Christianson wins two events, hits US Open cut at CCA Sectionals

California Capital Aquatics in Roseville hosted the 2022 Summer CA-NV Sectionals from July 21 to Sunday at the Roseville Aquatics Complex where a number of area athletes competed, including Del Oro's Sean Christianson who won both the 100-meter backstroke and butterfly races. Christianson, racing for Wolverine Aquatics Club, hit a U.S. Open cut on July 22 in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 57.31 seconds. "I didn't figure it out until an hour later when I was out at lunch and I was super excited and happy with the race," Christianson said. He would then race his best time in the 100-meter butterfly winning at 55.24 seconds. Christianson recently finished his junior season at Del Oro High and made it to the state championships in three events with his best performance being an 11th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. "State didn't go as well as I wanted it to, but I got some rest and fixed some things," Christianson said. There were a number of other swimmers who also placed well such as Simone Sapico of California Capital Aquatics who finished fourth in the 200-meter butterfly on July 21 with a time of 2:21 dropping nearly four seconds off of her previous time. Sapico also raced in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday and came in 12th at 1:04. "I felt really good and haven't swam this fast in probably about a year," Sapico said. "A lot has happened such as shoulder and back injuries and I'm really glad how I've bounced back." Sapico recently finished her senior year at Oakmont High where she made it to the Sac-Joaquin Section meet and finished ninth in the 100-yard butterfly. "I've improved on my technique in general, along with how much stamina I have," Sapico said. "I'm very thankful that I can now get back up to speed. I have a meet in San Francisco next weekend and I'm happy that I can go this fast." California Capital Aquatics' Kyra Burns performed well, winning the grueling 1500-meter freestyle at 18:23 while also placing seventh in the 400-meter freestyle at 4:35 and third in the 800-meter freestyle at 9:27. Jessica Carter placed 14th in the 400-meter individual medley while Roseville's Lillian Wolfinger made it to the finals in the 200-meter breaststroke, 400-meter individual medley and the 100-meter breaststroke. Kaleb Wolfinger raced in the finals of the 200-meter individual medley, placing 21st at 2:13. For Wolverine Aquatics Club, Chloe Eyrich placed sixth in both the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter individual medley. Eyrich also sneaked into the Top 10 in the 200-meter butterfly while leading the women's 800-meter freestyle relay team to a fifth-place finish. Clara Laskey, Brooke Beauvais and Melanie Quinto were on the 400-meter medley relay team with Eyrich that finished eighth at 4:27. Quinto also did well individually with a 12th-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle and placed 11th in the 100-meter backstroke. Landrey Gold was also on the 800-meter freestyle relay team and finished seventh in the 200-meter butterfly at 2:23. Marni Bauer placed 13th in the 50-meter freestyle at 27.32 seconds. On the men's side, the 400-meter medley relay team consisting of Christianson, Louis Fasani, Michael Breitbart and John Donovan placed second at 3:52 behind Orinda Aquatics. Donovan also had a Top 5 performance individually in the 100-meter backstroke at 58.91 seconds. Fasani placed 12th in the 200-meter freestyle while Lathan Skeehan came in 16th in the 100-meter backstroke. Breitbart finished 18th in the 100-meter butterfly at 58.45 seconds. Rounding out Wolverine Aquatics Club was Troy Quintana, who placed 14th in the 800-meter freestyle race at 9:10, nearly shaving off a minute from his previous time.