The fastest swimmers in the pool are those in the 50-meter freestyle. Known as the ultimate test of sprint speed, it features a single length of a 50-meter pool from a block start to a final hand touch.
The sprint relies on an explosive start, minimal breathing, an efficient turn (if in a 25-meter pool) and basically raw speed and power.
The speediest in South County is Sobrato alum Ciara Looney, who reached the CIF State Finals the past two years.
In the 2026 state championships at Clovis West High in Fresno, she advanced through the Friday prelims to qualify for the Saturday finals. In that race, she sped through 50 meters in 23.49 to finish 11th in California.
Additionally, Looney advanced through the 100 free prelims to the last-day finals, and came in 17th in the state in that race.
“Everyone in California is there,” Looney said. “Everyone’s there to race. You feel motivated. The stands are packed. There are a lot of coaches there. This year, I made the finals in both events (with fast times in the first day’s preliminaries). It’s a cool community. It’s nice to see how many people support it.”
In the 50 free prelims on May 15, at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex, Looney set a school record of 23.47, beating her own record. The next day, in the final, she took 11th place in 23.49, with a time that matched the state’s eighth-place finisher. (Preliminary heat times resulted in her formal placing being No. 11, as swimmers were segmented into different groupings after the first day.)
In the 100 free, she competed on Friday in the prelims and clocked a 51.02 to advance. In the final, she swam splits of 24.69 and 27.29 to finish 17th in the state, with a time of 51.98.
Given the talent and depth in southern California and the emphasis of many top swimmers on the freestyle sprints, these are landmark accomplishments for a Sobrato athlete—eighth-fastest time among the 50 free swimmers at the CIF State Finals, and top 20 in the 100 free.
“Ciara is an outstanding athlete whose strength, mobility and focus are truly at an elite level,” said her club swimming coach Carrie Mox of Quicksilver Swimming Club. “She consistently brings an exceptional work ethic to every practice, pushing herself while maintaining a genuine enjoyment of being in the water.
“Her greatest strengths in the pool include her powerful flutter and dolphin kick, explosive race starts and her ability to execute well-developed, focused race plans.”
Looney received major recruiting attention the last few years. She considered Cal State Bakersfield, Chapman, Nevada, Seattle and others and chose UC Davis.
“I was looking for academics plus competitiveness,” Looney said. “I wanted to stay in California. I didn’t know I wanted to be recruited until my junior year. Schools started recruiting me.
“I wanted to go to a UC. I looked at Santa Barbara, San Diego and Davis. After my junior year, Davis reached out to me. I loved it. I’m going into Neurology. The deep workings of the brain are interesting to me.”
At Davis, she will be reunited with fellow Sobrato alum Zoe Childers. Childers, a year ahead in school, partnered with Looney in putting the Bulldogs on the map. The 2025 team, headlined by that pair, finished No. 6 in the Central Coast Section in the girls swimming standings.
The dynamic duo both reached the CIF State Finals that year in individual races, while partnering with Mia White and Charley Kepner on two relay teams that also reached the State Finals.
Now Looney is back in the same pool with Childers. The UC Davis Aggies’ program is on the upswing, having claimed second place last year in the Big West Conference, their highest team finish in 10 years.
Childers starred at the conference finals with a second-place finish in the 200 butterfly in 1:58.12. During the year, Childers claimed 13 top-two finishes.
Looney announced her commitment on Instagram recently.
“I’m beyond excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at UC Davis,” Looney said. “Swimming has always been my passion, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to pursue it at the next level.
“Thank you to Coach Carrie and Coach Sophia at Quicksilver Swimming, as well as my family and friends, for always supporting me and being there throughout this journey. I’m also so thankful to Coach Matt (Macedo) and Coach Carl (Weigley) for this amazing opportunity.”
Looney was born in London and moved to Morgan Hill at age seven. Her parents were both swimmers, but she says they did not push it on her. Younger sister Quinn, a freshman this coming school year, has been pursuing volleyball instead.
Ciara Looney loves the pool.
“Swimming is my passion,” Looney said. “I love it. I’m happy to continue it at college. I have swum since I was a baby, since age 1 or two. I began competitive swimming at age seven. I really like the community around it.”
Looney’s specialties are the two main sprints, the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. She is also good at butterfly and backstroke.
“The sprints are a lot of technique,” Looney said. “Breathing, how you turn. The cool vibe drew me in.”
Looney stated that she enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment, with her CIF results and the college opportunity. She commented that it made her feel the years of hard work had paid off.
The freestyle sprints are amazing spectacles but behind the glamor is a lot of intensive and continued training and detailed effort.
Looney practiced with Quicksilver in San Jose, often six days a week, though less so during the school year. Swimming at Quicksilver might be taking place at 5:45am. Not so glamorous but the rewards came for Looney, and will continue at UC Davis.
“Outside the pool, Ciara is equally impressive,” coach Mox said. “She is an ideal teammate, approaches dryland training with dedication and intensity and treats both coaches and teammates with the utmost respect. I am incredibly excited to see what the future holds for Ciara as she continues her swimming career at UC Davis as a Division I student-athlete. I have no doubt that her talent, discipline and character will allow her to make a meaningful impact both in and out of the pool.”
