ELK GROVE, Calif. – Senior Ava Chavez and sophomore Erica Jaffe each won two individual events and joined forces as part of a first-place 200-yard freestyle relay, leading St. Francis on the first day of action at the Sac-Joaquin Section swimming championships, hosted at the relatively new Elk Grove Aquatics Center Wednesday.

Additionally, Chavez set a school record with her win in the 100-yard butterfly. She swam the race in 53.38 seconds, more than a full second faster than the nearest competitor, Whitney's Jada Duncan (55.01), and two thirds of a second better than her old school mark of 54.24, set at the Delta League championships two weeks ago.

Prior to the 100 fly win, the Chavez dominated the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:48.35, missing her own school record by 0.33. The future Cal Golden Bear will enter Friday as the top seed to defend her championship, with Davis' Ava Portello (1:51.62), Del Oro's Chloe Eyrich (1:51.79) and Nevada Union's Elsie Luisetti (1:54.03) as the nearest competitors in the prelim round.

Then shortly after her 100 fly record, Chavez joined Jaffe, Maddy Ching and LK Holliday to compile a 1:37.36 in the 200 free relay. Holliday battled Oak Ridge's Phoebe Yoder for the anchor leg, with Holliday hitting the finish pad 0.28 faster. Davis won Heat 1 with 1:38.39 to take the third seed into Friday's final.

Meanwhile, Jaffe posted the top time in each of the 200 individual medley (2:05.06) and 100 backstroke (55.41). She is one of three Troubies to advance to Friday's championship final in the IM, with Grace Mering (2:06.90) and Marissa Recio (2:11.24) finishing third and eighth, respectively. Then Jaffe's backstroke win led a 1-2 St. Francis exacta at the top of the standings: Mering swam a 57.99, well ahead of third-place Sara Kos of Davis (58.84). Senior and future CSU Pueblo swimmer Greta Laborde Lagrave grabbed the eighth spot in Friday's final thanks to her 1:01.81 in the prelim.

Chavez' win in the 100 fly leads two Troubies in the championship final and four in scoring position. Ching placed seventh at 57.19, while Jordyn Larson (10th, 58.33) and Makenna Frederiksen (15th, 1:00.24) picked up second swims as well. 

Holliday and Maddy Ching snared the final two places in the 50 free final by finishing seventh (25.05) and eighth (25.14), respectively. Coincidentally, both swimmers are headed to UC Davis in the fall, although only the elder Ching for swimming – Holliday signed with the Aggie equestrian team.

St. Francis will score points from up to four competitors in the 500 free, with Marissa Recio (5:07.88), Jordyn Larson (5:11.47), Megan Gawlick (5:20.98) and Teaghan Brostrom (5:24.38) seeded 9-10-13-16 in Friday's consols. Similarly, Frederiksen, Mia Hill, and Gabriella Ching finished 14th through 16th in the 100 breaststroke to vie for consolation final points.

Finally, the Troubies are in position for big points in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, having finished second in each during Wednesday's prelims. Mering, Frederiksen, Larson and Holliday easily won the medley relay Heat 2 with a 1:48.89, behind only Davis (1:45.30). Jaffe, Maddy Ching, Mering and Chavez went 3:31.83 in the long free relay, also second only to Davis (3:30.07).

The CIF-SJS championship will also include the 1-meter diving competition, which ran at St. Mary's High last Friday. Junior Sinclair Yadao finished fifth with 373.80 points, while sophomore Paige Vicente followed in eighth with 345.45. Those two provided SF with 25 team points before Wednesday's session began in Elk Grove.

The section finals run on Friday, also at the Elk Grove Aquatics Center. The top three varsity finishers, plus any swimmer hitting the automatic qualifying standard, will earn a trip to the CIF state meet in Clovis on May 12 and 13.

2023 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Elk Grove Aquatics Center (Elk Grove, Calif.)
Girls events only • Winners plus SFHS finishers listed • All events were preliminaries

200 MEDLEY RELAY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Granite Bay, 1:53.47... 10. St. Francis (Schmid, DeAngelis, Slaughter, Bonnici), 2:01.93.

200 MEDLEY RELAY VARSITY - 1. Davis (Kos, Bennetts, Leacox, Biello), 1:45.30... 2. St. Francis (Mering, Frederiksen, Larson, Holliday), 1:48.89.

200 FREESTYLE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Brianna Gough, River City, 1:55.66... 3. Isabelle Schmid, 1:59.24.

200 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1.  Ava Chavez, St. Francis, 1:48.35... 23. Megan Gawlick, 2:00.50; 27. Teaghan Brostrom, 2:03.17.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Jesse Carter, Twin Bridges, 2:09.01... 14. Alexis DeAngelis, 2:27.91.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY VARSITY - 1. Erica Jaffe, St. Francis, 2:05.06... 3. Grace Mering, 2:06.90; 8. Marissa Recio, 2:11.24.

50 FREESTYLE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Illiana Foth, Christian Brothers, 24.82... 18. Gabriella McHugh, 27.02.

50 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Jada Duncan, Whitney, 23.51... 7. LK Holliday, 25.05; 8. Maddy Ching, 25.14; 17. Bianca Ignacio, 25.89.

100 BUTTERFLY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Kaylee Mathiesen, West Park, 57.63.

100 BUTTERFLY VARSITY - 1. Ava Chavez, St. Francis, 53.58... 7. Maddy Ching, 57.19; 10. Jordyn Larson, 58.33; 15. Makenna Frederiksen, 1:00.24.

100 FREESTYLE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Sophia Love, Rocklin, 54.52.

100 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Sarah Bennetts, Davis, 50.36... 10. Mia Hill, 54.12; 21. Greta Laborde Lagrave, 55.92; 22. LK Holliday, 55.98.

500 FREESTYLE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Maggie Clemens, Folsom, 5:16.14... 17. Piper Brostrom, 5:43.18; 23. Abigail Benavidez, 5:52.49.

500 FREESTYLE  VARSITY - 1. Chloe Eyrich, Del Oro, 4:56.65... 9. Marissa Recio, 5:07.88; 10. Jordyn Larson, 5:11.47; 13. Megan Gawlick, 5:20.98; 16. Teaghan Brostrom, 5:24.38.

200 FREE RELAY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Christian Brothers (Esperas, Lukins, Potter, Foth), 1:43.52... 9. St. Francis (McHugh, Bonnici, Slaughter, Benavidez), 1:49.05

200 FREE RELAY VARSITY - 1. St. Francis (Chavez, Jaffe, M. Ching, Holliday), 1:37.36.

100 BACKSTROKE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Jessynta Taylor, Bear River, 1:00.17... 4. Isabelle Schmid, 1:01.47; 14. Myra Slaughter, 1:06.25; 21. Piper Brostrom, 1:07.69; 27. Milena Bonnici, 1:09.21.

100 BACKSTROKE VARSITY - 1. Erica Jaffe, St. Francis, 55.41... 2. Grace Mering, 57.99; 8. Greta Laborde Lagrave, 1:01.81; 14. Bianca Ignacio, 1:02.61

100 BREASTSTROKE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Illiana Foth, Christian Brothers, 1:07.29... 14. Alexis DeAngelis, 1:13.86.

100 BREASTSTROKE VARSITY - 1. Sarah Bennetts, Davis, 1:02.51... 14. Makenna Frederiksen, 1:08.49, 15. Mia Hill, 1:08.85; 16. Gabrielle Ching, 1:09.01; 26. Rachael Madden, 1:12.33.

400 FREE RELAY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Rocklin (Jackson, Reynolds, Love, Jantz), 3:49.37... St. Francis, DQ.

400 FREE RELAY VARSITY - 1. Davis (Bennetts, Biello, Kos, Portello), 3:30.07... 2. St. Francis (Jaffe, M. Ching, Mering, Chavez), 3:31.83.