Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

SPORTS News;

The Mountain Club took first place for the third consecutive year in the 2025 New Mexico Swimming Short Course Spring Finale held March 1-2 at the Santa Fe Community Center (GCCC).

The meet was hosted by Beast Aquatics. A total of 363 swimmers from 12 teams participated in this event. The Mountain Club scored 1,445 points with 42 swimmers.

Here are the places, teams, numbers of swimmers, points earned in the Finale for each of the 12 teams:

Club Coach Anna Zhang said she wants to extend her heartfelt gratitude to all the parents for their continued support, and to the swimmers for their hard work and passion.

Shout-out to Officials:

This achievement would not be possible without the dedication of the volunteer officials.

Thank you to: William Dai, Laura Leitner, Yaping Huang, Isabel Cuesta, Michelle Certik, and Jacob Robinson (new this season).

Special thanks to the siblings who helped behind the scenes and on deck:

Justin Lei, Preslee Robinson, Eleanore Minko, Abby Gelles, Angelina Goodman, Simeon Capolungo, Jialiang Guo, Melia Arbuckle, and Avery Snapp.

New State Qualifiers!

Congratulations to four swimmers who earned their first New Mexico State qualifying times:

• Leandre Capolungo (9) – 50 Backstroke, a son of Lauert and Fanny Capolungo.
• Alicia Chen (9) – 50 & 100 Breaststroke, a daughter of Bailian Chen and Jiajia Wang.
• Leo Ma (8) – 50 Backstroke, a son of Chunling Long and Zhiwei Ma.
• Grace Waters (8) – 50 Backstroke, a daughter of Tim and Jiajia Waters.

Relay Highlights: the swimmers crushed it in both freestyle and medley relays — great teamwork!

A few standout finishes include:

• 1st Place Girls 8 & Under 200 Free and Medley Relay
• 1st Place Boys 8 & Under and Boys 10 & Under in multiple relay events
• Multiple podium finishes across mixed relays

Individual High Point Award Winners:

Numerous swimmers were recognized for outstanding individual performances, including Leo Ma, Leandre Capolungo, Benjamin Minko, Grace Waters, Alice Altschuler, and Rachel Bowlan. Congratulations to all who made the podium!

• Rachel Bowlan (13): a daughter of John and Pamela Bowlan.
• Torren Certik (6): a son of Ondrej and Michelle Certik.
• James Lei (8): a son of Zhou Lei and Yaping Huang.
• Javier Chacon Cuesta (13): a son of Luis Chacon and Isabel Cuesta.
• Elizabet Wang (8): a daughter of Min Wang and Jingchao Jiang.

The 2025 New Mexico Short Course State Championships were held March 6-9 at the West Mesa Aquatic Center in Albuquerque, hosted by MAKO Aquatic Club. Mountain Club had 18 qualified swimmers, 17 of whom competed across 86 individual events and 13 relays, finishing 6th overall among 15 teams.

Here are the places, teams, numbers of swimmers, points earned in the State Championships for each of the 15 teams:

Outstanding Performances Include:

Justin Lei (12) in the Boys 11-12 age group, a son of Zhou Lei and Yaping Huang,

• 1st @100 & 200 IM, @50 & 100 Back, @50 & 100 Breast and 2nd @200 Breast.
• Took the FIRST place Individual High Point Award in the Boys 11-12 groups.

Preslee Robinson (10) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Jacob and Jessica Robinson,

• 1st @100 & 200 IM, 200 Free, 50 & 100 Fly and 100 Back, and 2nd @50 Back.
• Took the FIRST place Individual High Point Award in the Girls 10 & Under groups.

Eleanora Minko (9) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Yury Minko and Tatyana Elkin,

• 2nd @100 & 200 IM, 200 Free, 50 & 100 Fly and 50 Breast, and 3rd @100 Breast.
• Took the THIRD place Individual High Point Award in the Girls 10 & Under groups.

Zdenek Certik (12) in the Boys 11-12 age group,  a son of Ondrej and Michelle Certik,

• 3rd @500 Free, 4th @200 Free, @400 IM, and 200 Breast, 5th @200 Fly, 6th @200 Back, and 7th @100 Fly.

Daniel Yampolsky (12) in the Boys 11-12 age group, a son of Nikolai and Kathrine Yampolsky,

• 5th @ 50 Back & 50 Breast, 6th @ 100 Back, and 8th @50 Fly.

Benjamin Minko (12) in the Boys 11-12 age group, a son of Yury Minko and Tatyana Elkin,

• 5th @200 IM, 6th @50 Fly, 7th @50 & 100 Back, 8th @100 Fly and 12th @500 Free.

Leia Lin (12) in the Girls 11-12 age group, a daughter of Shizeng Lin and Xi Yang,

• 4th @200 Breast, 5th @400 IM, 6th @200 IM, 7th @100 Breast, 8th @50 Breast, 12th @100 IM, and 14th @100 Free.

 Owen Herring (10) in the Boys 10 & Under age group, a son of Davis and Angela Herring,

• 5th @50 Back, 6th @100 back, 12th @50 Fly and 15th @100 Free.

Daniel Certik (9) in the Boys 10 & Under age group, a son of Ondrej and Michelle Certik,

• 3rd @50 & 100 Fly, 4th @200 Free, 5th @50 Breast, 6th @50 Back, 7th @200 IM, and 9th @100 IM.

Alexander Yampolsky (9) in the Boys 10 & Under age group, a son of Nikolai and Kathrine Yampolsky,

• 4th @50 Breast, 5th @30 Free, 9th @200 IM & 100 Free, and 12th @50 Back.

Jiadong Guo (8) in the Boys 10 & Under age group, a son of a son of Fan Guo and Ting Chen,

• 8th @100 Breast, 9th @100 Fly, and 13th @50 Back.

 Simone Bowlan (10) in the Girls 11-12 age group, a daughter of John and Pamela Bowlan,

• 6th @100 Fly, 15th @50 Fly, 27th @100 Back, and 31st @50 Back.

Avery Snapp (10) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Steve and Kathleen Snapp,

• 5th @200 IM, 13th @100 Back, 15th @50 back, and 16th @200 Free.

Emma Fuentes (10) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Jahaira and Gamaliel Fuentes,

• 9th @200 IM & 100 Fly, 15th @100 Breast, and 24th @100 Back.

Alice Altschuler (10) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Sarah and Walt Altschuler,

•  5th @100 Fly, 11th@50 Fly, 21st @100 IM, and 22nd @50 Back.

Sydney Chen (10) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Aiping Chen and Pei Huang,

• 8th @200 IM, 9th @50 Breast, 10th @100 Breast, and 19th @200 Free.

Claire Robinson (8) in the Girls 10 & Under age group, a daughter of Jacob and Jessica Robinson,

• relays

Western Zone Qualifiers: A huge round of applause to:

• Preslee Robinson – Qualified in 4 events: 200 Free, 200 IM, 50/100 Fly
• Daniel Certik – Qualified in 100 Fly

State Championship Relay Highlights:

• Girls 10 & Under: 2nd in 200 Medley, 3rd in 200 Free
• Boys 10 & Under & 12 & Under: 3rd in multiple relays
• Mixed Relays: Podium finishes in both 10 & Under and 12 & Under Medley relays

Congratulations to all our swimmers and parents!

 Interested in Joining Us?

Mountain Club is coached and operated by Anna Z and based in Los Alamos. In addition to team practices, Anna also offers developmental 1:1 swim lessons for beginners.

Join the club: mountainswimming@gmail.com

Swim lessons: mountainclub.lessons@gmail.com

Contact: Anna at 505.662.1900

Come swim with us — let’s make waves together!

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo