Girls Win 9th League Title in a row, Boys get back on Track with a League Championship

The Palo Alto Viking Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving team went to Saratoga High School this week with one thing in mind, win the League Championship. For the girls the quest was to keep a streak alive. For the boys the idea was to get back on the winning track. They had won 5 in a row before they were upended last year, in a tough meet where a Disqualified relay cost the boys the chance to continue their streak.

The Lady Vikings swam a fantastic meet and extended their League Championship Title streak to 9 in a row. The meet began on Wednesday with the preliminary swims for the meet. Every Lady Viking came back to swim on the second day for finals. When it came time to score points and swim on Finals day the girls were ready to go. They got the meet off to a strong start with a victory in the 200 Medley Relay. Sabrina Lee, Laura Cui, Margaret Wenzlau and Jayna Wittenbrink led the entire way and coasted to victory in a time of 1:48.80. The girls then started off with a bang on the first two individual events. In the 200 Freestyle Jasmine Tosky won with a time 1:45.98 setting a record she herself set last year. Also helping in that event were Kimberly Hallsted placing 8th with a time of 2:00.64, Jayna Wittenbrink swam a great 2nd day race winning the consolation heat in a time of 1:58.62, and finishing in 10th was Rachelle Holmgren with a time of 2:00.55.

Sarah Liang then came back in the next event and took first place in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.82. Molly Zebker placed 2nd with a time of 2:10.45 while Laura Cui placed 4th with a time of 2:16.51. Maddie Berger won the Consolation heat with a time of 2:20.29. In the 50 Freestyle Margaret Wenzlau paced the Vikings with a time of 24.79 placing 3rd while Jennifer Chang swam a season best time of 25.42. Also pitching in for valuable points were Alex Lin with an 11th place finish in a time of 26.63 and Kristina Xiang who placed 12th with a time of 26.77.

In a post earlier this week the diving was won by Gracie Greenwood. With Emma Miller taking 3rd and Sophomores Serena Yee and Nadya Nee placing 5th and 6th respectively.

Following the diving break the girls really got going with a 1,2,3 finish in the 100 Butterfly. Margaret Wenzlau paced the field winning with a time of 57.32. Jayna Wittenbrink came in second with a time of 58.69 and Molly Zebker placed 3rd with a time of 58.85. Helping to show Paly's strength in this event Paige Deving placed 5th with a time of 1:02.57. In the 100 Freestyle Sabrina Lee paced the Vikings by placing 5th with a time of 53.20. Jennifer Chang continued her strong swimming for the day with a 6th place time of 55.60. Anna Glaves placed 8th with a time of 56.85. Kristina Xiang placed tenth with a strong swim of 58.04.

In the 500 Freestyle the girls were well represented and had some great swims. Jasmine Tosky came within .19 seconds of setting a second record for the day. She swam a time of 4:46.18. This time was only 3 seconds off her record setting performance in the same event at CCS two years ago. Kimberley Hallsted placed 3rd as she continued her fine swimming with a time of 5:17.47 and Rachelle Holmgren placed a strong 5th with a time of 5:23.68. Caroline Moeser pitched in with a fine effort and placed 12th with a time of 5:38.82.

The 200 Freestyle Relay was an exciting race!! Sarah Liang, Jennifer Chang, Molly Zebker and Tosky swam to victory with a time of 1:38.74. Gunn put in a strong effort and lead going into the last swimmer. But Tosky erased any hopes of an upset as she gained valuable distance on her dive and passed the lead swimmer and brought home the victory for the Vikings.

Sabrina Lee paced the Backstrokers with a victory time of 57.54. She swam a strong race and led from start to finish. Megan Okada placed 6th with a time of 1:02.96 and Paige Devine came in 8th with a time of 1:03.51. Helping to round out the event Skylar Dorosin placed 13th with a time of 1:05.73. Leading the way for the girls in the 100 Breaststroke was Laura Cui who placed 3rd with her best time of the year at 1:08.15. Also placing in the top 8 and swimming strong were Maddie Berger with a time of 1:12.17 and Karina Goot with a time of 1:13.33.

While by the time of the 400 Freestyle Relay came around the girls were well in front, they showed the strength and pride that is Palo Alto swimming with probably one of the most exciting races of the day. Sarah Liang, Margaret Wenzlau, Sabrina Lee and Jasmine Tosky fought a great battle and came from behind to beat Gunn for the Victory and a sweep of the Relays. With Gunn's two best swimmers leading off the relay the Vikings found themselves almost a pool length behind going into the 3rd swimmer. Sabrina Lee began the process of the comeback by reeling in the other 3rd swimmer. She made up 1.5 seconds and brought the lead team within striking distance for the anchor swimmer. Gaining valuable ground on the start alone Tosky took off and began to chase down Gunn's last swimmer. Making up valuable ground with her swimming and each turn, Tosky finally caught the lead swimmer and passed her with still a 12 yards to go. It was a great win and showed how strong and focused the girls were on capturing their 9th Title in a row!!!!

The boys had a bit of a tougher go of it. But when all was said and done, they swam how they needed to and brought home a League Championship they feel they never should have let go of. The meets tone was set right away in the first event for the boys. The Medley Relay was separated by just 4/100's of a second. William Lee, Byron Sanborn, DJ Fotsch and Andrew Liang put up a valiant fight and just came up short placing 2nd with a time of 1:37.39.

In the next event the boys were paced by Andrew Liang who swam to a second place finish in a strong time of 1:43.38. Placing 5th was Eren Kiris with a time of 1:48.69 and also scoring in the top 8 with a 7th place finish was Corso Rosati who swam a time of 1:51.34. Pitching in with a strong effort and very helpful points was Ken Wattana with a time of 1:52.09. For the IM Byron Sanborn swam a strong race and placed first with a time of 1:53.05. Another great swim was William Lee who placed 3rd with a time of 1:56.96. Charles Zhang dropped great time as he won the consolation heat in a time of 2:02.85. Other valuable points were pitched in by Xavier Mignot as he swam to 14th place swimming a time of 2:10.13. In the 50 Freestyle, Arseny Kotov placed 4th with a time of 22.41. Also pitching in were DJ Fotsch with a 14th place finish and a time of 23.64 and Youngkuk Lee with a 15th place finish and a time of 23.76.

Cole Plambeck won the diving while Jordan Zenger placed 2nd. Helping to give the Vikings valuable diving points were Alex Francis who placed 6th and Noam Hurwitz who placed 8th.

In the 100 Butterfly the boys were paced by Corso Rosati who swam a 55.00 time and placed 4th. DJ Fotsch placed 10th with a time of 56.00 and Bret Pinsker placed 13th with a time of 57.76. In the 100 Freestyle Rollin Lau swam a great time of 50.10 while placing 6th. Ken Wattana again swimming strong placed 14th with a time of 51.55. In the 500 Andrew Liang placed 3rd with a sizzling 4:43.68, while Connor Fotsch placed 16th with a time of 5:13.35.

The boys 200 Freestyle Relay placed 3rd. Arseny Kotov, DJ Fotsch, Rollin Lau and William Lee swam a time of 1:30.10. The swim was their best time of the year and was anchored by Lee's fast split of 21.72.

In the 100 Backstroke Lee kept up his strong swimming with a time of 52.23. Alex Francis kept the back end strength of the meet going for the Vikings with a 4th place finish in 56.02. Eren Kiris placed 6th in a time of 56.21 and Arseny Kotov won the consolation heat with a 9th place finish in a time of 57.06. Probably the most exciting individual race of the day was saved for the last won. Byron Sanborn trailing in the first 3 laps finally caught the lead swimmer and passed him with only a few yards to go winning in a time of 58.39. Charles Zhang won the Consolation heat in a personal best time of 1:02.90. Rollin Lau swam a strong 1:03.48 to place 11th and Xavier Mignot improved on his personal best from the previous day by swimming a time of 1:04.24 and placing 3rd.

Heading into the final relay and final swim of the day the boys knew they had the meet sewed up. But they still put their best swim of the year together and came within a whisker of winning getting second place by a total of 3/10th's of a second. Eren Kiris, Arseny Kotov, Andrew Liang and Byron Sanborn all swam hard and great times as they finished off the day in style with some excitement. It was a great day for the boys as they took back their League Championship from defending champions Monta Vista. With a young team the Vikings are hoping to begin another streak to add to their league title total.

Now the focus turns to CCS where the girls focus will be to finally pass Mitty and take the CCS Championship while the boys are hoping to move up from their 6th place finish and place in the top 3. Come on out and support your Vikings on what will be an exciting day and a day that could create History!!!!

Paly Divers start of League Championship week with a bang!!!

The diving portion of the SCVAL League Championship Swimming Week got off to a great start for the Vikings. Gracie Greenwood and Cole Plambeck, for the second year in a row, brought home first place for Palo Alto. All 4 of the divers for both the boys and girls finished in the top 8 to give valuable points to the Palo Alto Swimming teams as they now prepare for the swimming portion of the meet.

Gracie Greenwood first place score was 424.60. She did an awesome job. She has been working on higher DD and getting ready for her senior year at CCS, she is looking good and is going to compete with the other top 3 girls. Emma Miller for Paly got 3rd with 339.85. She has improved from her level of a point getter at CCS last year and should do even better this year. Our two sophomores did quite well. Serena Yee got 6th with 289.35, and Nadya Nee got 283.65 and got 7th. Both of them have been working on new dives and have time to improve and could sneak in to the top 16 at CCS. The Varsity Girls did really well!!

For the boys it was a boost to get the scores we did and help with points in what is going to be a tight and exciting League meet. Cole Plambeck won with a score of 456.95. He did a great job and has improved quite a bit from his great freshman year. His score was a little better than last year at CCS but he to is working on new dives and hoping to score even higher. Jordan Zenger gave the team a big boost by getting second. His score of 353.40 was better than his score at CCS last year and he should be able to get top 8. Alex Francis helped out with a 6th place finish with a score of 276.10. Also better than his score at CCS and he should be able to improve on his finish at CCS from last year. Newcomer, even though he is a sophomore, was Noam Hurwitz. He got 8th place and with a little more seasoning will be a strong CCS point getter candidate for next year.

For the JV Girls 3 Freshman helped out the team with a strong finish of 4th, 5th and 6th. Emily Willick, new to the sport showed great improvement by scoring 176.05 in the 8 dive competition while finishing 4th. Tara Lawrence finished 5th with a score of 174.25. Phoebe So rounded out the day for the JV Lady Vikes with a score of 153.00. These young divers showed great poise and the future looks bright for the girls diving team.

For the JV boys. Newcomers to the sport Jonathan Kosaka and Alex Hammer helped their team with 2nd and 4th place finishes. Kosaka score 166.30 in the 8 dive competition for 2nd place. He has grown quite a bit and will be contributing for a while to the program. Alex Hammer, battling the flu, toughed it out and placed 4th with a score of 126.75. He to will be helping the Vikings in the near future with his diving abilities.

The divers got the Vikings off to a great start for League Week. The swimming contingent of the team is proud and thankful for their efforts and contributions. The week continues tomorrow with the girls prelims, and on Thursday with the boys prelims. Finals for both boys and girls are on Friday. Swimming starts at 2 pm and is being held at the Saratoga Aquatic Facility at Saratoga High School. Come out and cheer on your Vikings as the look to sweep the League Championships for all 4 divisions.

One more sweep for the Vikings helps the coach to 100!!

The Palo Alto Vikings swept Saratoga on Thursday at the Mackenzie Aquatic Center. The sweep helped both Lady Vikings teams finish a perfect season at 8-0, both boys teams finish at 7-1, and Coach Dye to earn his 100th victory as Palo Alto Head Coach.

When asked about his victory total Coach Dye remarked, "It means that I have been blessed enough to have some truly wonderful and gifted athletes come through here to swim for me. I never really thought about the total, but the credit goes to the athletes who have put in so much time and effort to make the program a success!"

The Varsity Lady Vikes had a great day in the pool. They won 11 of the 12 events on their way to a 134-51 victory. The girls got is started by winning the 200 Medley Relay. Sabrina Lee, Laura Cui, Margaret Wenzlau and Jasmine Tosky cruised to victory in a time of 1:53.30. Double winners for the Vikings included Jasmine Tosky and Sabrina Lee. Tosky won the 50 Free in a time of 24.15 and the 100 Butterfly in a time of 56.36. Lee won the 100 Freestyle in a time of 54.48 and the 100 Backstroke in a time of 59.38. Other winners included Rachelle Holmgren in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:01.68, Sarah Liang in the 200 IM with a time of 2:11.92 and Kimberly Hallsted in the 500 Freestyle with a personal best time of 5:15.53 and Laura Cui won the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:09.00. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Liang, Jayna Wittenbrink, Jennifer Chang and Molly Zebker brought home victory with a time of 1:42.93. The 400 Freestyle Relay of Liang, Lee, Wenzlau and Tosky finished the day with a time of 3:47.58. The girls had a great dual meet season and look forward to taking their momentum into the League Championship meet next week at Saratoga High School.

The Varsity Boys did a great job improving on the season to 7-1. This 105-78 point win puts them into position to try and recapture the League Championship by winning the League meet at Saratoga next week. The boys got some competition from Saratoga but were able to pull away with some key wins. The Vikings Andrew Liang won the 50 and 100 Freestyles with times of 22.23 and 49.15. Other winners for the Vikings included Willie Lee in the Backstroke with a time of 54.73 and Byron Sanborn in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:01.22. Cole Plambeck won the 6 dive portion of the meet. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Liang, Youngkuk Lee, DF Fotsch and Lee took first with a time of 1:31.75. The 400 Freestyle Relay of Rollin Lau, Eren Kiris, Andrew Liang and Byron Sanborn finished off the day with a win in a time of 3:17.90.

The JV Girls finished off a perfect dual meet season with a strong win 148-30. The Lady JV Vikes won all 12 events on their way to the victory. The 200 Medley Relay of Katrina Nguyen, Megan Brendenberg, Jessica Cox and Quitterie Collignon won in a time of 2:04.00. Double winners for the girls included Haley Mortenson in the 200 Free, 2:05.77, and the 100 Freestyle in a time of 58.31. Katrina Nguyen won the 50 Freestyle in a time of 26.92 and the 100 Backstroke in a new JV school record 1:03.78. Megan Brendanberg won the 100 IM, 1:06.77 and the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:12.80. Jessica Cox won the 50 Butterfly in a time of 31.08 and Quitterie Colignon won the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:44.40. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Colignon, Chelsea Chen, Isabel Seife and Mortenson won in a time of 1:53.79, and the 400 Freestyle Relay of Mortenson, Brendanberg, Cox and Nguyen finished off the day in a time of 4:03.37. They will look to take home another League Title next week at Saratoga.

The JV Boys finished off a 7-1 season with a nail biting 91-87 victory against Saratoga. It was a close meet but the boys hung tough and got the win. Winners for Vikings included Quinn Rockwell in the 50 Freestyle in a time of 24.08, Omri Newman in the 50 Butterfly with a time of 27.99, Ethan Look in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:26.55 and Jonathan Kosaka with a win in the diving. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Newman, Brian Berry, Will Mendenhall and Rockwell won with a time of 1:41.78 and the 400 Freestyle Relay of Newman, Josh Oh, Look and Rockwell sealed the victory with a win in the time of 3:42.88.

The dual meet season was fun and exciting. It set's up a great week of swimming at the League Championships next week at Saratoga. Come out and support your Vikings as they are on a quest to be the best in the SCVAL!!!

Vikings get back on the Winning track by sweeping Gunn

The Palo Alto Viking swim team got back to the team winning ways as the swept the cross town rival Gunn Titans. It was a brisk and windy day but that didn't stop the Vikings from heating up the pool. All 4 teams looked good and swam a great meet on their way to the sweep. The Vikings also helped Coach Dye collect his 97th and 98th career wins as a Viking coach. He will look to make it an even 100 next week against Saratoga.

The Varsity Lady Vikings avenged their only loss last year with a convincing win 125-61. Jasmine Tosky, Sarah Liang and Margaret Wenzlau were all double winners for the Vikes. Tosky swam the 200 and 500 Freestyles in times of: 1:48.23 and 5:05.97. Sarah was just as strong in the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke winning with times of 2:10.39 and 1:08.35. Margaret scored her two wins in the 50 Freestyle, 25.05, and the 100 Butterfly 57.78. Other winners for the Vikings include Grace Greenwood in diving, with a 6 dive score of 220.35, and Sabrina Lee in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:00.51. The Lady Vikes also won the 200 Medley Relay. Lee, Laura Cui, Wenzlau and Tosky came in at 1:49.82. The 400 Free Relay of Liang, Lee, Wenzlau and Tosky came home in a great time of 3:36.10. It was a strong performance for the Lady Vikes as they head into this weekends Section Challenge. They are now 7-0 on the season.

The Varsity boys got back to their winning ways with a strong victory against Gunn. The boys won by a score of 130-56. The boys won all 12 events on their way to the victory. Byron Sanborn, Rollin Lau and Andrew Liang were all double winners on the day. Sanborn won the 200 IM in a time of 2:02.73 and the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:02.58. Lau won the longer races of the day with a victory in the 200 Freestyle, 1:52.40, and the 500 Freestyle, 5:07.91. Liang swimming the shorter freestyle events won the 50 Freestyle in a blistering time of 21.88 and the 100 Freestyle in a time of 50.85. Other winners include Cole Plambeck in the diving with a 6 dive total of 236.47, DJ Fotsch in the 100 Butterfly in a time of 57.15 and Willie Lee in the backstroke with a strong time of 55.90. The boys also swept the relays. The 200 Medley relay of Lee, Sanborn, Fotsch and Eren Kiris won in a time of 1:42.09. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Youngkuk Lee, Fotsch, Lee and Liang came home with a time of 1:33.35. And the 400 Freestyle Relay of Sanborn, Kiris, Lau and Liang finished off the day with a time of 3:24.92. It was a great victory to get the boys back on track and get them ready for this weekends Section Challenge. The boys improved to 6-1 on the season.

The JV Girls won today and stayed a perfect 7-0 with a score of 104-82. The JV lady Vikes were led by double winners Haley Mortenson and Kristina Nguyen. Mortenson won the 200 Free in a time of 2:06.48 and the 100 Freestyle in a time of 58.20. Nguyen won the 50 Freestyle in a time of 27.23 and the 100 Backstroke in a time of 1:06.26. Other winners included Zoe Greene in diving with a 6 dive total of 157.65 and Megan Brendanberg in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:13.30. The girls also won the 200 Medley Relay out touching Gunn by less than 2 tenths of a second. Nguyen, Brendanberg, Jessica Cox and Quitterie Colignon won in a time of 2:04.27. The 400 Freestyle relay of Mortenson, Nguyen, Cox and Brendanberg finished of the day with a time of 4:02.95. The JV Lady Vikes look to finish off a perfect season next week against Saratoga.

The JV Boys also won today with a strong showing. Winners for the Viking JV Boys included Will Conner in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:04.17. Quinn Rockwell won the 50 Freestyle in a time of 24.60. Omri Newman took home the victory in the 50 Butterfly with a time of 27.83. Ethan Look won the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:38.24 and Josh Oh won the 100 Backstroke in a time of 1:07.98. The JV Boys also won the 400 Freestyle Relay. Newman, Oh, Look and Rockwell won with a time of 3:50.44. The JV Boys improved to 6-1 and look to finish off a strong season next week against Saratoga.

It was a great day for the Viking swimmers and they look to continue the strong showing against the Bay area and Inland Valleys best this weekend in the Section Challenge. The meet starts at 9 am at the Mackenzie Aquatics Center at Palo Alto this Saturday, April 23rd.

Palo Alto moves to 5-0 in all divisions

The Palo Alto took the heat from the day and added some sizzle in the pool. All 4 teams won today over Homestead to move their record to 5-0. The Vikings showed fine speed as well as depth. It was a great all around effort from all 4 teams.

The Lady Vikes swam a great meet against Homestead winning by a final score of 141-44. The 200 Medley Relay got the day started off. Sarah Lee, Laura Cui, Margaret Wenzlau and Jennifer Chang turned in a time of 1:52.88. Double event winners included Jasmine Tosky in the 200 Free, 1:57.98, and the 100 Butterfly, 57.25. Margaret Wenzlau scored a victory in the 200 IM with a time of 2:14.83. Gracie Greenwood brought home the victory in Diving with a 6 dive score of 242.35. Molly Zebker won the 500 Freestyle in a time of 5:15.74. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Jayna Wittenbrink, Jennifer Chang, Molly Zebker and Jasmine Tosky came in first with a time of 1:42.27. Megan Okada won the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:02.44. Laura Cui brought home victory in the 100 Breaststroke clocking a 1:09.72. The 400 Freestyle Relay of Wittenbrink, Lee, Wenzlau and Tosky finished off the day with a win in a time of 3:44.64. The Lady Vikes swam a great meet and look to extend their unbeaten streak next week against Monta Vista.

The Varisty Boys showed great depth and speed in their 134-48 victory over Homestead. The 200 Medley Relay of Willie Lee, Byron Sanborn, DJ Fotsch and Youngkuk Lee started off the day with a win in a time of 1:44.11. Rollin Lau scored a victory in the 200 Free with a season best time of 1:49.80. Willie Lee was a double winner taking home the 200 IM in a time of, 2:03.79, and the 100 Back with a time of 55.60. Arseny Kotov also scored 2 victories with wins in the 50 Freestyle, 22.83, and the 100 Freestyle, 49.77. Andrew Liang swam a strong 100 Butterfly and won with a time of 53.26. Cole Plambeck won the diving with a 6 dive score of 217.65. Corso Rosati added a victory in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:31.40, and Byron Sanborn won the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:00.50. Both Freestyle relays added victory. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Andrew Liang, Rollin Lau, Byron Sanborn and Arseny Kotov clocked in at 1:30.18 and the 400 Freestyle Relay of Liang, Lee, Kotov and Sanborn won in a time of 3:29.37. The Viking boys will look to stay perfect next week as they take on the defending League Champion Monta Vista Matadors.

The JV Lady Vikes swam a strong meet taking victory with a score of 140-43. The Lady Vikes won all 3 relays on the day. The 200 Medley Relay of Katrina Nguyen, Chelsea Chen, Jessica Cox and Quitterie Colignon won in a time of 2:08.96. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Isabel Seife, Chelsea Chen, Rachel Vershel and Haley Mortensen won in a time of 1:54.93. And the 400 Freestyle Relay of Haley Mortenson, Quitterie Colignon, Rachel Vershel and Katrina Ngyuen clocked in at 4:03.49. Double winners on the day included Haley Mortenson in the 200 Freestyle, 2:04.42, and the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:43.82. Katrina Nguyen also won twice taking the 100 Freestyle, 58.60, and the 100 Backstroke with a CCS time of 1:04.63. Rachel Vershel won the 100 IM in a time of 1:10.69, Quitterie Colignon won the 50 Freestyle with a time of 28.10, Serena Yee won the diving with a 6 dive score of 205.10 and Chelsea Chen won the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:20.25. The JV girls look to extend their winning streak next week against Monta Vista.

The JV Boys moved to 5-0 with a strong win against Homestead by a score of 117-68. The 200 Medley Relay won in a time of 1:57.19. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Sam Kelley, Matthew Abbott, Will Mendenhall and Will Conner won in a time of 1:46.08. The 400 Freestyle Relay of Omri Newman, Josh Oh, Ethan Look and Quinn Rockwell finished off the day with a time of 3:42.17. Ethan Look was a double winner in the 200 Freestyle, 2:02.56, and the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:28.00. Josh Oh was also a double winner with a time of 54.99 in the 100 Freestyle and a 1:06.02 in the 100 Backstroke. Quinn Rockwell clocked a 24.63 for victory in the 50 Freestyle. Noam Hurwitz scored a 6 dive total of 200.60 to win. Omri Newman won the 50 Butterfly with a time of 27.58. The JV boys look to stay undefeated next week against Monta Vista.

The Vikings looked great on the day. They look to extend their quest for League Titles next week in a tough match at Monta Vista. Come out and cheer the Vikings on. The meet is Friday, April 8th at 3:30 pm at Monta Vista.

Palo Alto moves to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in League

The Palo Alto Swimming and Diving teams continued to swim well this season. All 4 teams won and improved to 4-0 on the season Friday against Los Gatos.

The Varsity Girls continued some strong swimming with a winning score of 134-52. Individual winners included Jasmine Tosky in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:52.21. Sabrina Lee brought home victory in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 24.83. Margaret Wenzlau won the 100 Butterfly in a time of 59.12. Megan Okada won the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:02.22. Sarah Liang was the days double winner. She won the 200 Im in a time of 2:13.11 and the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:09.33. Grace Greenwood won the diving portion of the meet. All 3 relays also won. The 200 Medley Relay of Sabrina Lee, Laura Cui, Margaret Wenzlau and Jasmine Tosky won with a time of 1:52.88. The 200 Freestyle relay of Sarah Liang, Jayna Wittenbrink, Margaret Wenzlau and Jasmine Tosky clocked a 1:39.60. And the 400 Freestyle Relay of Sarah Liang, Jayna Wittenbrink, Sabrina Lee and Jasmine Tosky finished off the day with a time of 3:38.28.

The Varsity Boys had a tougher go of it getting by Los Gatos by a score of 98-88. The 200 Medley Relay of William Lee, Byron Sanborn, DJ Fotsch and Arseny Kotov got the meet off to a great start with a victory in a time of 1:40.77 edging out Los Gatos by .17 seconds. Rollin Lau was a double winner taking the 200 Freestyle in a time of 1:50.69 and the 500 Freestyle in a time of 5:01.46. Byron Sanborn was also a double winner starting with the 200 IM in a time of 1:58.66 then bringing home a win in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:00.24 edging Los Gatos by .18 seconds. Cole Plambeck won the diving portion of the meet. It was a true team effort for the Vikings and was a big victory on their way to trying to recapture the league title.

The JV Girls won 107-63. Haley Mortenson won the 200 Freestyle in a time of 2:08.21 and the 500 Freestyle in a time of 5:51.60. Megan Brendenberg was also a double winner with a time of 1:07.33 to win the 100 IM and 1:13.89 to win the 100 Breaststroke. Katrina Nguyen also notched to wins in the 50 Freestyle at 27.67 and the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:05.89. Jessica Cox won the 50 Butterfly with a time of 30.88. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Mortenson, Martine Leclerc, Isabel Seife and Quitterie Collignon won in a time of 1:54.58. And the 400 Freestyle Relay of Ngyuen, Collignon, Chelsea Chen and Mortenson finished off the day with a time of 4:08.18. Nadya Nee brought home the win in the diving.

The JV Boys made it close but still remained undefeated with a 97-86 win. The 200 Medley Relay of Sam Kelley, Matthew Abbott, Ethan Look and Quinn Rockwell got it started with a time of 2:00.15. Quinn Rockwell was a double winner with victories in the 50 Freestyle, 25.42, and the 100 Freestyle, 57.02. Sam Kelly also won two events winning the 50 Butterfly, 30.40, and the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:10.12. Ethan Look won the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:33.59. The 400 Freestyle Relay of Will Conner, Andrew Watson, Ethan Look and Quinn Rockwell finished off the day in a time of 3:53.64. Noam Hurwitz won the diving portion of the meet.

All of the Viking teams now stand at 4-0 and will continue their quest for league champions next Friday at home against Homestead. Come on out and support your Vikings as the continue to swim hard and win!!

Cole Plambeck breaks school diving record at Palo Alto Diving Invitational

The last few days have been a busy one for the Palo Alto swimming and diving team. Along with a dual meet against Los Gatos, and the St. Francis Invitational, Palo Alto hosted a diving invitational on Saturday as well.

The day was a great one for the divers. There were great scores and some outstanding diving. Cole Plambeck recorded a score of 497.90. This score breaks the school record of Chris Dale which was set in 1974. The meet was a great day for other Palo Alto boy divers as both Alex Francis, 374.30, and Jordan Zenger, 316.20 qualified for CCS. Joseph Solvason rounded out a great diving day but came up just short of CCS with a score of 268.60.

The day was just as bright for the Lady Vikes. Grace Greenwood placed 3rd with a score of 433.15. All of the other Paly girls qualified for CCS. Nadya Nee scored 349.55 points for 12th, Emma Miller scored 344.20 for 13th and Serena Yee scored 332.95 for 14th.

Noam Hurwitz scored 124.65 points in the 8 dive JV Boys division for 1st place.

The weather started wet, but that didn't stop the competition from heating up the pool. It was a great day for the divers and congratulations to Cole for his achievement and all of the Paly divers who qualified for CCS.

Varsity Girls pull out a 1 point Victory over Mitty in St. Francis Invitational

The Palo Alto Girls swam a great meet, and then waited until the last relay to overcome a strong effort by Archbishop Mitty, to gain a 1 point victory in the St. Francis Yamamoto Invitational.

The Lady Vikes started off the day with a victory in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Sarah Liang, Sabrina Lee, Jayna Wittenbrink and Jasmine Tosky combine for a time of 3:31.47. This beat out St. Francis for by 1.39 seconds. Kristina Xiang, Rachelle Holmgren, Laura Cui and Anna Glaves placed an important 5th to help add to the points.

The girls also brought home victory in the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 3:59.98. Sabrina Lee, Sarah Liang, Molly Zebker and Jayna Wittenbrink, swam a great race to out pace 2nd place St. Francis by over 2 seconds.

Individual winners included Jasmine Tosky a double winner taking home the 400 IM in a time of 4:15.11 and the 200 Butterfly in a time of 2:01.49. Sabrina Lee was also a winner in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 2:07.83, while Sarah Liang brought home victory in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:27.59.

The Lady Vikes were down 11 points going into the last event. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Sabrina Lee, Margaret Wenzlau, Sarah Liang and Jasmine Tosky won in a time of 1:38.02, .76 seconds ahead of St. Francis. Just as important the relay of Paige Devine, Megan Okada, Kristina Xiang and Anna Glaves placed 6th. These two relays made up the 11 point deficit with 1 point to spare giving the Paly Girls a 1 point victory.

The win on top of a 4-0 dual meet record to start the year has the Lady Vikes feeling strong and confident going into the remaining season. A strong showing against the top teams, St. Francis and Archbishop Mitty have the Palo Alto Lady Vikes, feeling confident about winning their 9th league title in a row, and taking a shot at winning CCS.

Palo Alto starts off the league season with a sweep of Lynbrook

The Palo Alto Viking Swimming Team started out the League season with a sweep of Lynbrook. All 4 divisions swam a great meet on their way to beginning the season 3-0 and starting off the league season at 1-0. The weather cooperated for wonderful day at the Palo Alto pool and the Viking swimmers responded with a great day.

The Varsity Girls showed their strength and depth with a 148-30 win over Lynbrook. The Lady Vikes won all of their events. The girls won all 3 relays. The winning 200 Medley Relay consisting of Paige Devine, Laura Cui, Molly Zebker and Jennifer Chang came in at a time of 1:56.01. The 200 Free Relay including Sarah Liang, Sabrina Lee, Margaret Wenzlau and Jasmine Tosky clocked in at 1:42.50 and the same quartet won the 400 Free Relay in a time of 3:44.56. Double winners on the day included Jasmine Tosky in the 200 Freestyle at a time of 1:58.05 and the 500 Freestyle in a time of 5:20.27. Sarah Liang won the 200 IM in a time of 2:16.65 and the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:09.39. Sabrina Lee contributed two victories with a win in the 100 Freestyle at 54.34 and the 100 Backstroke in a time of 1:00.27. Other winners included Freshman Jayna Wittenbreck in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 25.46 and Margaret Wenzlau in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 58.08. Grace Greenwood added a victory in the diving portion of the meet helping the girls to a sweep of all events and a strong start to their league season.

The Viking Boys, who won with a score of 113-67, were led by double winners Byron Sanborn, Rollin Lau and Freshman Andrew Liang. Sanborn won the 200 IM in a time of 2:03.88 and the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:03.69. Lau brought home victories in the 200 Free with a season best time of 1:50.93 and the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:04.80. Freshman Liang won the sprint events with a time of 21.72 in the 50 Freestyle and a time of 48.98 in the 100 Freestyle. Other winners included DJ Fotsch in the 100 Butterfly with a season best time of 57.58 and Freshman Willie Lee in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 56.75. Cole Plambeck won the diving as the Viking boys swept all of the individual events. They didn't stop there as they also swept the Relay events. The foursome of Lee, Sanborn, Fotsch and Lau won the 200 Medley Relay in a time of 1:42.91. The 200 Freestyle team of Liang, Lee, Fotsch and Kotov won in a time of 1:33.11, and the 400 Freestyle Relay of Kotov, Lau, Liang and Sanborn brought home the sweep with a time of 3:21.92. It was a strong victory for the Vikings and helped them on their way to reclaiming their League championship.

The JV Girls also swam well and dominated winning the meet 121-62. The won 10 of the 12 events and tied one. Double winners included Haley Mortenson in the 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle in times of 2:08.93 and 5:51.99. Jessica Cox won the 100 IM in a time of 1:11.61 and the 50 Butterfly in a time of 30.85. Katrina Nguyen won the 50 Freestyle in a time of 27.07 and the 100 Backstroke in a time of 1:06.04. Quitterie Collignon won the 100 Freestyle in a time of 1:01.04 and Abby Bromberg tied for a victory in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:18.74. The JV Lady Vikes won 2 of the 3 relays. Nguyen, Chelsea Chen, Cox and Isabel Seife won the 200 Medley Relay in a time of 2:08.74, while Nguyen, Collignon, Cox and Mortenson won the 400 Free Relay in a time of 4:08.23. Zoe Greene won the diving portion for the JV Girls. It was a great start to their League season as they hope to claim the title for the 11th year in a row.

The JV Boys had the tougher time of the group but still brought home victory with a score of 96-87. Connor Fotsch was a double winner with victories in the 100 IM and the 50 Butterfly bringing home times of 1:03.21 and 28.34. Quinn Rockwell was also a double winner in the 50 and 100 Freestyles with times of 24.86 and 56.31. The boys also won both Freestyle Relays. Rockwell, Matthew Abbott, Will Conner and Omri Newman won the 200 Free Relay in a time of 1:42.92 and Fotsch, Conner, Ethan Look and Newman won the 400 Free Relay in a time of 3:45.34. Noam Hurwitz won the diving to help seal the victory.

It was a great day in the pool for the Vikings and they are looking forward to a great season. Their next meet is in 2 weeks at Los Gatos High School where a strong Los Gatos team awaits them. Come on out and cheer them to Victory.

Palo Alto Girls defend Title in Spring Invite

While there were concerns about the weather all week for this years Spring Invite, hosted at Palo Alto, it turned out to be a great day for swimming. The Palo Alto swimmers took advantage and had a great meet! The Varsity Girls defended their title to win for the 4th year in a row at their own Invitational. The Lady Vikes scored 258 points to outdistance second place finisher The Kings Academy who scored 140 points. Los Gatos scored 139 points for 3rd place. The Viking Boys, swimming with a lineup missing 3 of their top swimmers, swam well for the day, earning 3rd place, behind eventual winner Los Gatos and 2nd place finisher Monta Vista.

The Varsity girls had great swims throughout the day. The won all 3 relays. The 200 Medley Relay of Paige Devine, Laura Cui, Molly Zebker and Jennifer Chang won in a time of 1:56.00. The 200 Freestyle of Kristina Xiang, Molly Zebker, Kimberly Hallsted and Jennifer Chang brought home first in at time of 1:45.43. The 1st place 400 Freestyle Relay of Rachelle Holmgren, Kimberly Hallsted, Molly Zebker and Laura Cui came home in a time of 3:51.62. Other winners for the Lady Vikes included Molly Zebker who brought home first in the 200 IM in a time of 2:16.36, Grace Greenwood who won the diving event with a 6 dive score of 235.80 and Laura Cui who won the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1:10.14. All of the Varsity Girls did a great job and the team showed it's depth in the early meet.

The Varsity boys while swimming without 3 of their top swimmers also swam a great meet having to go against a fully loaded Los Gatos team. Some of the strong swims turned in by the Viking Boys were Rollin Lau who placed 2nd in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:51.91, Jordan Zenger who placed 2nd in diving with a 6 dive total of 209.60 and DJ Fotsch who brought home 3rd place in the 100 Butterfly in 58.81. Charles Zhang helped the boys with two 4th place finishes in the 200 IM 2:06.90 and 100 Breaststroke 1:07.02. The Boys 400 Freestyle Relay finished off the day with a strong 2nd place showing. The relay of Arseny Kotov, Eren Kiris, Charles Zhang and Rollin Lau finished with a strong time of 3:26.58. All of the boys swam well and hard getting themselves ready for the league season starting next week.

The JV Girls got a second place finish to Monta Vista High School. Quitterie Colignon was a double winner taking the 50 Freestyle in a time of 28.00 and the 100 Freestyle in a time of 1:01.02. Other individual winners included Haley Mortenson in the 200 Free in a time of 2:07.13, and Zoe Greene with a 6 dive total of 163.65. The JV Girls swam a great meet and are looking forward to defending their league title starting next week.

The JV boys had a great day as well finishing 2nd to Monta Vista as well. There were two individual winners for the JV Boys. Quinn Rockwell won the 50 Freestyle in a time of 24.14 and Noam Hurwitz won the diving with a 6 dive total of 152.55. The JV Boys finished off the day in fine fashion with a victory in the 400 Freestyle relay. The winning relay of Quinn Rockwell, Ethan Look, Connor Fotsch and Omri Newman had a time of 3:48.27. The JV boys are looking forward to a very competitive and exciting season!!

The Vikings had a great week going 2-0 in all divisions in their Tuesday double dual meet against Los Altos and Menlo and showing well in the Spring Invite on Saturday. They look to get started on a successful league season starting this Friday against Lynbrook. The meet will be at Palo Alto High School starting at 3:30 pm.

Come on out and support your Vikings as the year is shaping up to be a very successful one!!!

Psych sheet for Spring Invite

The Psych Sheet for the Spring invite has been posted. Check it out here:
http://paloaltoswimming.org/Paly/Results.html
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Palo Alto hosts their annual Spring Invite this weekend

The Palo Alto Viking swim team will take their 2-0 records into their annual Spring Invite this weekend at the Paly pool.

The meet will start on Friday at 4:15 with the diving competition and the 500 Freestyle event. The meet will resume again on Saturday at 9 am.

Come on out and root for your Vikings as they look to repeat as Champions of the Spring Invite!!

Palo Alto Swimming starts out the year with a 4 team Sweep of Los Altos and Menlo

The Palo Alto Swimming team started off the season in fine fashion with all 4 teams posting 2 victories in a double dual meet on Tuesday at Palo Alto. The team has been training hard, and they looked great in the water as they out paced both neighboring schools.

The Girls Varsity team beat Menlo by a score of 124-27, and they swam past Los Altos with a score of 116-45. The Girls team showed the depth that they hope will carry them to their 9th League Title in a row by winning every event, and this without some of their swimmers who are headed to a sectional meet in Texas. Senior Paige Devine led the charge with two individual wins in the 100 Butterfly and the 100 Backstroke. She was also on the winning 200 Medley Relay along with Laura Cui, Rachelle Holmgren and Jennifer Chang and the 200 Freestyle relay with Kristina Xiang, Shannon Scheel and Jennifer Chang. Kimberly Halsted was also a double winner in the 200 and 500 Freestyle. Laura Cui added to the victories posting wins in the 200 IM and the 100 Breaststroke. Also winning events were Jennifer Chang in the 50 Freestyle and Anna Glaves in the 100 Freestyle. The 400 Freestyle Relay with Rachelle Holmgren, Anna Glaves, Jennifer Chang and Laura Cui finished off the victory for the girls. The girls are now 2-0 and looking to repeat as champions at this weekends Spring Invite at Palo Alto High School.

The Varsity Boys team also started off the season at 2-0. There were lead by Rollin Lau who posted victories in the 200 and 100 Freestyles. Rollin also helped the 200 Freestyle Relay along with Arseny Kotov, DJ Fotsch and Corso Rosati post a victory plus the 400 Freestyle Relay along with Arseny Kotov, Charles Zhang and Derek Tam. The 200 Medley Relay of Alex Francis, Charles Zhang, DJ Fotsch and Derek Tam started off the meet with a victory. Charles Zhang was another double winner in the 200 IM and the 100 Breaststroke along with his help on the winning 200 Medley Relay and 400 Free Relay. Other winners were DJ Fotsch in the 100 Butterfly, Derek Tam in the 500 Free, and Eren Kiris in the 100 Backstroke. The victory helps the Viking Boys prepare for their upcoming Spring Invite at Palo Alto this weekend.

The season is off to a great start as all 4 teams begin the year 2-0. You can help support and cheer on the Vikings this weekend as they host their annual Spring Invite. The meet will start on Friday at 4:15 with both the diving and 500 Freestyles, and then resume on Saturday at 9 am for the rest of the events. Come on out and cheer your Vikings to Victory!!!!

A friend Remembered

It is with great sadness this year that the swimming and water polo community learned of the passing of Monta Vista Head Swimming Coach Ron Freeman. Ron was also the Boys Head Water Polo Coach. For 30 years Ron was an instrumental part of Aquatics at Monta Vista High School. Along with the many memories that the students and athletes at Monta Vista High School will have of their beloved coach, Ron also brought to existence their new swimming pool

Ron was a dedicated and passionate coach and teacher, he cared deeply for his students and athletes and was always involved in the life of the school. As a head coach in the league for 15 years, Coach Danny Dye from Palo Alto will always remember Ron as a great man who had a true calling to work with young people. As coaches emailed each other and talked on the phone at the shock of Ron's passing, all of them shared the same thoughts of Ron's impact on our sport and league.

He while this year will be different without Coach Freeman on the pool deck, his memory and impact will be felt for years to come. God Bless and God Speed coach Freeman!!!