Las Positas Swimming Building To A Splashy Finish This Season

Special to Las Positas Athletics

The Las Positas College men’s and women’s swimming teams are gradually coming into their own at the midway point of the season as preparation for the Coast Conference Championships ramps up.

With five weeks remaining, both Hawks teams will be looking for their fifth consecutive conference titles under 10-year head coach Jason Craighead when the conference meet rolls around on April 18-20 at Chabot College in Hayward.
Well aware of the high bar set by his program, Craighead remains confident that the current team can deliver more success this season.
“I don’t think there is pressure but there are expectations,” Craighead said. “You develop some consistency over the years, but you realize that it won’t always be attainable. But this group understands the expectations and the standards of the program and they want to rise to the challenge, which is great,” he added.
The Hawks men’s and women’s teams have been consistent performers so far this season, and despite the lack of depth, Craighead is confident that the team is on the right.
“We don’t have the team (depth) that we usually do, so we’ve had to rely on some people more than we usually would, but people are getting in shape and starting to race well and perform better, and we all understand that we need to work on our depth for the State Championships,” Craighead said.
The Hawks have been particularly impressive in relays, with both men’s and women’s teams earning two first-place finishes apiece during the Coast Conference Kickoff meet on Feb. 15.
Moreover, individual standouts have emerged as leaders expected to carry the team to success. Sophomore Esteban Perez del Rio, a freestyle specialist out of Kimball High in Tracy, has put in the work to keep improving.
“He has been faster than he has ever been in his life by quite a bit recently. And he has been strong and a good trainer and teammate all year, so he is just very well-rounded,” Craighead said.
Perez del Rio swam one of the better times in the state as he clocked 21.94 in a first-place finish in the 50 freestyle at the Coast Conference Kickoff meet. He added a first in the 100 free and second in the 200 free.
Perez del Rio has been putting in consistent shifts in the pool and feels like he is well on his way to achieving his goals.
“My results from that meet (De Anza) are times that I would have expected to get towards the end of the season, so the progress only motivates me and excites me for what’s to come,” Perez del Rio said.
On the women’s side, Hawks sophomore Hannah Tsui (Amador Valley High) has emerged a key performer in the team’s successful run.
Tsui, who feels at her best in the breaststroke, had firsts in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at the Coast Conference Kickoff meet. In dominant efforts, Tsui prevailed by six seconds in the 100 breast and by nine seconds in the 200 breast. She added a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly.

“I felt good about my races.” Tsui said. “At this time in the season I’m faster than I was last year at this time, which I think is a good thing. I still think I can improve more on my technique and hopefully drop more time this year at conference and states.”

Tsui added that “I still need work on my stroke count and my pull downs to help improve my times. Overall, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

With in-form swimmers like Esteban Perez del Rio and Hannah Tsui leading the way, Craighead expressed excitement for what lies ahead, despite acknowledging that there is still work to be done before the State Championships May 2-4 at De Anza in Cupertino.
“We have different talent on the team than a few years ago, but they want to succeed and they want to win,” Craighead said. “But we know that despite being fast up front, it will take more than a few individuals to win the state championship, and that’s something that we are continually working on. To keep getting better and looking for ways to improve,” he added.

NOTE: Circle the dates: Las Positas will host the always popular Hawk Invite March 29-30. The NorCal Diving Championships are April 13 in Stockton.