Swimming

UCSD Commit Maddie O’Connell and Luka Mijatovic’s Double Wins Highlight 2024 CIF-NCS Finals

Sports FEED

May 5, 2024

By Nick Pecoraro on SwimSwam

2024 CIF North Coast Section Championships

May 3rd-4th, 2024 (swimming)
Concord, CA
SCY (25y)
Meet Central
State Meet Info
Full PDF Results

Top Five Girls Team Scores

Campolindo- 310
Carondelet- 258.5
San Ramon Valley- 206
Monte Vista- 187.5
Amador Valley- 154

Top Five Boys Team Scores

De La Salle- 236
Amador Valley- 209
San Ramon Valley- 186.5
Foothill- 149
American- 146

The 2024 CIF North Coast Section (NCS) Championships came to a close on Saturday, with swimmers battling a cold, rainy day for outdoor swimming finals. Nonetheless, the Campolindo girls out-scored last year’s girls NCS team winner Carondelet for the 2024 team title, 310 to 258.5. Unaffected by the weather, the boys of De La Salle (236 points) successfully defended their NCS team title 27 points ahead of Amador Valley (209 points), who moved up eight spots from 2023’s 10th-place team finish.

Girls’ Highlights

Carondelet senior and UCSD commit Maddie O’Connell was the only swimmer on the girls’ side to win both individual events. O’Connell was first in the 100 free final at 50.64, a slight gain from her prelims effort of 50.27. She also won the 100 back final at 53.58. In prelims, O’Connell’s top effort of 53.02 momentarily scared the 1999 NCS record of 52.86, set by Carondelet alum and Olympian Natalie Coughlin.

Peering over at the 1-meter diving final, Clayton Valley junior Molly Gray won the NCS title with 540.25 points, adding 23.75 points to write her name over the 2019 NCS meet record of 516.50 points.

In the 200 medley relay, Carondelet was trailing in third place until senior Natalie Aiken ripped 23.14 on the freestyle anchor leg to give her squad the win at 1:43.56. Getting run down by 0.08s to settle for second was Campolindo at 1:43.64 while San Ramon Valley also held on for third at 1:44.27.

It was a senior face-off in the 50 free final, with San Ramon Valley’s Miranda Stevenson clipping Monte Vista’s Genesee Quon by a mere 0.02s, 23.47 to 23.49.

Entering the 200 free relay final, San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista were seeded with identical prelims times of 1:35.18. Yet in the final, Miss Stevenson anchored a terrifying 22.61 to aid San Ramon Valley’s relay win at 1:34.89. Finishing almost a full second behind for runner-up was Monte Vista (1:35.93).

Stevenson also raced the 100 breast final alongside senior teammate Hayley Gregory. In the final, it was a San Ramon Valley 1-2 finish with Gregory (1:02.15) and Stevenson (1:02.18) touching in 0.03s apart from one another.

In the 500 free final, Dublin senior Kaitlin Lee began to make her move on race-leader sophomore Rylee Hutchinson of Amador Valley. Lee’s final two 50 splits (29.39/28.49) were faster than Hutchison’s last two splits (29.76/28.73). At the finish, it was Hutchison who held off Lee by an impossible one one-hundredth the distance event title, 4:55.15 to 4:55.16. Despite placing third in the final at 4:59.54, Amador Valley sophomore Lillyana Caples had the fastest swim of the entire event when she led prelims at 4:51.40.

Campolindo sealed their NCS team title with a strong win in the 400 free relay at 3:25.34. Carondelet senior Maddie O’Connell boldly anchored a 49.82, the fastest split of the entire field, aiding Carondelet’s runner-up finishing time of 3:27.19.

Boys’ Highlights

In his debut CIF state series appearance, USA Swimming NAG holder Luka Mijatovic pulled out two individual wins for Foothill as a freshman. Mijatovic first out-swam Northgate senior Mason Wendler in the 200 free final by over a second, 1:36.25 to 1:37.42. Though Mijatovic’s career best is 1:35.39, his finals time marks his fastest time as a freshly-aged up 15-year-old, now among the top-50 all-time 15-16 performers.

Mijatovic then won the 500 free final by nearly 10 seconds at 4:21.94 ahead of freshman teammate Kaden Wong (4:31.69). Amador Valley senior Devyn Caples finished in third place at 4:34.28.

Dougherty Valley sophomore Songrui Wu was another double event winner on the boys’ side. Wu first comfortably won the 200 IM final at 1:47.88, with Amador Valley senior Caples taking second at 1:49.52.

Wu then collected his second NCS title in the 100 fly at 48.64. In prelims, Wu hit the wall at 47.83, within less than a second off Maxime Rooney’s 2016 NCS record of 47.17.

Following up to his 3rd-place 200 IM finish (1:50.51), Clayton Valley Diego Castaneda won the 100 back final at 48.47. After leading off a quick 22.35 50 back on the winning 200 medley relay (1:32.89) for American HS, senior Edward Huang placed second to Castaneda with a sub-49 effort of 48.70.

Coming off his second-place 200 free finish, Northgate senior Mason Wendler earned his own NCS title in the 100 free final, touching in at 44.73. Terra Linda junior Ben Butler was runner-up at 45.37, who was also third place in the 200 free final (1:38.53).

Wendler also led off Northgate’s winning 400 free relay in 44.75, aiding their finals winning time of 3:04.48. Touching 3.26s later for runner-up position was American HS (3:07.74). Out of the B-final, Songrui Wu led off Dougherty Valley’s 10th-place relay in 44.63 after swimming 44.23 in prelims. Both of Wu’s relay lead-off times could have won the individual 100 free final.

Notably from prelims, Luka Mijatovic swam a flat start 100 free personal best at 44.81, his first time under 45 seconds. In the same manner, Wendler threw down a flying 44.10 anchor leg, the overall fastest 100 free split across prelims and finals.