Freshman
swimmers
Ashley Badali (Gahr HS)
set a new school record in the 50-yard
breaststroke at the state championships over
the weekend at Ohlone College. Badali, along
with freshman
Salina Mesa (Montebello HS),
competed in five events and compiled 52 team
points, which put the Falcons in 20th place,
while Diablo Valley College went on to win
the state championship. and each The third
Cerritos swimmer to qualify for the state
championships, freshman
Daisy Carrillo (Montebello
HS), was disqualified from the 200-yard
individual medley and did not score any team
points.
In her record-breaking
race, Badali broke her own record with a
time of 32.26, which put her in ninth place
in the race. Her old time of 32.42 was set
last weekend at the South Coast Conference
Championships. The ninth place meant that
she won the "B" final, which is set up for
those that did not finish in the top eight
and swim in the championship race. If a
swimmer does not finish in the top eight in
the prelims, they are not eligible to swim
for the state championship, regardless off
their time in the "B" finals. As for Mesa,
her time of 27.97 in the 50-yard butterfly
almost broke the 25-year old record of 27.40
and put her in sixth place at the state
championships. She almost missed swimming in
the championship race after her prelim time
of 28.47 was seventh overall.
Badali also came in sixth
place in the 100-yard individual medley with
a time of 1:03.36, which was more than a
second faster than her prelim time. Her time
of 1:11.61 in the 100-yard breaststroke
placed her 12th overall. In her other race,
Mesa came in seventh place in the 100-yard
butterfly with a time of 1:02.39, which was
her fastest time of the season. She was on
the heels of fourth place finisher, Jennifer
Burke of Santa Rosa College after the first
lap, but was passed by two others to come in
seventh place.
