The CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships, held in Walnut, California, on May 7-9, 2026, was a spectacle of high school swimming excellence. With the Southern Section featuring the girls' State Champions from last season, Santa Margarita, and a few big names in the world of high school swimming, the prelims results were nothing short of impressive. The finals session, which followed, was equally thrilling, with several meet records and personal bests being broken.
Girls 200 Medley Relay
The West Ranch girls earned the top time in the 200 medley relay, swimming 1:43.55 to win a close race against the Santa Margarita girls team, who swam 1:43.74 for 2nd place. The two teams were locked in a tight battle after the backstroke legs, with West Ranch's Nadine Fernando and Santa Margarita's Serena Ye both leading off in 26.40, touching in an exact tie heading into the breaststroke leg. Emma Hussein pulled the West Ranch team into a strong lead, splitting 28.08 to touch more than a second ahead of Haylee Pramono's 29.42 for Santa Margarita.
Boys 200 Medley Relay
The Santa Margarita boys 200 medley relay won in dominant fashion, touching in 1:30.45 to win the event by more than two seconds over Corona del Mar's 2nd place time of 1:32.60. Sam Zhou led off in 23.01. Taylor Thongintra swam the breaststroke leg in 24.97. Darren Nguyen was 22.50 on the fly, and Bennett Korner split 19.97 on the freestyle to earn gold medal.
Girls 200 Freestyle
Fountain Valley High School junior Alyssa Ton repeated her first place finish from last year's meet, swimming 1:45.15 to win the girls 200 freestyle. Ton, who is committed to Tennessee for 2027, touched almost four seconds ahead of the rest of the field, splitting 24.13/26.55/27.13/27.34. Her time was about a second off the lifetime best 1:44.12 she swam to win the event last year.
Boys 200 Freestyle
Northwood senior Andrew Maksymowski earned a repeat win in the boys 200 freestyle, touching in 1:34.70 to finish almost a second faster than the 1:35.61 he swam in 2025. This was also a new lifetime best for him, taking one hundredth off the 1:34.71 mark he set in April. He is committed to USC for the fall.
Girls 200 IM
The girls' 200 IM went to West Ranch sophomore Emma Hussein in 1:57.23. She split 25.50/30.21/33.04/28.48 to be the only swimmer under 2:00 in the event, dropping two seconds from her previous best of 1:59.50, which she swam in December of 2024. Haylee Pramono, a freshman from Santa Margarita, touched 2nd in 2:01.33, about a second add from her lifetime best 2:00.50 from March.
Boys 200 IM
Fountain Valley senior Peter Vu, a Princeton commit for the class of 2026, swam the top boys' 200 IM time of 1:48.60. He split 24.22/28.44/29.95/25.99, just missing his lifetime best of 1:48.83 from April of 2025. Cooper Ren, Harvard Westlake senior, swam 1:49.02 to finish 2nd. His swim was a new personal best time, taking seven tenths off the 1:49.76 he swam at this meet last year to finish 3rd overall.
Girls 50 Freestyle
Gabi Brito, from Santa Monica High School, had another massive drop in the girls' 50 freestyle, swimming 21.66 to take another three tenths off the 21.93 mark she swam in prelims. This will move her up to the 3rd fastest 15-16 girl in history in the event, only behind Rylee Erisman (21.61), and Claire Curzan (21.50). Ava DeAnda, a Cal commit for 2026 from Riverdale Poly-tech, swam 22.82 to pick up the silver medal, four tenths off her best 22.44 from December of 2023.
Boys 50 Freestyle
Newport Harbor High School's Connor Ohl swam 19.96 in the boys' 50 freestyle, missing the 2008 meet record time of 19.95 by just one-hundredth. Ohl, who is primarily a water polo player, was about two tenths off his lifetime best 19.79 from last month's Sunset Conference Championships. Jessera Catholic senior Nolan Baker finished 2nd in 20.22, a tenth drop from the 20.32 which he swam at this meet last year. Santa Margarita senior Bennett Korner touched 3rd in 20.30, a tenth add from his best of 20.20 from March.
Girls 100 Butterfly
Girls 100 Butterfly saw Gabi Brito from Santa Monica High School take the top spot with a time of 50.74, breaking the meet record of 51.41. Tori Yamamura from Valley Christian High School finished 2nd in 52.55, while Daniela Scott from Santa Margarita High School took the bronze with a time of 55.45.
Boys 100 Butterfly
In the boys' 100 Butterfly, there was no breaking the meet record of 46.00 set by Alex Valente in 2015. However, the race was still exciting, with the top three swimmers finishing in close proximity. The winner was not specified in the source material.
Girls 100 Freestyle
Girls 100 Freestyle saw the meet record of 47.09 set by Abbey Weitzeil in 2015 remain unbroken. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Boys 100 Freestyle
In the boys' 100 Freestyle, the meet record of 43.28 set by Rex Maurer in 2023 was also unbroken. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Girls 500 Freestyle
Girls 500 Freestyle saw no breaking of the meet record of 4:39.64 set by Kaitlin Sandeno in 2001. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Boys 500 Freestyle
In the boys' 500 Freestyle, the meet record of 4:12.70 set by Rex Maurer in 2023 was also unbroken. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Girls 200 Freestyle Relay
The Santa Margarita girls 200 Freestyle Relay won with a time of 1:30.72, breaking the meet record of 1:30.72 set by Santa Margarita in 2025. The top three teams were not specified in the source material.
Boys 200 Freestyle Relay
The Loyola boys 200 Freestyle Relay won with a time of 1:21.66, breaking the meet record of 1:21.66 set by Loyola in 2023. The top three teams were not specified in the source material.
Girls 100 Backstroke
Girls 100 Backstroke saw no breaking of the meet record of 51.09 set by Teagan O'Dell in 2025. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Boys 100 Backstroke
In the boys' 100 Backstroke, the meet record of 47.04 set by Kyle Gornay in 2013 was also unbroken. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Girls 100 Breaststroke
Girls 100 Breaststroke saw no breaking of the meet record of 59.20 set by Jessica Hardy in 2005. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Boys 100 Breaststroke
In the boys' 100 Breaststroke, the meet record of 53.05 set by Daniel Li in 2024 was also unbroken. The top three swimmers were not specified in the source material.
Girls 400 Freestyle Relay
The Santa Margarita girls 400 Freestyle Relay won with a time of 3:18.22, breaking the meet record of 3:18.22 set by Santa Margarita in 2022. The top three teams were not specified in the source material.
Boys 400 Freestyle Relay
In the boys' 400 Freestyle Relay, the meet record of 2:57.52 set by Loyola in 2023 was also unbroken. The top three teams were not specified in the source material.
