Tara Khaleghian
Staff Writer
This year, Swim Bay League Finals were held at Santa Monica High School on April 26. Nine Bay League and Costa records were broken and Costa won 36 out of the 42 total events in the competition. The boys and girls 100 Fly Varsity, 100 Breast Varsity, and 200 Medley Varsity Relays were broken. The boys’ 50 Fly/Breast JV, 400 Free girls’ Varsity, and 200 Free JV bay league records were also broken.
Junior Delaney Herr, broke the Bay League and Costa Record for the 100 Fly with a time of 54.27. Herr also broke the 200 Group Medley Relay Costa and Bay League record with teammates Bella Brito, Andi Taylor, and Shea Steggell with a time of 1.43.62. “Lots of work went into the successful outcome of this swim season” says Herr, “ A lot of us had to juggle school work, Club Swimming or Club Water Polo, and High School Swimming, so it was nice to see all of our hard work pay off.”
Sophomore Peyton Kuo broke the 100 Fly record for both Costa and Bay League with a time of 50.28. Kuo also broke the boys’ 200 Group Medley Relay with Luka Van Dijk, Anderson Bennett, and Josh Troung with a time of 1.34.21.
“This is only my second year at Costa but I believe that our legacy is due to the fact that we have an amazing coaching staff,” Kuo says. “I firmly believe that it’s possible that we will break numerous more records, and maybe win CIF one year.”
Following the Bay League Finals, Costa Swim made it to the CIF Finals, which was hosted at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA on May 4th. Herr won first place in the 100 back and Brito broke her own record for the fourth time with a time of 2.01.77 in the 200 IM. The Girls’ 200 Medley team also won 2nd place in CIF, while the Boys 400 free relay team set a school record.
“I was pretty happy with my performance at CIF finals because I had really wanted to take first place in the 100 Backstroke going into it, and I did,” Herr said. “Additionally, our girls team placed 2nd overall which was super exciting.”
Costa Swim had a three-peat in Bay League and the girls ended up winning 2nd place at CIF, while the boys team placed 11th, the best D1 finish in Costa boys swimming history.
“I am so proud of everything this team has accomplished this year. As a senior and 3-year captain, it has been so amazing to watch everyone grow, both as athletes and as people. This year was probably the best season we have had in my time at costa. We have all worked so hard to get faster and it has definitely payed off; we spent countless hours in the pool, both after school and before school. It took a lot of effort, but it was worth it! All four of our teams won at the South Bay Invite and Bay League Championships, and so many of our school and league records have been shattered. I am especially proud of our girls Varsity team because we got 2nd overall at CIF! My relays with Bella, Andi, Delaney, and Heather were so special to me, and swimming with them has been the most amazing experience. Together, we broke records in the 200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 freestyle relay. Ending my high school career with such a huge accomplishment is something that I will never forget, and I am so grateful for my teammates, as well as Coach Nelson and Coach Silva. I will miss my teammates next year, but I am so excited to see what else they can accomplish.”
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