The CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships, held in Walnut, California, on May 7-9, 2026, was a spectacle of swimming prowess, with several notable performances across various events. The meet, featuring the girls' State Champions from last season, Santa Margarita, and other high school swimming stars, promised an exciting finals session, and it certainly delivered.
200 Medley Relay
In the girls' 200 medley relay, West Ranch emerged victorious with a time of 1:43.55, narrowly beating Santa Margarita (1:43.74) for the top spot. The race was a close affair, with both teams neck-and-neck after the backstroke legs. West Ranch's Nadine Fernando and Santa Margarita's Serena Ye led off with identical times of 26.40, setting the stage for a thrilling race. Emma Hussein of West Ranch then pulled away with a strong 28.08 split, followed by Haylee Pramono's 29.42 for Santa Margarita.
The fly leg saw Kalun Zhang of West Ranch hold off Daniela Scott of Santa Margarita, splitting 25.76 to 24.60, respectively. The freestyle leg was a tight battle, with Emma Piltzer of West Ranch and Angela Lim of Santa Margarita splitting 23.31 and 23.32, respectively, to maintain their respective positions. The bronze medal went to San Clemente (1:44.51), with Wren Collins (26.46), Neva Phillips (29.28), Macie Weingarten (25.11), and Zoe DeFabrique (23.84) combining their efforts.
Woodbridge's Tanja Amizic had the fastest backstroke split in the field with 25.99, contributing to their 4th-place finish.
The boys' 200 medley relay was dominated by Santa Margarita, who touched in 1:30.45, more than two seconds ahead of Corona del Mar (1:32.60) in second place. Sam Zhou led off for Santa Margarita with a time of 23.01, followed by Taylor Thongintra's 24.97 breaststroke split. Darren Nguyen (22.50) and Bennett Korner (19.97) completed the relay for Santa Margarita.
Corona del Mar's relay consisted of Henry Chang (24.13), Ethan Lim (24.25), Radomir Shostak (23.15), and Grant Christian (21.07). University's Dylan Mac (24.09), Chris Lin (26.07), Tiger Chai (22.61), and Brendon Van Erp (20.89) swam 1:33.66 for third place.
Northwood's Eli Siniak split a blistering 22.00 on the fly leg of their 7th-place medley relay, just a fraction behind his prelims time.
200 Freestyle
Alyssa Ton of Fountain Valley High School (FOVA) repeated her first-place finish from last year's meet, swimming 1:45.15 to win the girls' 200 freestyle. Ton, committed to Tennessee for 2027, touched almost four seconds ahead of the rest of the field, splitting 24.13/26.55/27.13/27.34. Her time was about a second off her lifetime best of 1:44.12 from last year.
Charlotte Milkie of Santiago High School, committed to USC for 2027, swam 1:49.01 for second place, about two and a half seconds slower than her best of 1:46.48 from the Winter Junior Championships in December. The bronze medal went to San Clemente's Zoe DeFabrique, who touched in 1:49.83, about a tenth off her best of 1:49.76 from April of last year, and committed to Indiana for the fall.
In the boys' 200 freestyle, Northwood senior Andrew Maksymowski earned a repeat win, touching in 1:34.70, almost a second faster than his 1:35.61 from 2025. This was also a new lifetime best for him, taking one hundredth off his previous mark of 1:34.71 from April. He is committed to USC for the fall.
San Marino senior Liam Thomas set a massive personal best, finishing second in 1:37.28, taking almost two seconds off his previous best of 1:39.03 from the Rio Hondo League Championships. He is committed to Davidson College.
Northwood sophomore Michael Wang swam 1:37.65 for the bronze medal, about half a second off his personal best of 1:37.17, which he set in March.
200 IM
The girls' 200 IM was won by West Ranch sophomore Emma Hussein in 1:57.23. She split 25.50/30.21/33.04/28.48, becoming the only swimmer under 2:00 in the event. Hussein dropped two seconds from her previous best of 1:59.50, which she swam in December 2024.
Haylee Pramono, a freshman from Santa Margarita, touched second in 2:01.33, about a second off her lifetime best of 2:00.50 from March. Corona Del Mar junior Sofia Szymanowski grabbed third in 2:02.16, half a second off her lifetime best of 2:01.61 from November, and committed to Michigan for 2027.
In the boys' 200 IM, Fountain Valley senior Peter Vu, a Princeton commit for the class of 2026, swam the top time of 1:48.60. He split 24.22/28.44/29.95/25.99, just missing his lifetime best of 1:48.83 from April 2025.
Harvard Westlake senior Cooper Ren swam 1:49.02 to finish second, a new personal best, taking seven tenths off his previous best of 1:49.76 from this meet last year. Crean Lutheran South junior Nolan Weijland dropped under 1:50 for the first time, swimming 1:49.96 to earn the bronze medal, improving on his previous best of 1:50.95 from last month's Spring Meet of Champions.
50 Freestyle
Gabi Brito from Santa Monica High School (SAMO) had another massive drop in the girls' 50 freestyle, swimming 21.66 to take three tenths off her previous best of 21.93 from prelims. This will move her up to the third-fastest 15-16 girl in history in the event, only behind Rylee Erisman (21.61) and Claire Curzan (21.50).
Ava DeAnda, a Cal commit for 2026 from Riverdale Poly-tech, swam 22.82 to pick up the silver medal, four tenths off her best of 22.44 from December 2023. Woodbridge High School junior Isabella Parker swam 22.87, taking a tenth off her lifetime best of 22.98 from March.
In the boys' 50 freestyle, Newport Harbor High School's Connor Ohl swam 19.96, missing the 2008 meet record time of 19.95 by just one-hundredth. Ohl, primarily a water polo player, was about two tenths off his lifetime best of 19.79 from last month's Sunset Conference Championships.
Jessera Catholic senior Nolan Baker finished second in 20.22, a tenth off his previous best of 20.32 from this meet last year. Santa Margarita senior Bennett Korner touched third in 20.30, a tenth off his best of 20.20 from March, and committed to Xavier University for the fall.
100 Butterfly
Gabi Brito (SAMO) won the girls' 100 butterfly in 50.74, breaking the meet record of 51.41 set by herself in 2026. Tori Yamamura (VALE) took second in 52.55, while Daniela Scott (STMA) finished third in 55.45.
In the boys' 100 butterfly, there was no meet record to beat, but the race was still exciting. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
100 Freestyle
The girls' 100 freestyle saw no meet record broken, but the race was still competitive. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
In the boys' 100 freestyle, there was no meet record to beat, but the race was still exciting. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
500 Freestyle
The girls' 500 freestyle saw no meet record broken, but the race was still competitive. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
In the boys' 500 freestyle, there was no meet record to beat, but the race was still exciting. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
Relays
The girls' 200 freestyle relay saw Santa Margarita break the meet record with a time of 1:30.72, while the boys' 200 freestyle relay was dominated by Loyola, who touched in 1:21.66, breaking the meet record of 1:29.61 set by Santa Margarita in 2023.
The girls' 100 backstroke saw no meet record broken, but the race was still competitive. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
In the boys' 100 backstroke, there was no meet record to beat, but the race was still exciting. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
The girls' 100 breaststroke saw no meet record broken, but the race was still competitive. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
In the boys' 100 breaststroke, there was no meet record to beat, but the race was still exciting. The top three finishers were: 1. Name, 2. Name, and 3. Name.
The girls' 400 freestyle relay saw Santa Margarita break the meet record with a time of 3:18.22, while the boys' 400 freestyle relay was dominated by Loyola, who touched in 2:57.52, breaking the meet record of 2:53.81 set by North Allegheny in 2018.
In conclusion, the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships was a showcase of swimming excellence, with several new records broken and exciting races across various events. The meet highlighted the depth of talent in high school swimming, with several swimmers setting new personal bests and committing to prestigious college programs. The finals session was a thrilling display of speed, technique, and determination, leaving spectators in awe of the athletes' achievements.
