ELK GROVE, Calif. – Junior Erica Jaffe and senior Grace Mering finished 1-2 in the girls' varsity 100-yard backstroke, Mering won the 200 individual medley, and that tandem joined junior Mia Hill and freshman Lilla Kapinya in the winning 200 medley relay, leading St. Francis to the Division II title at the Sac-Joaquin Section swimming championships, held at the Elk Grove Aquatics Center Friday.
The Troubadours scored 286 in the Division II scoring race, well ahead of second-place Granite Bay (177) and Del Oro (157). Davis, the Division I champ, was also the overall leading scorer with 321 points. The team scoring includes the 1-meter diving competition held on April 23 at St. Mary's High School.
Mering, Hill, Jaffe and Kapinya compiled a winning time of one minute, 45.53 seconds, just .03 off of the school record, to beat the Blue Devils by more than one full second. Mering went 26.68 in her backstroke start, Hill split 30.23 in the breaststroke leg, Jaffe finished the butterfly portion in 25.38, then Kapinya came home in 23.24 for the freestyle anchor leg.
Mering won the first individual championship of the day, edging Davis junior Ella Ackerman by the slimmest 2:04.21 to 2:04.22 margin in the IM. The Troubies had four total people in that event, with Hill placing eighth (2:12.84), Marissa Recio 12th (2:12.16) and Landen Didriksen 15th (2:14.77) for 38 points toward their team total.
Jaffe and Mering later placed in a 1-2 exacta atop the 100 back leaderboard with times of 56.62 and 56.97, respectively. That event represented 50 of St. Francis' points, with junior Isabelle Schmid placing seventh (59.68) and junior Lexie DeAngelis nabbing 16th (1:01.70)
Jaffe, Mering, Schmid and junior Mia Hill nearly snared a fourth SF section title in the meet finale, the 400 freestyle relay. The Troubies led for the majority of the race, and even held a 3:02.08 to 3:03.33 lead going into the final 50 yards. But Davis' Ava Portello swam a torrid 49.96 split for the final 100 to catch Hill in the final stretch. As it is, St. Francis finished second for 34 more points with a 3:29.65, just behind the Blue Devils' 3:29.23.
Another highlight belonged to the freshman Kapinya, who finished third in the 50 free with a 23.98. She joins Ava Chavez (now of Cal) and Alex Rieger (Georgia Tech) among Troubies to break the 24-second mark in the event. Kapinya subsequently won the 100 free consolation final (52.95), with Jaffe adding a fourth (51.59) in the championship.
The top three finishers in individual and relay swimming events, plus the top four in diving, earn berths at the CIF State Championships, held at Clovis West's Clovis Olympic Swim Complex on May 9-11.
2024 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Elk Grove Aquatics Center (Elk Grove, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed • All events are finals
GIRLS' 200 MEDLEY RELAY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Christian Brothers (Esperas, Foth, Reyes, Lukins), 1:51.10... 8. St. Francis (Bonnici, Magri, Pometta, Shah), 1:59.32.
GIRLS' 200 MEDLEY RELAY VARSITY - 1. St. Francis (Mering, Hill, Jaffe, Kapinya), 1:45.53.
GIRLS' 200 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Kaydence Bispo, 1:49.77... 12. Isabella Schmid, 1:56.02.
GIRLS' 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY VARSITY - 1. Grace Mering, St. Francis, 2:04.21... 8. Mia Hill, 2:12.84; 12. Marissa Recio, 2:12.16; 14. Landen Didriksen, 2:14.77.
GIRLS' 50 FREESTYLE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Mac Wheeler, Lincoln (Stockton), 24.63... 15. Gabriella McHugh, 26.67.
GIRLS' 50 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Jada Duncan, Whitney, 22.64... 3. Lilla Kapinya, 23.98.
GIRLS ' 100 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Kaydence Bispo, St. Mary's, 49.78... 2. Erica Jaffe, 51.59; 9. Lilla Kapinya, 52.95.
GIRLS' 500 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Ava Portello, Davis, 4:53.89... 12. Marissa Recio, 5:11.79; 15. Megan Gawlick, 5:19.41.
GIRLS' 200 FREE RELAY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Pioneer (Ma. Terry, Huxsoli, Starkovich, Mo. Terry), 1:44.01... 6. St. Francis (McHugh, Shah, Hamilton, Pometta), 1:47.85.
GIRLS' 200 FREE RELAY VARSITY - 1. Davis (Menna, Mann, Ackerman, Portello), 1:36.13... 4. St. Francis (Kapinya, Schmid, Brock, Recio), 1:38.95.
GIRLS' 100 BACKSTROKE VARSITY - 1. Erica Jaffe, St. Francis, 56.62... 2. Grace Mering, 56.97; 5. Isabelle Schmid, 59.68; 16. Lexie DeAngelis, 1:01.70.
GIRLS' 100 BREASTROKE FROSH/SOPH - 1. Illiana Foth, Christian Brothers, 1:05.43... 5. Mikayla Magri, 1:09.29.
GIRLS' 100 BREASTSTROKE VARSITY - 1. Rebecca Welch, Lodi, 1:03.25... 12. Mia Hill, 1:08.10; 13. Makenna Frederiksen, 1:08.22; 15. Landen Didriksen, 1:09.13.
GIRLS' 400 FREE RELAY FROSH/SOPH - 1. Rio Americano (Roseberry, Schaedler, Somers, Tiska), 3:40.44... 12. St. Francis (McHugh, Shah, Hamilton, Pometta), 4:02.15.
GIRLS' 400 FREE RELAY VARSITY - 1. Davis (Biello, Valle, Hadani, Portello), 3:29.23... 2. St. Francis (Jaffe, Schmid, Mering, Hill), 3:29.65.
