High School swimming: Stevenson sweeps boys and girls PCAL Gabilan Division titles
SALINAS — For the past eight years, it’s been a tradition for the boys swimming program at Stevenson School to jump into the pool with their coaches and celebrate a league championship.
Over the past two years, the Pirates girls program has created an even bigger group splash, joining the boys Friday as Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division champions.
“This felt special,” Stevenson coach Franco Pacheco said. “It’s been a difficult year. Losing to Carmel in a boys’ dual meet was hard. So to come back and win this is a testament to how special these kids are.”
Without the benefit of one individual winner, the Pirates gained a measure of redemption Friday, producing multiple points in every individual boys event, avenging their dual meet loss to Carmel with a 367-307 win at Hartnell College.
Behind double event winner and Villanova water polo-bound Jacqui Powers, Stevenson ran off with a 343-239 win over runner-up Monterey in the girls finals.
“Stevenson has a lot of depth in a lot of events,” Monterey coach Steve Pina said. “They came through and got good placement and were consistent throughout the day. But we climbed a place in the girls. It was a good day to be a Toreadore.”
The Toreadores, who saw freshman Morgan Avila win a pair of events, had run off three straight Gabilan Division girls’ team titles before Stevenson ended the run last year.
The showdown in the boys division saw 85 percent of Stevenson’s swimmers earn personal records, responding to the challenge of defending their title.
“Our seniors stepped up and made the difference,” Pacheco said. “There were so many outstanding performances. It was all about depth. It was a depth victory.”
Underdogs when the meet started to Carmel, which went undefeated during the dual meet season, the Pirates got a big effort from Hezrai Horvath, who took second in the 200 free and 500 free, and swam a leg on the second-place relay team.
Ali Liddle got Stevenson pointed in the right direction on Wednesday when he won the diving competition, while Chris Yang placed second in the 200 free, earning a Central Coast Section qualifying time.
“That was the moment (Yang’s finish), with the 500 free coming up, where we really started to pull away,” Pacheco said.
Yang was also part of the second-place 200 free relay team that included Cody Thacher, Arenzo Subuwo and Tyler Hwang, while Alan Qian led four placers in the 500 free.
Powers, who produced 100 goals this past fall for the Pirates’ water polo team, which reached the Northern California Division III semifinals, swam to victories in the 200 free and 500. Frankie Derby Brown won the 100 free, with Emily Lee capturing the 200 IM.
Avila provided a glimpse of Monterey’s future, winning the 50 free in 24.88, just off the school record of 24.67. She also won the 100 fly with a personal best of 1:00.80.
Her older sister Myla won the 100 back, earning a CCS qualifying mark of 1:03.94, and placed second in the 500 free. The pair were also a part of the Toreadores school record 200 medley relay team that included Dariele Ramirez and Ellie Pargi.
The Central Coast Section girls’ swimming prelims will be on Thursday, with the boys slated for Friday at Independence High in San Jose. The finals for both divisions are scheduled for Saturday.
Soledad capped an undefeated season by winning the Mission Division girls team title, while Monte Vista claimed the boys crown. King City outdistanced the field in the Cypress Division girls finals, with Alisal taking home the boys team title.
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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 10:42 PM.