San Marcos finishes fourth in powerful CIF-SS Division 1 in girls swimming
Mike Klan
WALNUT, Calif. – The ‘Fantastic Four’ turned in a mighty performance for San Marcos High School girls swimming.
The Royals had just four swimmers (Sierra Tallman, Taylor Steelman, Sophia Hall and Sophie Yonker) competing in the powerful CIF-Southern Section Division 1 Championships but they managed to still finish in fourth overall place at Mt. San Antonio College.
Coach Chuckie Roth said “Today was one of the best days in the history of San Marcos swimming. Our fabulous four girls battled in unprecedented heat, the deck temperature was over 100 degrees, but the girls rose to the occasion, swimming almost all personal best times and state qualification times. We’re really lucky to have such a great group of young women.”
Senior Sierra Tallman led the way, finishing 4th in both of her individual events. In the 200-yard individual medley, she not only secured a top-four finish but also set a new Channel League record with a time of 2:00.82, which earned her automatic All-American honors. Tallman also lowered her own school record in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking a 55.19 to improve upon her preliminary performance and maintain her 4th-place standing.
(video courtesy Tallman)
Fellow senior Taylor Steelman also impressed on finals day, placing 7th in the 200 freestyle with a personal-best time of 1:49.74, and finishing 5th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.53, fast enough to meet the automatic All-American standard.
Junior Sophia Hall wrapped up her breakout meet with a 15th place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. Her finals swim of 24.21 was a new personal best.
The Royals were also a force in the relays. The 200 Medley relay team of Steelman, Tallman, Hall, and Yonker secured a 7th place finish with a time of 1:46.68. In the 4×50 freestyle relay, Steelman, Yonker, Tallman and Hall came together for a outstanding 4th place finish in 1:35.56.
(video courtesy Tallman).
The four swimmers will continue on to the State Championships next weekend in Fresno, California.