The 2026 CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships are underway, and the excitement is palpable. With the diving and swimming preliminaries already underway, the finals session promises to be a thrilling showcase of talent and determination. The meet is taking place at Clovis West High School in Fresno, California, and is being conducted in SCY (25 Yards).
One of the standout performers in the preliminaries was Northwood senior USC commit Andrew Maksymowski, who is the top seed in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle events. His performance in these events will be crucial in determining the outcome of the championship.
The girls' 200 medley relay saw a close race, with the Archbishop Mitty team touching in at 1:43.64 to win the event by two tenths over the Mountain View team's silver medal time. The boys' 200 medley relay was even more dramatic, with Valley Christian setting a new California High School State Record of 1:28.80, taking two tenths off the previous record held by Santa Margarita.
The girls' 200 freestyle event was won by Foothill senior Mckinley Scobie, who touched in at 1:47.42, just a little more than half a second ahead of the competition. The boys' 200 freestyle was a close race, with Kings Academy senior Nathan Foucu taking the gold medal in 1:34.38, just seven tenths faster than Andrew Maksymowski's second-place finish.
The girls' 200 IM event saw Kelsey Zhang take the gold medal in 1:58.07, while the boys' 200 IM was won by Songrui Wu in 1:44.55. The girls' 50 freestyle and 100 fly events were dominated by Jada Duncan, who set new state records of 22.23 and 52.09, respectively. The boys' 50 freestyle and 100 fly events were won by Yury Kumzenko and Ethan Hu, respectively.
The girls' 100 free and 500 free events were won by Teagan O'Dell, while the boys' 100 free and 500 free events were won by Ethan Harrington and Luka Mijatovic, respectively. The girls' 200 free relay and 400 free relay events were won by Santa Margarita, while the boys' 200 free relay and 400 free relay events were won by Northgate and Loyola, respectively.
The CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships are shaping up to be an exciting and closely contested event, with new records being set and talented athletes pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the pool. The finals session promises to be a thrilling showcase of the best that California's high school swimmers and divers have to offer.
