SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Freshman Lilla Kapinya made her prep debut with first-place finishes in the varsity 200-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke while also taking part in two winning relays, leading St. Francis to a 135-47 win over Pleasant Grove in a Delta League swimming dual meet at Jesuit High Wednesday.
Kapinya captured the 200 free with a winning time of two minutes, 4.74 seconds; the added the 100 back victory with a 1:04.40 clocking. She was one of three Troubadours to post two varsity wins, along with Marissa Recio and Ashlyn Brock. Recio, also making her season debut after sitting out last week's double dual with Elk Grove and Franklin, claimed the 200 individual medley at 2:14.31 then captured the 100 butterfly with a 1:01.54. Meanwhile, Brock won both sprint freestyle events for the second straight meet: 26.47 in the 50, 58.24 in the 100.
St. Francis also swept the top three places in the 100 fly and 500 free. Recio was followed by Makenna Frederiksen (1:02.93) and Megan Gawlick (1:06.42) in the fly. Gawlick captured the 500 at 5:33.14, well ahead of teammates Lexie DeAngelis (5:43.40) and Ash Benavidez (5:50.68).
The Troubies effectively scored 1-2-3 trifectas in the 50 free, with Ella Ching touching home in 26.59 in an exhibition appearance. That time would have finished just behind Brock and ahead of Gabriella McHugh (26.92) for the top three places. Soon after, Mia Hill swam a 55.72 in exhibition in the 100 free, which would have bested Brock by almost three full seconds and formed another 1-2-3 finish along with McHugh's 1:00.15.
The foursome of Kapinya, Hill, Frederiksen and Brock also won the 200 medley relay (1:55.65). DeAngelis, McHugh, Ching and Brock combined for a 1:45.67 in the 200 free relay, almost six seconds ahead of PG. Finally, Kapinya, Recio, Hill and Landen Didriksen dominated the 400 free relay to end the meet with a 3:50.55.
Mikayla Magri led the Troubie jayvees with wins in the 200 IM (2:26.79) and 100 breast (1:10.67) plus her contributions in the first-place 200 medley and 400 free relays. In fact, St. Francis won every JV race but one, often unopposed. Juliet Shah (200 free), Elyse Pometta (50 free) and Milena Bonnici (100 back) joined Magri as JV winners.
St. Francis returns to action in a rare non-league dual, traveling to Carondelet on Friday. The meet is part of a larger all-Catholic matchup as Jesuit and host De La Salle square off for the boys' competition. This is also the third straight year that Troubie head coach Brian Nabeta and Cougar head coach Roque Santos go head to head. The two mentors were teammates at Cal in the late 1980s.
SWIMMING: ST. FRANCIS 135, PLEASANT GROVE 47
Jesuit High School (Sacramento, Calif.)
Girls events only • Winners plus SF finishers listed
GIRLS' JV 200 MEDLEY RELAY - 1. St. Francis 'A' (Haag, Magri, Charles, Shah), 2:04.66... 2. St. Francis 'B' (Bonnici, Hamilton, Hollar, Little), 2:10.16.
GIRLS' VARSITY 200 MEDLEY RELAY - 1. St. Francis 'A' (Kapinya, Hill, Frederiksen, Brock), 1:55.65... 2. St. Francis 'B' (Brostrom, Didriksen, Recio, Ching), 1:59.33.
GIRLS' JV 200 FREE - 1. Juliet Shah, SF, 2:26.98... 2. Kaylin Amiri, 2:35.86; 3. Mia Hollar, 2:36.12.
GIRLS' VARSITY 200 FREE - 1. Lilla Kapinya, SF, 2:04.74.. 3. Ash Benavidez, 2:10.80; 4. Piper Brostrom, 2:12.04.
GIRLS' JV 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY - 1. Mikayla Magri, SF, 2:26.79... 2. Olivia Charles, 2:32.86; 3. Savannah Hamilton, 2:38.53.
GIRLS' VARSITY 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY - 1. Marissa Recio, SF, 2:14.31... 2. Landen Didriksen, 2:18.71; 3. Lexie DeAngelis, 2:24.29.
GIRLS' JV 50 FREE - 1. Elyse Pometta, SF, 28.33... 2. Rose Haag, 28.38; 3. Meredith Little, 30.44; 4. Della Smith, 30.92; 6. Frances Wells, 32.42; 10. Isabella Uribe, 37.89; 11. Elisa Gabrielli, 37.92; 12. Alizabeth Henley, 39.19.
GIRLS' VARSITY 50 FREE - 1. Ashlyn Brock, SF, 26.47... 2. Gabriella McHugh, 26.92; 4. Lydia Vlahos, 30.07; 7. Ella Ching, 26.59; 8. Erin Maeng, 28.99.
GIRLS' JV 100 BUTTERFLY - 1. Olivia Charles, SF, 1:11.66... 2. Milena Bonnici, 1:16.60.
GIRLS' VARSITY 100 BUTTERFLY - 1. Marissa Recio, SF, 1:01.54...2. Makenna Frederiksen, 1:02.93; 3. Megan Gawlick, 1:06.42.
GIRLS' JV 100 FREESTYLE - 1. Rylie Chavez, PG, 1:04.54... 2. Meredith Little, 1:07.65; 4. Della Smith, 1:08.84; 5. Frances Wells, 1:11.03; 7. Mia Hollar, 1:09.63; 8. Kaylin Amiri, 1:11.55; 10. Elisa Gabrielli, 1:23.48; 12. Isabella Uribe, 1:27.78; 13. Rose Haag, 1:03.14; 14. Alizabeth Henley, 1:27.16.
GIRLS' VARSITY 100 FREESTYLE - 1. Ashlyn Brock, SF, 58.24... 2. Gabriella McHugh, 1:00.15; 4. Erin Maeng, 1:05.93; 7. Mia Hill, 55.72; 8. Ella Ching, 58.61.
GIRLS' VARSITY 500 FREESTYLE - 1. Megan Gawlick, SF, 5:33.14... 2. Lexie DeAngelis, 5:43.40; 3. Ash Benavidez, 5:50.68.
GIRLS' JV 200 FREE RELAY - 1. St. Francis 'A' (Charles, Bonnici, Shah, Pometta), 1:55.73... 4. St. Francis 'B' (Uribe, Gabrielli, Amiri, Little), 2:21.07.
GIRLS' VARSITY 200 FREE RELAY - 1. St. Francis 'A' (DeAngelis, McHugh, Ching, Brock), 1:45.67; 3. St. Francis 'B' (Gawlick, Brostrom, Benavidez, Vlahos), 1:52.78.
GIRLS' JV 100 BACKSTROKE - 1 Milena Bonnici, SF, 1:11.80... 2. Elyse Pometta, 1:15.49; 3. Juliet Shah, 1:16.21
GIRLS' VARSITY 100 BACKSTROKE - 1. Lilla Kapinya, SF, 1:04.40... 3. Piper Brostrom, 1:09.92; 4. Lydia Vlahos, 1:17.56.
GIRLS' JV 100 BREASTSTROKE - 1. Mikayla Magri, SF, 1:10.67... 2. Savannah Hamilton, 1:20.94; 5. Elisa Gabrielli, 1:40.11.
GIRLS' VARSITY 100 BREASTSTROKE - 1. Katelinh Le, PG, 1:09.95... 2. Makenna Frederiksen, 1:11.57; 3. Landen Didriksen, 1:12.03; 4. Mia Hill, 1:12.35.
GIRLS' JV 400 FREE RELAY - 1. St. Francis 'A' (Magri, Hamilton, Hollar, Haag), 4:17.03.
GIRLS' VARSITY 400 FREE RELAY - 1. St. Francis 'A' (Kapinya, Recio, Hill, Didriksen), 3:50.55.
