The members of Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s swim program will strive for continuous improvement this spring.
“Because of the low numbers, we’re focusing on personal bests and individual times,” Bulldogs’ head coach Kayla Himmist said. “If people are improving, I’d call that successful.”
“Even though we continue to be the smallest team in the league, Central Valley swim team is producing some amazing athletes,” Hawks’ leader Julie Brooks said. “Every year my personal goal is to grow Central Valley’s swim program. I know that it will continue to be a challenge until we have our own pool on campus. Once there is a pool on campus, I am confident that the program will grow.”
Elise Cannella (Sr.), Genesis Garcia (Sr.), Karla Hinojosa (Sr.), Berlin Kahl (Sr.), Makayla Hair (Jr.), Jewell Stahl (Jr.), Maci Farinha (So.), Reagan Hensley (So.), Amber Hopwood (So.), Jessica Potts (So.), Liset Renteria (So.) and Brooke Trio (So.) make up Ceres High’s varsity girls team.
Ceres High’s varsity boys team has just three swimmers in Blake Barr (Sr.), Jesus Valdovinos (So.) and Nikahli Garcia (Fr.).
Leslie Bobadilla (Sr.), Monika Castillo (Sr.), Taleia Lopez (Sr.), Kayla Zhu (Sr.), Alyssa Chagolla (Jr.), Denisse Corro (Jr.) and Noemi Delahoya make up Central Valley’s varsity girls team.
Central Valley’s varsity boys team has just one swimmer in Justin Alvarez (Jr.).
Ceres High and Central Valley will compete in the Western Athletic Conference and Central California Conference, respectively, this season.
The Bulldogs’ league schedule consists of meets against Johansen, Grace Davis, Pacheco, Los Banos, Mountain House and Lathrop.
The WAC Championships will be held, April 9-10, at Mountain House.
The Hawks will face Buhach Colony, El Capitan, Livingston, Atwater, Golden Valley, Merced and Patterson.
The CCC Finals will be staged, April 13-14, at El Capitan.
“I’m not going to look at team wins and losses that much because of team size,” Himmist said. “Plus, we lost most of our varsity swimmers to graduation.”
“I look forward to a time when we have a full roster of athletes, until then, we will give each athlete individual attention to help them be the best swimmer they can be,” Brooks said.
