LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Swimming and Diving Post-Season Report


Photos Ohlen Alexander

Campolindo's Soda Aquatic Center played host to both the DFAL diving and swimming meets on May 11. The participants were all hoping to earn a spot at the NCS Championships on May 18.

The Campolindo-Los Lomas-Acalanes-Miramonte (CLAM) diving program sent six divers to the North Coast Section meet. Morgan Matranga, Alyssa Parsons, Simone Raeth, Miranda Gold, Spencer Cox, and Justin Hart all qualified.

Campolindo sophomore Matranga came in first in girls' varsity with a score of 420.05. Acalanes sophomore Gold and Campolindo senior Parsons took second with 386.7 and third with 351.60, respectively.

Matranga has participated in competitive diving for five years. "Everyone worked really, really hard today, and I'm really excited for NCS," she said.

Head coach Marie Estorge started coaching at Acalanes just two weeks before the DFAL meet, but she thought the divers on the team did really well. "Everyone worked really, really hard today. It was great to earn points for the team, and I'm really excited for NCS," Estorge said.

Estorge had coached the Acalanes dive team for the past four years, but had taken a leave of absence. When the 2013-season coach quit, Estorge volunteered to step in.

Both Campolindo and Miramonte also had a new head coach this year, Aric Gilbrecht. "There have been a lot of changes, especially for the athletes. They had to adapt and you saw the results today. They've been doing especially well," he said.

The NCS competition took place May 16 at the Concord Community Pool. In the girls' event, Matranga placed fifth out of 32. Gold took seventh place. Parsons and Raeth placed 10th and 25th, respectively.

In the boys' event, Hart (Las Lomas) placed 12th and Cox, in his first year diving for Campolindo and in his first NCS competition, placed 17th.

The DFAL swim meet saw record breaking times in seven individual and three relay events. Campolindo girls' earned 476 points to beat their cross-town rivals Acalanes (418) and Miramonte (388.5).

The Campolindo boys' team also took first with 495 points, while Miramonte, with 383 points, placed third and Acalanes, with 288.5, placed fourth.

Campolindo senior Steven Stumph set new records for the 100 breaststroke (54.42 seconds) and 100 butterfly (49.14 seconds). Stumph and Campolindo athletes Sven Campbell, J.D. Ratchford and Grant Sivesind also blasted by last year's 400 freestyle relay record with a time of 3:03.08.

Acalanes' Brittany Usinger set a meet record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.75. Other top finishes included Miramonte's Annie Larsen in the 500 freestyle and Miramonte's Cameron Hoyh in the boys' 500 freestyle.

At the NCS competition on May 18 at the Concord Community Pool, Campolindo boys' earned first place, while Miramonte took third and Acalanes eleventh. Campo's girls finished fourth to lead Lamorinda, while Miramonte took sixth and Acalanes eighth.

The highlight of the meet, however, came when Stumph broke a national high school record with his performance in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 53.39. Perhaps more amazing, was that all top-three finishers came in under Olympian Brendan Hansen's record. Miramonte's Charlie Wiser finished second (53.57).

Stumph also won the 100 butterfly, 200 medley and the 400 freestyle relay team. Campbell won the boys 50-freestyle and second place in the 100 backstroke.

For complete results visit cifncs.org/sports/swimming_&_diving.