Mira Costa Swimmers Sweep Bay League Championships
May 02, 2022 04:45PM ● By Mb News Staff
The Mira Costa High School boys' 400 free relay, with Senior Zack Yakubik, Junior Kyle Capili, Senior Denzel Tate, and Senior Bradley Diaz. Photo via Mira Costa Swim.
Mira Costa High School swimmers continued to dominate the region, as they swept the competition at the 2022 Bay League Swim Championships, held last week in Palos Verdes.
Six teams competed for the boys’ and girls’ titles with prelims held on Wednesday, April 27, and finals held on Friday, April 29. The teams included Culver City High School, Mira Costa High School, Palos Verdes High School, Peninsula High School, Redondo Union High School, and Santa Monica High School.
Costa ended the meet with a total of 712 points in the men’s division and 671 points in the women’s division. Redondo Union High School followed behind in 2nd in the women’s division (both JV and varsity) with 578 points, and 2nd in men’s JV with 107 points. Santa Monica High School finished with 314 points to take 2nd place in the men’s varsity division.
All told, the Mustangs won a remarkable 23 out of 42 events, breaking multiple Bay League records. Those records included the girls’ varsity 200 medley relay (swum by Mia Crisera, Iyanah Samayoa, Delaney Herr, and Shea Steggell) and 200 freestyle relay (swum by Maya Manasfi, Shea Steggell, Katie Kabealo, and Mia Crisera) and the boys varsity 200 Medley relay (swum by Zack Yakubik, Ben Tunila, Brad Diaz, and Denzel Tate) and 400 free relay (swum by Brad Diaz, Kyle Capili, Zack Yakubik, and Denzel Tate).
(Mira Costa Freshman Delaney Herr swims a record-breaking 100 fly. Photo via Mira Costa Swim.)
All these races also qualified for CIF.
Coach Ariana Silva agreed. “I am so proud of the collective effort of our team. Costa swimmers had this intensity and commitment to bringing their best at every meet leading up to this moment and it was thrilling to see it all culminate at Bay League.”
“I also want to recognize the superb work of Coach Heidi Nelson, who oversaw race placement,” added Silva. “She had a strategy that went beyond putting the fastest kids in each race. Especially for relays, she knew how to leverage camaraderie and speed to create a competitive edge and ensure maximum scoring.”
The swimmers will now prepare for the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 meet on May 4 in Mission Viejo.
