After strong Coast Conference and state championship campaigns this season, the Las Positas swim and dive team had 10 student-athletes earn All-American honors. Eight received individual recognition and five of the Hawks relay teams also earned accolades. To be named an All-American, competitors have to finish the season in the top 16 in the country.
The Hawks men were led by sophomores Zach Zauhar-Kurr and Ryan Ridosko, who earned All-American status in nine combined individual events, while also being a part of all five relay teams. Alongside them was freshman Logan Borrelli, who finished tenth in the 200 yard backstroke and sophomore diver Zach Ulrich, who finished fifth in the 1 meter dive and sixth in the 3 meter. All five of the Hawk All-American relay teams were on the men’s side. Those teams were manned by Zauhar-Kurr, Ridosko, Ulrich, Borrelli, Ethan Santiago and Jay Jani.
The Hawks men won the Coast Conference Championship for the second straight year this season, while finishing eighth in the State Championships. Zauhar-Kurr was the only Hawk to earn a state title, winning the 400 yard Individual Medley. That time saw him finish second in the country. He also finished fifth in the 200 yard butterfly, with Ulrich being the only other Hawks man who finished an event in the top five in the country.
The Hawks also saw four women earn a total of six All-American honors. They were led by diver Sarah Dorn, who finished fourth in the 1 meter dive and ninth in the 3 meter. Samantha Fehr finished seventh in the 100 yard breaststroke and 15th in the 200 yard breaststroke, Makenzie Duffin finished 14th in the 1650 yard freestyle and Annie Holm placed 12th in the 1 meter dive.
The Hawks women weren’t able to find as much success as the men this season, dropping down to third in this year’s Conference Championships after finishing second last year. But with the group’s youthfulness, expectations will be higher for not just the Hawks women, but the men as well.
All four of the Hawks women All-Americans were freshmen. On the men’s side, out of the combined six individuals, three of them were also in their first season. The number of accolades achieved by the young Hawks will have the program excited for next season, with the men looking to win their third Conference Championship in a row and the women hoping to win their first since 2019.
“Gives us something to look forward to next year,” coach Jason Craighead said after the State Championship. “We know what we have now.”
Top photo: (from left to right, standing) Logan Borrelli, Zach Zauhar-Kurr, Keane Laird Jimenez, Ethan Santiago and Vincent Vandersall. Kneeling: Assistant coach Kelly Gentry (left) and head coach Jason Craighead. (Photo by Jakob Arnarsson/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004.
