Karly Frangieh’s final time competing in the Central Coast Section Swimming and Diving Championships was one for the record books.
The Los Gatos High senior finished second in the girls 50-yard and 100 freestyle races—setting school records in both events—on May 4 at Independence High. Frangieh advances to the CIF State Championships, May 9-11 at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex.
She’ll be joined by teammates Karissa Elliott, Kiana Koechlin and Ava Taylor, who along with Frangieh form the 400 free relay team. They finished fifth in 3 minutes, 33.78 seconds. In a testament to her versatility, Taylor had a pair of 12th-place finishes in her individual events, covering the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.11 and the 500 free in 5:09.71.
Frangieh, an Arizona State University-signee for water polo, clocked a 23.40 in the 50 free and 50.63 in the 100 free.
Her 50 free time broke the previous school record held by her older sister, Zoe, who recently completed a standout sophomore season playing water polo at ASU.
Karly Frangieh’s 100 time broke her own record she set last season.
“Overall, it was a great day,” she said. “Definitely fun. I was excited to drop my time, especially in the 50, because I hadn’t dropped my time in that event in a while.”
Frangieh enters the State Championships with the seventh fastest time in the 100 free and 11th fastest in the 50 free. Her times in both events are under the Automatic All America cutoff, meaning she ranks in the top 8% nationally.
The two-sport standout said the team dynamic at LGHS helps the athletes maximize their performance.
“I think our team is pretty special because we’re close and all support each other,” she said. “That’s something other teams might not have.”
This is the third time Frangieh has advanced to the State Championships, but she’s never qualified for the ‘A’ final, which takes the top eight swimmers from the Prelims.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I’ve never been seeded this high in my personal events, so I’m definitely looking to make a final and improve my times.”
Lonergan Advances
On the boys side, Wildcats senior Ewan Lonergan advanced to State in the 100-yard breaststroke, placing second in the CCS Finals in a time of 55.91 seconds.
A day earlier in the CCS Prelims, Lonergan established the fastest time of the meet with a PR of 55.10 seconds.
As Lonergan touched the wall, he pumped his arms and screamed in celebration. Lonergan, who has made a verbal commitment to swim for Southern Methodist University next year, didn’t expect a PR because he had been out of the pool for a week after a bout with poison oak, which left him unable to use his arm for a few days.
“I had low expectations for this meet, so this was kind of a surprise,” he said. “A drop in time here felt really good. I think our relay teams pumped me up and my teammates have been really elevating my swimming. During the (regular) season, I was going pretty slow. But I feel like championship season is looking pretty good. I’m definitely looking forward to State.”
Lonergan also placed seventh in the 100 butterfly in 51 seconds flat. The boys 200- and 400 free relay teams also qualified for State. The 400 relay squad of Mathijs Dirven, Connor Sullivan, Mathew Cheang and Joshua Naim took fifth in 3:09.32. The 200 relay team of Lonergan, Eduardo Lasso, Liam Amburgey and Sullivan placed seventh in 1:26.58.
Sullivan took 10th in the 100 free in 46.89 seconds, and Dirven finished 12th in the 50 free in 21.59 seconds.
Palo Alto Pool Performances
Los Gatos also received some standout performances in the 1-meter diving competition, which was held on April 30 at Palo Alto High.
In the boys event, Parsa Nolan placed seventh with 415.30 points. In the girls competition, Maddy Wong placed 10th with 412.40 points.
