Swimming: The Glendoranator, Gretchen Jaques, hopes to add more hardware at Tuesday’s Masters

Check out the Masteres Heet Sheets. for Tuesday’s final swimming event of the season at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, which starts at noon in the prelims and 5 p.m. for the finals.

By Fred J. Robledo
In the CIF-Southern Section Divisional swimming championships there is at least a day between the preliminary races and the finals, but you get no such rest in the Masters, which is the final high school swimming event of the season. The Masters, which began in 2006, brings together the best of the best from the four CIF-SS swimming divisions and wastes no time crowning its champions, with the preliminaries at noon Tuesday, and the finals at 5 p.m., all at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. (To continue, click thread)

Below: This is priceless, Glendora and Walnut huddling and showing each other respect after Saturday’s CIF-SS Division III finals. Glendora won the final relay, but Walnut won the team title to edge out Glendora.


Glendora High School junior Gretchen Jaques, owner of six CIF-SS Division II individual titles and three Division III meet records, is hoping to continue her dominance in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke after setting Division II records in both events at Saturday’s finals.
After Jaques broke U.S. Olympian Janet Evans’ 1988 record in Friday’s 200 medley preliminaries, her winning time of 1:57.91 on Saturday set the all-time CIF-SS record, breaking Kristen Caverly’s (San Clemente High) record of 1:58.96 that she set in 2001.
Jaques, whose only Masters title came in the 50 freestyle her freshman year, is also favored in the 100 breaststroke. She broke the Division II meet record on Saturday in a winning time of 1:00.83.
Both Jaques’ marks in the 200 medley and 100 breaststroke would have been Masters’ Meet records, so obviously she has her sights set on not just winning, but setting Masters’ records as well.
Walnut junior Andrea Grant, also a double winner at Saturday’s Division II finals in the 50 and 100 freestyle’s, and the big point-earner on the Mustangs’ Division II championship squad, is hoping to medal in both events today.
Grant is seeded fifth in the 50 free (23.48), with Rowland senior Kylie Garcia one back seeded sixth (23.48). The top qualifier belongs to Immanual Christian’s Mary Hanson (23.11).
Grant’s best chance of a top three finish comes in the 100 freestyle. Her time of 50.87 ties her for third-best with Laguna Hills’ Courtney Wilde. They both will be chasing Fountain Valley’s Cynthia Fascella, who owns the top qualifying mark at 49.80.
Speaking of Garcia, she is in good position to medal in her signature event, the 100 butterfly after tying for the Division II title Saturday with Claremont’s Noelle Tarazona at 54.80. That’s the second best Masters qualifying time behind Chaminade’s Megahan Hawthorne, who won the Division I title in 54.59.
Walnut’s Emily Yu is hoping to reach the 100 butterfly finals. Her 56.31 is the ninth-best overall. The top eight qualify for finals.
The Glendora girls’ 200 medley relay team is seeded fourth overall, and its 400 freestyle is seeded sixth after both winning divisional titles.
The Walnut girls’ 200 freestyle relay team also won the Division II title and is seeded fifth overall.
In the boys competition, Damien High sophomore Jason Haney, who finished second in the 100 free Division II finals (46.46), enters the 100 free Masters with the fifth-best overall time.
Damien’s 200 freestyle relay team of Chris Lodolo, Quinn Brewton, Max Cerni and Haney finished second behind Oaks Christian in the Division II finals. The Spartans’ team is seeded sixth overall with its 1:26.47 qualifying time.
The Spartans’ 200 medley relay team finished fourth on Saturday and is seeded ninth in Masters, hoping to advance to Saturday nights finals.

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