It has been a banner year for Sobrato swimming. After a great season for both the boys and girls teams in dual meets and in the league finals, the Bulldogs saw Ciara Looney, Zoe Childers and two girls relay teams shine at the Central Coast Section finals and move on to compete in the CIF State meet.
At the CCS finals meet at Independence High on May 10, Looney finished second in the 50 freestyle in 23.58 and fourth in the 100 freestyle in 51.50. Childers came in fourth in the 100 butterfly in 54.55 and sixth in the 200 IM in 2:02.53.
For both swimmers, those races qualified them for invites to the CIF State Meet at Clovis West High in Fresno May 15-17.
Additionally, Sobrato girls teams in two relays also shined and got invites. In the 200 medley, the Bulldog team swam 1:47.55 for seventh place. Looney led off with the backstroke, Mia White was next with the breaststroke, Childers was third with the butterfly and Charley Kepner finished with the freestyle.
The Bulldogs team also competed in the 200 freestyle relay and finished fifth in 1:38.10. Looney led, Childers followed, Kepner was third and White closed.
“The CCS meet was a huge milestone for our team,” Kepner said. “It’s the most competitive high school meet in the region, and going into it, we all knew we’d have to bring our best. We trained hard all season for those races, so seeing it all come together at CCS was really rewarding.”
In the CCS girls team standings, Sobrato finished in sixth place.
At the CIF State meet, Childers had one of the best swims in Sobrato history. She first placed seventh in the 100 butterfly prelims to advance to the May 17 final. In that race, she flew home in 54.72 for fourth place in the entire state of California. Quite a milestone for Sobrato swimming. Her splits were 25.74 and 28.98.
Childers also competed in the strenuous 200 medley race. She swam 2:02.52 for tenth place in the prelims and then 2:03.34 for 13th place in the final.
“The most important thing about swimming that I think people often forget about is that it’s all about having fun—something I focus on when racing at higher levels,” Childers said. “I ended up making the A final in the 100 fly (getting fourth overall) and the B final in the 200 IM (getting 13th overall.) It was exciting to finally stand on the podium among some of the fastest swimmers in the state and celebrate our swims together.”
Looney raced in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. In both races, she competed in the prelims with placements of 30th in 24.09 in the former and 35th in 52.58 in the latter. However, those were not quite high enough to advance to a final.
“The CIF State meet was a really great experience,” Looney said. “The environment was different from any other meet I’ve been to. Everyone was there to race, and it felt like a high-level meet because of how fast the other swimmers were and how focused everyone was. I was proud to be able to contribute to that atmosphere and represent Sobrato at such an important meet.”
In the CIF State meet, the Sobrato girls swam 1:48.34 in the 200 Medley relay prelims for 29th place and 1:38.30 in the 200 freestyle relay prelims for 25th place. Neither was quite fast enough to advance them into a final.
“The States Meet is on another level,” Kepner said. “The energy is electric. You’re surrounded by the fastest swimmers in the state, and everyone’s pushing each other to perform their best.
“There’s this mix of nerves and excitement, but once you hit the water, it’s just about racing and leaving it all out there. It was amazing to represent our section and go head-to-head with top athletes from across California.”
White and Childers are seniors. Looney is a junior and Kepner is a sophomore. And there are a lot of other top swimmers at Sobrato, including many underclassmen.
In Blossom Valley Athletic League competition, overall standings include dual meet results combined with the league finals completed at Independence High on May 3. The Bulldog boys squad was 5-3 in duals and finished third in finals for a cumulative third place out of nine teams in the BVAL Santa Teresa Division.
The Sobrato girls were 4-4 in duals and finished fourth at the league meet, for fourth out of nine schools.
Top Sobrato boys swimmers at the league meet included Aiden Chin, Christopher Trinh, Robin Janssen, Joseph Hu, Isaac Helliwell, Emilio Brickner, Alexander Olson, Caleb McEuen and Vander Katz.
Standouts on the Sobrato girls team included Zoe Childers, Looney, White, Kepner and also Samantha Childers, Serena Prola, Chloe Delgado and Claire Lombardi.
Team members cited two highlight events this year. The senior night competition against Gilroy was memorable, with appreciation for the seniors and positive energy. The other landmark was the league championships, with teamwork, fine performances and momentum toward the CCS finals.
Of course, the entire squad and school took pride in sending four athletes to the CIF State meet.
“This season was an unforgettable one, filled with growth, excitement and incredible memories,” White said. “The CIF State meet was an amazing experience—I had so much fun competing alongside my teammates and being part of such a high-level competition. Being part of such a dedicated and encouraging team made the season even more special.”
Sobrato celebrated seven school records. Looney established marks of 23.58 in the 50 freestyle; 50.98 in the 100 freestyle; and 59.77 in the 100 backstroke. Zoe Childers set records in the 100 butterfly in 54.55 and the 200 IM in 2:01.72. The relay teams put their names in the record book with a 1:38.10 in the 200 freestyle relay and 1:47.48 in the 200 IM relay.
“I’m so proud of my teammates for making it to the CIF State meet,” Looney said. “This year was one of our best relay teams, we worked together well and constantly pushed each other to improve. We all put in our best effort at every meet, and I’m proud that we made it to states representing Sobrato.”
Performances of the four swimmers who competed in Fresno resulted in the Sobrato girls receiving a 36th place ranking in the state of California.
“Although this was my third CIF State meet, this was the first year that our team from Sobrato qualified for relays,” Zoe Childers said. “It was so special to experience my final high school meet surrounded by such supportive and driven girls. Before our races, we laughed about how far we had come compared to previous years and hyped each other up to compete at the fastest meet in California.
“I’m so proud of my teammates and how they swam throughout our years at Sobrato.”
