Warriors open girls swim season with 91-75 win

Fallbrook High School's girls swim team opened the 2021 season Feb. 25 at home against El Camino and won the meet by a 91-75 score.

"It went well, especially for the first meet and having to deal with all the COVID-19 stuff," said Fallbrook coach Sean Redmond. "They responded very well."

Three swimmers from each school are allowed in each individual event, and position points are given for the top five finishes. Position points are given for the top three relay finishes with each team being allowed two quartets. If at least five lanes are filled for all individual events and at least three lanes are filled in each relay race the team scores would total 170 points in the absence of disqualifications.

"A lot of empty lanes compared to what we have normally seen," Redmond said.

Redmond added that some swimmers were disqualified, which is usually due to leaving the starting block before the starting gun is fired or before the previous relay swimmer touches the wall.

If only one team has a diver the diving is not included in the team scores although the individual divers are scored for CIF qualifying purposes. Fallbrook had three varsity divers and two junior varsity divers Feb. 25, including two freshmen and two sophomores. "That looks good," Redmond said.

The CIF has not yet made a determination whether a CIF meet will be held and thus has not determined whether CIF meet automatic and consideration times and diving scores will be updated. Last year a six-dive score of 190 points automatically qualified a diver for the CIF meet while a score of 175 provided consideration status.

If the qualifying scores remain unchanged, sophomore Payton Wilson achieved a consideration score Feb. 25 with 182.60 points on six dives. Fallbrook's only senior girl diver, Kassidy Ewig, totaled 139.35 points. The high school diving debut of freshman Ava Papoulias produced a score of 101.95 points.

Fallbrook won the 200-yard medley relay race, and the Warriors' time of 2:02.98 was an automatic qualifying mark last year. The winning medley relay team consisted of senior Paris Dowden, freshman Ava Dowden, junior Jocelyn Jones, and junior Grace Goode.

Jones won both of her individual races, completing the 50-yard freestyle in an automatic time of 25.92 seconds and achieving a consideration time of 1:07.73 in the 100-yard butterfly.

The three Warriors in the 200-yard freestyle individual race swept the top positions with sophomore Stephanie Hanlon posting a time of 2:18.09, Papoulias completing her laps in 2:21.91, and freshman Marissa Pearce finishing in 2:21.94.

Fallbrook's 200-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Kela Kendall, junior Erin Burnett, Ava Dowden, and Pearce won the race with a consideration time of 1:58.38. Fallbrook also took first-place points in the 500-yard freestyle when sophomore Samantha Hanlon touched the final wall 6:33.77 after the race began.

Although El Camino took the first-place points for the 200-yard individual medley event, Ava Dowden had the second-place time of 2:33.06, which met 2020 consideration standards. "Pretty cool for her first high school race," Redmond said.

Paris Dowden had two second-place finishes in events El Camino won but posted consideration times in both. She finished the 100-yard freestyle in 57.18 seconds and the 100-yard backstroke in 1:06.50.

The Wildcats also relegated Fallbrook to second place in the 400-yard freestyle relay although Jones, Papoulias, Stephanie Hanlon, and Paris Dowden had a consideration time of 4:05.03.

El Camino also took first place in the 100-yard breaststroke.

"We have a few things to work on," Redmond said.