva Phillips, Macie Weingarten, and Zoe DeFabrique.
Boys 200 Medley Relay
Santa Margarita dominated the boys' 200 medley relay, touching in 1:30.45 to win the event by more than two seconds over Corona del Mar's 2nd place time of 1:32.60. Sam Zhou led off for Santa Margarita with a time of 23.01, followed by Taylor Thongintra in 24.97, Darren Nguyen in 22.50, and Bennett Korner in 19.97. Corona del Mar's relay consisted of Henry Chang, Ethan Lim, Radomir Shostak, and Grant Christian.
University's Dylan Mac, Chris Lin, Tiger Chai, and Brendon Van Erp swam 1:33.66 for 3rd place, while Northwood's Eli Siniak split a blistering 22.00 on the fly leg of their 7th place medley relay.
Girls 200 Freestyle
Fountain Valley High School junior Alyssa Ton repeated her first place finish from last year's meet, swimming 1:45.15 to win the girls 200 freestyle. Ton, who is committed to Tennessee for 2027, touched almost four seconds ahead of the rest of the field, splitting 24.13/26.55/27.13/27.34. Her time was about a second off the lifetime best 1:44.12 she swam to win the event last year.
Santiago High School's Charlotte Milkie, who is committed to USC for 2027, swam 1:49.01 for 2nd place, about two-and-a-half seconds over her best of 1:46.48 from the Winter Junior Championships in December. The bronze medal went to San Clemente senior Zoe Defabrique, who touched in 1:49.83, about a tenth off her best 1:49.76 from April of last year.
Boys 200 Freestyle
Northwood senior Andrew Maksymowski earned a repeat win in the boys 200 freestyle, touching in 1:34.70 to finish almost a second faster than the 1:35.61 he swam in 2025. This was also a new lifetime best for him, taking one hundredth off the 1:34.71 mark he set in April. He is committed to USC for the fall.
San Marino senior Liam Thomas set a massive personal best to finish 2nd, touching in 1:37.28 to take almost two seconds off the 1:39.03 mark he set last month at the Rio Hondo League Championships. He is committed to Davidson College.
Northwood sophomore Michael Wang swam 1:37.65 for the bronze medal, about half-a-second off his personal best 1:37.17, which he set in March.
Girls 50 Freestyle
Gabi Brito, from Santa Monica High School, had another massive drop in the girls' 50 freestyle, swimming 21.66 to take another three tenths off the 21.93 mark she swam in prelims. This will move her up to the 3rd fastest 15-16 girl in history in the event, only behind Rylee Erisman (21.61), and Claire Curzan (21.50). Ava DeAnda, a Cal commit for 2026 from Riverdale Poly-tech, swam 22.82 to pick up the silver medal, four tenths off her best 22.44 from December of 2023. Woodbridge High School junior Isabella Parker swam 22.87 to take a tenth off her lifetime best 22.98 from March.
Boys 50 Freestyle
Newport Harbor High School's Connor Ohl swam 19.96 in the boys' 50 freestyle, missing the 2008 meet record time of 19.95 by just one-hundredth. Ohl, who is primarily a water polo player, was about two tenths off his lifetime best 19.79 from last month's Sunset Conference Championships. Jessera Catholic senior Nolan Baker finished 2nd in 20.22, a tenth drop from the 20.32 which he swam at this meet last year. Santa Margarita senior Bennett Korner touched 3rd in 20.30, a tenth add from his best of 20.20 from March.
Girls 100 Butterfly
Gabi Brito, from Santa Monica High School, claimed the top spot in the girls' 100 butterfly with a time of 50.74, breaking the meet record of 51.41. Tori Yamamura from Vale High School finished 2nd in 52.55, while Daniela Scott from Santa Margarita took the bronze in 55.45.
Boys 100 Butterfly
The boys' 100 butterfly was won by [name], who swam a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 46.00. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Girls 100 Freestyle
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the girls' 100 freestyle with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 47.09. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Boys 100 Freestyle
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the boys' 100 freestyle with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 43.28. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Girls 500 Freestyle
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the girls' 500 freestyle with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 4:39.64. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Boys 500 Freestyle
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the boys' 500 freestyle with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 4:12.70. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Girls 200 Freestyle Relay
Santa Margarita claimed the top spot in the girls' 200 freestyle relay with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 1:30.72. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Boys 200 Freestyle Relay
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the boys' 200 freestyle relay with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 1:21.66. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Girls 100 Backstroke
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the girls' 100 backstroke with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 51.09. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Boys 100 Backstroke
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the boys' 100 backstroke with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 47.04. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Girls 100 Breaststroke
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the girls' 100 breaststroke with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 59.20. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Boys 100 Breaststroke
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the boys' 100 breaststroke with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 53.05. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Girls 400 Freestyle Relay
Santa Margarita claimed the top spot in the girls' 400 freestyle relay with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 3:18.22. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
Boys 400 Freestyle Relay
[Name] from [school] claimed the top spot in the boys' 400 freestyle relay with a time of [time], breaking the meet record of 2:57.52. [Name] from [school] finished 2nd in [time], while [name] from [school] took the bronze in [time].
In conclusion, the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships was a thrilling showcase of high school swimming excellence. With records broken and new personal bests set, the event left a lasting impression on all who attended. As the season progresses, the competition will only get tougher, and the anticipation for the next big meet will only grow.
