With his two record-setting performances in the CIF San Diego Section swimming finals, Torrey Pines High School senior Logan Noguchi has earned the top seed in each of his two individual races at the CIF State Championships.
Noguchi, who first entered the section record book as a sophomore, set his latest marks in the 100-yard butterfly (46.66 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (47.55).
The Princeton-bound swimmer will go for titles in the ninth state meet Thursday through Saturday at Clovis West High School near Fresno, with the chance to become the first local boys state champion since Fallbrook’s Bobby Guerrera won the 500 freestyle in the inaugural event in 2015.
Noguchi, who also owns the section’s 200-yard individual medley record, placed fourth in the 100 butterfly (47.50) and fifth in the 100 backstroke (48.3) at last year’s state meet.
The top seed in the girls 100 butterfly (53.07) belongs to another local swimmer, La Jolla senior Arielle Brotman, who just completed a career sweep of twin wins at the section meet.
The future Cal swimmer is contending for double crowns in the state meet as well since she is also seeded second in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.07). A year ago, she placed third in the 100 fly (54.07) and eighth in the 100 breast (1:03.32).
Mt. Carmel sophomore Catherine Rowe (54.89) holds the third seed in the 100 back after approaching the the section’s second-oldest girls record (54.55) in the section finals.
University City’s Kathryn Hazle, currently at Cal, became the third local girl to win a state crown last year when she prevailed in the 500 free (4:46.23).
Also, Hazle placed second in the 200 individual medley while improving her section record (1:58.36).
Mater Dei Catholic junior Isa Chavez-Varela owns the third seed in the 200 IM (2:01.57) and also vies in the 500 free (5:00.29), seeded 20th, in the same events as Hazle did last year.
This is the third straight year for the state meet following cancellation in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Thien is a freelance writer.
