(Photo courtesy of Adam Reid)
Swimmers and divers from all over the state once more gathered at the Clovis West pool deck for the annual Clovis West Invite.
Taking place over a period of two weekends, divers competed on Saturday, March 23, and swimmers competed between March 29 and March 30.
Clovis Unified divers achieved success during their competition. For the girls’ portion, three CUSD athletes placed in the top eight –– Avery Fong of Clovis East took fourth place with an overall score of 338.30; Jaden Fagundes of Buchanan came in sixth with 310.90 points; and Kate Fong of Clovis East placed eighth with an overall total at 298.15.
Three divers from Clovis West (Alexi Archon, Allison Ferrer and Kaidyn Mortensen), and three Clovis High divers (Alyssa Coles, Camree Conroy and Ella Chiaramonte) rounded out the top 16 at the meet.
CUSD made a presence as well on the boys’ side. Ky Duong from Buchanan High School took first place with an overall score of 418.65, and seven more Clovis Unified divers rounded out the top 16 in the 1m diving event.
Like the divers, Clovis Unified swimmers saw top finishes on Saturday’s competition.
On the junior varsity end of the pool, the Buchanan girls team took care of business. The team placed a swimmer in the top 16 of each event throughout the day. Freshman Aja Wilson shined for the Bears, placing fourth overall in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:14.49, and eighth overall in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:18.06.
Also a freshman from Buchanan, Emma Cook snagged top spots in her events as well. Cook placed second overall in the 100-yard free with a time of 1:02.92 and sixth overall in the 100-yard back with a 1:15.57. Both Cook and Wilson helped the Bears win the overall girls junior varsity invite with a total score of 414.
With the girls varsity competition, Clovis West once again came out on top. The Golden Eagles had at least one swimmer placing in the top eight in almost all of the events. In the 200-yard individual medley, Clovis West’s Hannah Lambert grabbed third place with a time of 2:16.42, earning points for the Golden Eagles. In the 50-yard freestyle, Clovis West took first and fourth place in senior Abby Samansky’s 23.79 finish and Lexie Voice’s 24.90. The team saw another first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle where junior Jordan Gruce earned a time of 1:56.43. Overall, the girls team accumulated a winning score of 445.5.
The Clovis North varsity and junior varsity boys won their overall competitions. On both ends of the pool, a Bronco swimmer managed to place in the top five in every event.
For the junior varsity team, junior Gabriel Santanton dominated his events, placing first in the 100-yard freestyle with a 52.38, and second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a 1:08.24. Sophomore Jacob Rivas also performed well in his individual events: second place in the 50-yard freestyle with a 24.22 and third place in the 100-yard freestyle with a final time of 53.86.
Junior Bodhi Bowden helped the Broncos boys varsity team by placing first in the 100-yard freestyle and third in the 50-yard freestyle. Like Bowden, senior Ben Forbes placed first in both of his individual events, the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, to earn the Broncos big points.
The Clovis North boys junior varsity team won their competition with an overall score of 761, the boys varsity team winning with an overall score of 627.
Other notable performances include: Clovis High’s Averee Preble with first-place wins in the girls 100-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle; Clovis West’s Austin Lane with a second place finish in the 200-yard IM and a first place finish in the 100-yard backstroke; and Clovis East’s Ryan Barton with a second place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and a seventh place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.
Overall, CUSD athletes showcased their talents and put on outstanding performances at the Clovis West Invite. Upcoming meets include: TRAC Championship weekend from April 24 to April 27; the CIF Valley Championship Meet from May 3 to May 4; and the CIF State Championship Meet from May 10-May 11.