SAN MATEO — Approaching the final turn of the 200-yard butterfly, Larwence Thomas, Christopher Guidi and Ethan Santiago were neck-and-neck. All three churned, seeking one more gear for the sprint home. All are desperate to proclaim themselves the fastest.
For the Las Positas Hawks, it’s a sight for sore eyes. They’ve become accustomed to the spirited battles that raged between the three teammates. From practice to the meets spread across the calendar, they consistently produced lively contests.
“There will be times in practice where we come together and we will purposefully race next to each other, like we chose the lane next door,” Guidi said. “That way, we can pace off each other.”
Within the pool of San Mateo College, the intensity ramped up. Normally, the last 50 yards signified one last push for that day’s bragging rights. On Saturday, April 20, they were 50 yards away from a conference championship.
Guidi capitalized on the moment, winning the race with a time of 1:57.18. Thomas finished 0.43 seconds behind Guidi, with Santiago finishing third (1:58.54)
Together, they produced a commanding sweep for the Hawks. Fourth place, Alexander Mindanao, was 1.11 seconds behind Santiago. Fifth place was 12.7 seconds behind.
It’s how the Hawks hoped the championship meet would go — continued dominance from a program fresh off of back-to-back banners. It turned out to be one of few victories.
The Hawks fell short of a three-peat, finishing in third place with 509 points in the Coast Conference Championships for men’s swimming and diving, which ended on Saturday, April 20. The Hawks didn’t come close, finishing 111.5 short of De Anza, the new champs. West Valley took second.
The roots of LPC’s shortcomings lay in their volume. De Anza brought 25 competitors. West Valley brought 18. The Hawks? Only nine.
The smaller contingency limited their point tally. It required near perfection from the Hawks to keep up. Mistakes were extra penalizing.
But they came into the conference championships knowing their roster restrictions, and the daunting task before them. Their goal was to compete. They did that.
“I really can’t complain,” head coach Jason Craighead said. “We strategize from the very beginning, like how can we take nine men and win… We did everything well on our part, outside of one bad relay exchange, I thought we did phenomenal.”
During the 800-yard freestyle relay race, the Hawks committed a cardinal error — one of the Hawks dove in too early on one of the exchanges. They were sitting in first place before that exchange. Their aggression was unwarranted.
The Hawks were disqualified from the event, costing them 40 points. They’d have taken second with those points.
“It’s a mistake that shouldn’t have happened,” Craighead said. “I told the guys that’s the one relay where the relay exchange doesn’t matter. (In) 800 yards and seven and a half minutes of racing, two or three-tenths (of a second) on a start does not make the difference.”
Even with their roster limitations, no school finished on the podium more than Las Positas, which took home three golds, nine silvers and six bronzes. Eighth of the nine Hawks earned podium finishes.
Guidi led the Hawks in points with his 200-yard butterfly and 400 Individual Medley (IM) wins. Jay Jani won the 200-yard breaststroke for the Hawks’ other gold. He added a silver in the 200-yard IM and a bronze in the 100-yard breaststroke. Thomas and Santiago matched their 200-yard butterfly performance in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing second and third, respectively.
The Hawks’ relay team, despite its 800-yard freestyle blunder, earned four podiums in the five relay events.
While the Hawks failed to hang their third banner in as many years, they continued to showcase the program’s championship mentality. A competitive spirit that drove the intensity of the 200-yard butterfly race — a mindset to win while pushing each other to improve.
An identity they hope will translate to more podiums, this time at the state championships held at Santa Rosa College from May 2-4.
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TOP PHOTO: From left to right, Jason Craighead, Larwence Thomas, Chris Guidi, Ethan Santiago and Kelly Gentry pose with their 200-yard butterfly medals. It was by far the Hawks most dominant event performance, as they fell short of a potential Coast Conference three-peat. (Photo by Jakob Arnarsson/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Managing Editor and Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @JakobA2004
