Cibola swimmers bring home top 10 finishes from state meet

Cibola boys finished 17th overall as a team and the girls take the 25th spot

MESA, Ariz. ( KYMA, KECY-TV ) - The Cibola Raiders boys' and girls swim teams competed in the state competition over the weekend at the Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa.

"I think we finished the season better than expected," Cibola head coach Mark Dusek said. "We had all six relays qualify for finals which includes the boys and girls. We had four kids swim in the championship finals. Ryan Dusek, Ethan Jantzi, Nick Acero, and Ella Hauck."

Top performers on the boys side include:
Ryan Dusek, Ethan Jantzi, Nick Acero, and Blake Welch placed 7th in the 200 Medley Relay.
Ethan Jantzi finished 20th in the 50 Yard freestyle and 19th in the 100 yard Breaststroke.
Nick Acero placed 16th in the 100 yard freestyle.
Ryan Dusek placed 20th in the 100 yard backstroke.
Nick Acero, Ryan Dusek, Rene Herrera, and Ethan Jantzi placed 7th in the 200 Freestyle relay
Rene Herrera, Lincoln McCall, Carlos Aguilar, and Blake Welch finished 26th in the 400 Freestyle relay

"Ryan, Ethan , and Nick Swam their last high school events," Dusek said. "It’s bittersweet because as we’ve watched these kids year after year, not just high school, but year round club swim as well, we see the progress they’ve made and the maturity they exude, but now, in a literal minute it’s over."

Top performers on the girls side include:
Ella Hauck finished 9th in the  200 Freestyle and 8th in the 100 Butterfly.
Lilly Nguyen, Olivia Angulo, Emma Jantzi, and Ella Hauck finished 18th in the 200 Freestyle Relay
Dalyn Dusek, Olivia Angulo, Mariana Heredia, and Emma Jantzi finished 28th in the 400 Freestyle relay.

"Ella did a fantastic job in her events," Dusek said. "She’s only a freshman and to qualify for the A finals in her individual events says a lot about her talent. There’s no where for her to go but up! We’re looking forward to watching what more she can do in the future."

Overall, the Cibola boys team finished 17th place and the Lady Raiders finished 25th.

"We hope all these kids who are moving on and graduating, Ryan, Ethan, Nick, and Blake Welch," Dusek said. "Remember their time fondly as being part of a great team with great people who have coaches who are extremely proud of them and want nothing but the best for them."

Dusek also shared how his swimmers did on day one of the state competition where only the top 40 individual qualifiers swam. The Top 30 relays and top 20 individual swimmers swam on Day 2. Individuals who were top 20 will swim in an 'A' final (Top 1-10) and a 'B' Final (11-20), based upon their times from November 8th.

"We consider it a great accomplishment to qualify for the State Championship and we have several swimmers who did just that," Dusek said. "There were some great time drops and wonderful swims. Everyone's goal is to swim the second day in the finals, and we had swimmers do just that. We want everyone to swim the second day, but the competition is extremely fierce at this level. We got to witness All-American times and the kids got to share the pool with future Olympians."

Boys top performers from Day One include:

Ryan Dusek - 200 I.M. Placed 30th / 100 Yard Backstroke placed 16th and will swim in the 'B' Final tomorrow

Ethan Jantzi - 50 Freestyle placed 18th / 100 Yard Breaststroke placed 17 and will swim in the 'B' final for both events.

Nick Acero - Placed 23rd in the 50 Freestyle / Placed 18th in the 100 Yard freestyle and will swim in the 'B' final 

Blake Welch - Placed 36th in the 100 freestyle

Rene Herrera - Placed 31st in the 500 Yard freestyle

"Nick Acero did amazing," Dusek said. "He’s been so close getting the times he wanted and he succeeded! He swims in two of the most competitive events and he was right there with the field. Ethan Jantzi is ending his senior year with a bang qualifying for the finals in both his events. He’s been working so hard this year and it’s paid off. Ryan Dusek did great. Ryan is definitely a Yuman and when it’s cold outside it affects his swimming. He overcame that and qualified for the finals in 100 backstroke. Being his senior year and because of our relationship, I was so proud he made it and have been so privileged to watch him grow these past few years."

Girls top performers from Day One include:

Eleanor Hauck - Placed 8th in both the 200 Yard Freestyle and the 100 Yard Butterfly. She will swim in the 'A' final for both events

Lilly Nguyen placed 29th in the 100 Yard Butterfly and 24th in the 100 Yard backstroke

While we’re very proud of all of our swimmers, a few of them did stand out today. 

"Ella Hauck did a fantastic job," Dusek said. "She qualified for the a final in both of her individual events. She’s only a freshman and to qualify for both her individual events sure says a lot about her hard work and drive to perform. She’s also not that far off being able to medal in each of those events."

Coach Dusek also shared a quick shoutout to a few of his athletes and swam a little under the radar this season.

"Leilani Chavez is one of our girl swimmers who is a senior and Kodi Dunham and Josue Castillo are two of our senior boys," Dusek said. "Josue and Kodi are part of our unified team who have worked very hard all year! They don’t get the recognition, but they are the greatest kids with the best attitudes."

A very special thank you to Mark Dusek for his help on this article and all the information he provided during the swim season. Thank you Coach, much appreciated.