NCS swim championships: Foothill sophomore Luka Mijatovic smashes section record

CONCORD Foothill swimmer Luka Mijatovic made it look easy The sophomore took first place in the -yard freestyle in record-breaking fashion at the North Coast Section Championships on Saturday in Concord He touched the wall in latest the NCS freestyle record previously held by former Northgate swimmer Alexei Sancov who finished in in Mijatovic finished seconds faster than second-pace finisher Ethan Wang and nearly broke the national high school record of set by Santa Margarita Catholic Grant Shoults in From the beginning I demanded to take charge get the lead and just maintain it the rest of the way to try to get that record Mijatovic noted The goal of this meet was to break that record and I m glad I got to do it Mijatovic also took first place in the freestyle with a time of and helped Foothill place second in the freestyle relay He won both the and freestyle races at the NCS championships as a freshman Last year Mijatovic shined at the CIF state championships at Clovis West High when he took first place in the and second in the freestyle He will be looking to capture state titles in both events next week I m trying to keep that hungry mentality and try and get it done again Mijatovic explained DOUGHTERY VALLEY JUNIOR BREAKS NCS RECORD A year after Dougherty Valley s Songrui Wu took home two NCS titles the junior detected a way to do the same this year while etching in the NCS record books Wu won the -yard individual medley for the second year in a row finishing in He broke the seven-year NCS record previously held by Amador Valley s Chris Jhong who finished the IM in It s really fun to have people to race here at NCS Wu commented I just disclosed Let s break specific records and do specific fast swims Wu came in first in the backstroke with a time of Songri Wu of Dougherty Valley high School wins the Boys Yard IM during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Group Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group AMADOR VALLEY SWIMMER OVERCOMES INJURIES TO WIN NCS TITLE It s been a long season for Amador Valley sophomore Rylee Hutchinson Hutchinson has dealt with injuries all season and had an up and down regular season But Hutchinson overcame this year s adversity and shined in a big moment on Saturday The USC commit won the -yard freestyle touching the wall in She beat out Foothill s Mckinley Scobie and Carondelet s Elisabeth Butler the meet s top two qualifiers to take the NCS crown This just means a lot Hutchinson reported I ve had a rough season so just coming out with the win was really nice CAMPOLINDO FRESHMAN SHINES Stella Canoles established herself as a rising star on Saturday The freshman won the freestyle and the backstroke while helping Campolindo place second in the freestyle relay I ve worked really hard this summer and I m just so excited because my coaches have been really awesome in helping me get to where I am in the current era Canoles announced It was a really cool experience and I m just having a great time Canoles explained she was nervous entering Saturday s finals but when the time came to deliver that s exactly what she did I think I handled the pressure pretty well currently she commented I do way better when I m not going out there nervous Teammates cheer for Campolindo s Elise Gratton right in the Girls Yard Breaststroke during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Public Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group WATER POLO PARTICIPANT WINS NCS TITLE Ellis Culleton usually does bulk of his work in the pool during the fall when he s playing for Campolindo s elite water polo scheme but in his first season on the swim organization the sophomore indicated he could be just as good at competitive swimming Culleton won the freestyle with a time of edging out top qualifier Simon Li by This was a big dream of mine Culleton explained I had to sacrifice a lot of time and miss a lot of swim practices I can t go to state finals because I m going to senior nationals for water polo But switching between two sports has been really fun One sport inevitably helps the other DE LA SALLE CAPTURES FOURTH STRAIGHT CAMPOLINDO GOES BACK-TO-BACK The dynasty continued for De La Salle The Spartans captured their fourth consecutive NCS squad title accumulating points to finish ahead of Foothill which had We got the hardest working group of kids I ve ever seen De La Salle coach Tom Johnson explained People think of swimming as an individual sport but this is a group and they perform like a company They perform for each other and they re just an amazing group of guys Junior Blake Hill took first place in the butterfly with a time of Matthew Nakayama Finn Sepic Jed Johnson and Charley Wilson helped De La Salle win the freestyle relays as the Spartans finished in ahead of second place Las Lomas Campolindo s girls squad won its second consecutive and third NCS group title in four years totaling points to finish ahead of San Ramon Valley Canoles had Campolindo s only first-place finishes The Cougars came in second in the medley and freestyle relays Blake Hill of De La Salle High School wins the Boys Yard Butterfly with a time of during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Area Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Neighborhood Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Related Articles East Bay teen withstood thousands of jellyfish stings during a -hour swim across the Cook Strait After years of neglect Santa Clara s International Swim Center will get its long-awaited renovation Trump administration suspends million in federal funding for Penn over transgender swimmer OTHER LOCAL WINNERS San Ramon Valley senior Raya Mellott won the IM and the breaststroke Mellott is committed to swim at the University of Virginia In the paralympic freestyle Liberty s Olivia Bell won the freestyle with a time of Bell also won the freestyle with a time of San Ramon Valley freshman Daniela Linares Danzanos won two events on Saturday She captured the butterfly title with a time of She later won the backstroke clocking in with a time of Granada s Brooke Bennett placed first in the freestyle with a time of Campolindo senior Ethan Taylor won the breaststroke beating out California s Rostik Khilkon Brooke Bennett of Granada High School swims to a first place finish in the Girls Yard Freestyle during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Society Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Songri Wu of Dougherty Valley wins the Boys Yard Backstroke with a time of during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Society Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Del La Salle Senior Charley Wilson is congratulated for a group first place finish in the Boys Yard Freestyle Relay during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Public Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Songri Wu of Dougherty Valley wins the Boys Yard Backstroke with a time of during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Area Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Sophmore Alison Su competes to a second place finish in the Girls Yard Freestyle during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Public Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Ella Busquets competes in the Girls Yard Butterfly Final during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Public Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Population Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Songri Wu of Dougherty Valley high School wins the Boys Yard IM during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord District Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Miramonte competes in the Girls Yard Freestyle Relay during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Society Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Athletes compete in the Boys Yard Butterfly during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Public Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Katerina Fedoroff swims to a second place finish in the Girls Yard Freestyle Paralympic during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord District Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Valeria Valverde of Freedom High School takes third in the Girls Yard Freestyle Paralympic during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Group Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Songri Wu of Dougherty Valley high School wins the Boys Yard IM during the North Coast Section Boys and Girls Swimming Championships at the Concord Public Pool in Concord CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group