Dashiell DeAnda and Kaylee Richmond win CIF Southern Section Division 2 swimming titles

WALNUT - It finally was Dashiell DeAnda’s time to stand in the spotlight.

DeAnda’s twin sister, Ava, has been one of the state’s elite swimmers in recent years, collecting four CIF Southern Section and three CIF State individual championships during her first three years representing Riverside Poly’s swimming program.

“She’s always been pretty dang good” Dash said about his twin sister’s successes. “I’ve been playing catch-up the whole time.”

Friday afternoon, at the Mt. San Antonio College Aquatic Center, Dash himself became a CIF Southern Section champion. DeAnda grabbed an early lead and pulled away to claim the Division 2 boys 200-yard freestyle title in a time of 1 minute, 37.85 seconds.

DeAnda nearly pulled off a come-from-behind win the 500 freestyle later in the meet but settled for second place (4:25.39).

“It feels good to get at least one win under my belt,” said DeAnda, who is headed to UC San Diego. “I thought I could have done a little better (in the 500 freestyle), but nerves kind of got to me. I’m happy with how I did today and excited for (the) state (meet).”

DeAnda’s improvement in these events has been remarkable. He didn’t swim the 200 freestyle at section finals as a freshman, and he finished ninth and third, respectively, the next two seasons. He has dropped nearly six seconds over the three seasons. DeAnda was 17th as a freshman in the 500 freestyle and finished fifth and third, respectively, at the next two section finals. He has dropped nearly 25 seconds across four seasons. DeAnda earned All-American status with both of his swims Friday.

DeAnda nearly stormed back for another victory in the 500 freestyle. He trailed Villa Park’s Jay Hickman by 2 1/2 seconds at the 400-yard mark, but DeAnda spilt 50.89 over the final 100 and 24.62 over the last 50 to get within 0.82 seconds of Hickman.

“I learned the hard way that I can’t let someone get too far away from me,” he said. “I definitely should’ve gone out a little harder.”

Riverside Poly finished fifth in boys team standings. The Bears collected some valuable relay points, as the quartet of DeAnda, Beppe Martinez Tennis, Piero Duenas and Christian Prince finished second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:26.37) and fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:11.89).

Murrieta Valley’s Kaylee Richmond successfully defended the girls 50 freestyle championship she won last year as a freshman, prevailing in a time of 23.28 seconds. Richmond hoped to do likewise in the 100 freestyle but settled for second place (50.46).

Richmond had mixed emotions about her swims at the 2026 section finals, as she was unable to improve on last year’s times.

“I’ve been having some trouble getting to my best times this year, but I’m definitely happy about winning another title,” she said.

Redlands finished sixth in the girls team standings. Leading the way was freshman Maddison Miner, who placed sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:52.49) and seventh in the 500 freestyle (5:05.22). The Terriers finished third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.51) with a lineup of Elisha de Vera, Valerie Na, Mackenzie Miner and Maddison Miner. The Miner sisters and de Vera later team with Jiarui Li for a sixth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.85).

King was 10th in the girls standings. Alyssa Bian was the individual standout for the Wolves, finishing third in the 100 butterfly (54.99) and fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:50.50). Bian joined forces with Alyssa Christensen, Addisyn Sharpe and Chloe Clendenen to finish sixth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:39.86) and eighth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:40.26).

Diamond Bar freshman Adalyn Lee overcame a disqualification in the girls 200 individual medley to finish third in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.06).

Upland’s Logan Abadie placed third in the boys 100 breaststroke (56.30).

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 12:51 AM.