Luka Mijatovic saved his best performance for last.
The Foothill freshman dominated the CIF swimming championships at Clovis West High School on Saturday, winning the 500-yard freestyle and placing second in the 200 free to cap off a stellar year for the young swimmer.
Mijatovic blew away the competition in the 500 free, finishing in 4:16.57 — nearly seven seconds faster than the event’s second-place finisher. The freshman nearly broke the state-meet record set by Sonora alumni and Cal swimmer Matthew Chai, who finished in 4:15.09 in 2022.
Mijatovic touched the wall in 1.35.79 in the 200 free, just behind Nordhoff senior Quin Seider, who finished in 1:34.97.
“I was very impressed with Luka’s performance at this meet, especially as a freshman,” Foothill coach Ali Smith said in an email to the Bay Area News Group. “He has been a huge inspiration for other Foothill swimmers, and excited to see where his swimming career will take him.”
In the North Coast Section championships last weekend, Mijatovic won the same two events and was a favorite from the Bay Area to win at state.
Smith said she knew Mijatovic would be ready for the high school season after he went through Olympic cuts in distance events a few months ago.
“With high school swimming events being shorter distances, I was confident he would excel in the 200/500 free, and was impressed with the splits he put up on our relays throughout the season,” Smith wrote.
The Foothill boys totaled 42 team points and finished 23rd.
A number of Bay Area freshmen showed out on Saturday.
Archbishop Mitty’s Shareef Elaydi took first place in the boys 200 individual medley with a time of 1.45.93. He also took fourth in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 47.60.
Los Altos freshman Maren Byrne won the girls 200 IM, clocking in at 2:00.00. Byrne finished just ahead of Campolindo senior Emilia Barck, who reached the wall in 2:00.37 for a second-place finish.
Both of San Ramon Valley’s 200 free relay teams had success on Saturday.
The boys team of Drew Arney, Chase King, Nick Tovani and Sawyer Jones came in first place with a time of 1:22.98.
The girls team of Alexis Parkinson, Avery Knapp, Sasha Babushkina and Miranda Stevenson took second place, finishing in 1:33.47. First place St. Margarita had a time of 1:33.35.
SRV’s boys took 11th in the team results, scoring 72 points while the girls took sixth with 105.5 points.
Other local highlights
Boys
– After winning the NCS championships last week, De La Salle took 10th at state with 74 points. The 200 free relay team of Matthew Nakayama, Jed Johnson, Conor Halley-McCarty and Austin Abrojena placed fourth (1:23.46).
– Tyler Porter from Bellarmine had a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle, finishing in 20.34.
– Dougherty Valley sophomore Songrui Wu took third in the 100 fly, touching the wall in 47.51.
– In the 100 free, St. Francis’ Nathan Kim came in second (44.08) and Northgate’s Mason Wendler took fourth (44.30).
– In the 100 backstroke, American senior Edward Huang was second (47.55), Kim took third (47.88) and Clayton Valley’s Diego Castaneda came in fourth (48.02).
– Christopher senior Thomas Aguero placed second in the 100 breast, finishing with a time of 54.42.
Girls
– Monte Vista totaled 125.5 points and came in fourth place in overall team scores. Genesee Quon, Zoe Venetta, Addy VonderAhe and Eva Busquets helped the Danville school finish in third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:34.29).
– Campolindo’s 200 medley team of Adriana Smith, Emilia Barck, Jasmine Fok and Madison Blackwell took second (1:42.01). Carondelet’s team of Madison O’Connell, Katherine Kracht, Natalie Aiken and Elsa Horciza was fourth (1:42.86).
– In the 100 free, Pioneer junior Jojo Brant was third (50.14) and O’Connell took fifth (50.22).
– Northgate’s Lily Struempf finished the 500 free in 4:52.27, good for third place.
– SRV senior Miranada Stevenson came in second in the 100 breast, touching the wall in 1:00.77.
Source: www.mercurynews.com