Chloe Isleta qualifies in seven different events and posts three
times that currently rank No. 1 in the nation among 11-year-olds;
Celina Stotler qualifies in five events
HOLLISTER
One year ago, competing as a 10-year-old in the 10-and-under age category, Chloe Isleta earned seven first-place finishes at the Pacific Swimming Short Course Junior Olympic Championships.
This year, Isleta was at the bottom of the age totem pole — an 11-year-old competing in the 12-and-under age category — but she still managed to flex her swimming muscle, showing little respect for her swimming elders.
Isleta took home three first-place finishes at Junior Olympics two weeks ago, as well as three second-place finishes and a third-place standing. The three top-spot times, however, set Isleta apart from everyone else in her age bracket, and everyone else in the nation as well.
Isleta clocked a 1:01.20 in the 100 IM, a 2:10.18 in the 200 IM and a 4:33.42 in the 400 IM — three first-place finishes and three times that currently stand at No. 1 among all 11-year-olds in the nation.
Yes, the nation.
“Number one in the nation, possibly the universe,” quipped Dave Steele, who is head coach of the swim team at Rovella’s Athletic Club in Hollister. “I’ve never heard of anyone faster.”
Isleta’s time in both the 100 IM and 400 IM is tops in the nation by a little more than six-tenths of a second in each event, but her time in the 200 IM stands alone. With a 2:10.18, Isleta’s time in the 200 IM is best in the nation by nearly three seconds.
“She’s on track to have a pretty great meet as an 11-year-old, even though she’s racing against 12-year-olds,” Steele said.
“By this time next year, she should be unstoppable.”
Isleta was also second in the 100 free (54.65), second in the 100 back (59.97), and second in the 500 free (5:14.64), while her 1:00.10 in the 100 fly placed her third. All seven of Isleta’s times, though, qualified toward this weekend’s Far Western Championships, which will begin Thursday and run through Sunday at Morgan Hill’s Aquatic Center.
Isleta won’t be the only one from Rovella’s in attendance, though. Seven others advanced from Junior Olympics, which was held in San Ramon and welcomed roughly 1,200 swimmers.
Joining her will be her older sister, Czsarina, who qualified in three events. Czsarina Isleta took second place in both the 200 IM (2:11.54) and the 100 breast (1:08.64), and qualified in the 200 back as well when she clocked a fifth-place time of 2:11.12.
Celina Stotler, 16, qualified in five different events, including the 1000 free (11:27.25), the 200 back (2:18.37), the 100 fly (1:00.65), the 200 fly (2:11.84) and the 400 IM (4:51.40), while teammate Alexandra Vargas, 12, managed to advance to Far Westerns in both the 200 fly (2:26.78) and the 400 IM (5:09.28).
Gilroy’s Brian Pribyl, 17, qualified in the 200 fly (2:04.44) after he took second place, and the 200 IM (2:07.49) after he finished in seventh place, while 12-year-old Gus Spurzem qualified in the 200 fly with an eighth-place finish in 2:21.61.
Meanwhile, Quinn Six qualified in a pair of events, including the 100 back (56.62) and the 200 back (2:04.03), which he finished in second and eighth place, respectively.
First-year swimmer Michaela Krulee qualified in three events, including the 500 free (6:20.42), the 200 free (2:27.91) and the 100 fly (1:18.67).
“It’s her first year and she’s already got three Far Western qualifying times,” Steele said of the nine-year-old swimmer. “And one in the 500 free, which is the most special of them all for a swimmer of only a year.”
Far Westerns, considered the largest swim meet in California, will run Thursday through Sunday at the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center.
Interested in swimming? Contact Dave Steele at Rovella’s Athletic Club at (831) 636-8500.
