CIF state swim championships: Palo Alto’s Ethan Harrington sets two meet records to cap ‘historical career’

Stanford-bound Palo Alto star repeats as state champion in 50, 100 freestyle events. Saratoga's Kelsey Zhang wins 100 butterfly. Northgate boys break a relay record.

Palo Alto’s Ethan Harrington completed one of the all-time great high school swimming careers on Saturday, winning his two signature events in record-breaking fashion to repeat as California state champion in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle races.

The Stanford-bound bolt of lightning won the 50 free at the Clovis Olympic Swim Center in 19.57 seconds, breaking his own California Interscholastic Federation state meet record and matching the mark he swam last week to eclipse his own Central Coast Section meet record.

He then smashed the state meet record in the 100 free, touching the wall in 42.92 to beat the previous mark of 43.09 that Northgate’s Alexei Sancov set in 2018.

Harrington ended his high school career with Palo Alto records in two individual events and three relays.

“It’d be hard to sum it up because he’s just accomplished so much,” Palo Alto coach Danny Dye said by phone from Clovis. “For him and that whole little senior group, having their freshmen year cut short and not being able to swim in 2021, and yet even in the pandemic and short season they gave us, they were still able to break the school record in the 200 (free relay).

“Then to come into his junior year … he’s never lost (an individual event). He went his entire career never losing. It’s a historical career.”

Palo Alto finished third in the 200 free relay and second in the 400 free relay, giving Harrington four top-three finishes in his final high school meet.

What makes him so fast?

“It’s a combination of many things,” Dye said. “No. 1 is he has the right amount of confidence. Nerves don’t get to him. In watching him swim over all of these years, he has the best start that I have ever seen. That’s where he wins all of his races. He’s off the block, in the water and up swimming ahead of everybody, every time. It’s the twitch of his muscle.”

Northgate’s team of Mason Wendler, Scott McMillan, Kyle Kengla and Andrew Hallett won the 200 free relay in a meet-record 1:21.36. Loyola-Los Angeles took second in 1:21.48. Palo Alto reached the wall at 1:21.81. All three times broke the previous meet record of 1:22.13.

In the 400 free relay, Palo Alto finished second in 2:59.67, becoming the first CCS school to go under three minutes, according to Dye.

Saratoga’s Kelsey Zhang captured the state championship in the girls 100 butterfly, covering the distance in 52.94 to outpace the runner-up, Ava Chavez of St. Francis-Sacramento, who finished in 53.67.

Last week, Zhang won the CCS title in a slightly faster 52.62.

The Saratoga standout also took third in the 200 individual medley on Saturday in 1:59.56. Teagan O’Dell of Santa Margarita-Rancho Santa Margarita reached the wall first in an electrifying meet-record time of 1:53.38.

Campolindo’s Adriana Smith, Emilia Barck, Jasmine Fok and Audrey Le-Nguyen opened the meet by winning the girls 200 medley relay in 1:41.14, helping the Cougars finish second in the team standings behind Santa Margarita.

Monte Vista took third.

In the boys standings, Palo Alto placed third, behind champion Santa Margarita and runner-up Loyola. De La Salle was fifth and Northgate finished sixth.

Dye was proud of his team’s performance.

“You had the two schools that are private schools and can get anybody they want from all over the state,” Dye said, referring to Santa Margarita and Loyola. “For our school to step in and have a boundary of about six miles, or five miles even, and finish third and be the No. 1 public school in the state of California for the second year in a row, I would take that any day of the week.”

Other local highlights

Boys

— American’s Edward Huang took third in the 100 back, reaching the wall in 47.88.

— In the 100 breaststroke, Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Jonah Lee (53.90) was second, Christopher’s Thomas Aguero (55.10) placed third and Los Gatos’ Ewan Lonergan (56.16) took seventh.

— De La Salle finished fourth in the 200 medley relay in 1:31.39.

— In the 200 free, Northgate’s Wendler (1:37.61) placed fourth and California’s Owen Berry (1:37.96) was fifth.

— De La Salle’s Zach Elian (20.25) took fourth and Mountain View’s Dar Lavrenko (20.78) placed eighth in the 50 free.

— In the 100 fly, Dougherty Valley’s Songrui Wu (47.56) placed fifth and Palo Alto’s Arthur Balva (48.01) was seventh.

— In the 100 free, De La Salle’s Elian (43.95) placed fourth and Northgate’s Hallett (44.87) came in eighth.

— Granada’s Jack Hendrick placed second in the 500 free in 4:24.39. California’s Berry (4:24.44) finished third and Northgate’s Wendler (4:29.67) took eighth.

— De La Salle was seventh in the 200 free relay in 1:24.06.

— In the 400 free relay, Northgate (3:00.53) finished fourth and De La Salle (3:03.60) took sixth.

Girls

— Dublin’s Kaitlin Lee finished second in the 500 free in 4:50.65.

— In the 200 medley relay, Monte Vista (1:42.40) was fourth, Carondelet (1:42.88) took fifth and San Ramon Valley (1:43.80) was sixth.

— In the 200 IM, Campolindo’s Barck (1:59.66) finished fourth, Carondelet’s Stephanie Iannaccone (1:59.81) was fifth, Archbishop Mitty’s Eunice Lee (2:01.33) placed sixth and Sacred Heart Prep’s Audrey J-Cheng (2:03.78) took eighth.

— In the 50 free, Monte Vista’s Gretta Callison finished third in 23.28 and her teammate, Genesee Quon, placed fourth in 23.32. Castilleja’s Olivia Detter (23.37) was fifth, Woodside’s Audrey Chung (23.53) finished seventh and Pioneer’s Jojo Brant (23.57) took eighth.

— In the 100 fly, Castilleja’s Ella Detter (54.18) took fourth, Campolindo’s Fok (54.34) was fifth, Campolindo’s Smith (54.56) placed sixth and Woodside’s Edana Huang (54.82) finished seventh.

— Monte Vista (1:33.12) finished second, Carondelet (1:35.05) was fourth, San Ramon Valley (1:35.49) took fifth and Campolindo (1:36.84) placed seventh in the 200 free relay.

— In the 100 back, Camplindo’s Smith (53.22) placed second, California’s Charlotte Sevin (54.81) finished third, Monte Vista’s Emily Scheberies (55.36) was sixth and Carondelet’s Madison O’Connell (55.67) came in eighth.

— In the 100 breaststroke, Sacred Heart Prep’s J-Cheng (1:01.30) came in third, Carondelet’s Iannaccone (1:02.02) was fifth and Harker’s Ashley Hong (1:02.69) took seventh.

In the 400 free relay, St. Ignatius (3:25.25) placed third, Monte Vista (3:25.51) was fifth, Carondelet (3:25.57) took sixth and Campolindo (3:25.81) placed seventh.

— Woodside’s Chung was eighth in the 100 free in 51.01.