FRESNO, Calif. – The 200-yard medley relay team of senior Grace Mering, junior Mia Hill, junior Erica Jaffe and freshman Lilla Kapinya compiled an 11th-place time of one minute, 45.38 seconds to break a 13-year-old school record, highlighting St. Francis on the second day of action at the CIF Swimming & Diving Championships, held at Clovis West High's Clovis Olympic Swim Complex.

The first day of the meet featured the boys' and girls' diving competitions, during which Troubadour senior Sinclair Yadao finished 19th overall. Day 2 features preliminary events, then Saturday's Day 3 session hosts the consolation and championship finals from Friday's advancers.

The medley relay squad eclipsed the previous mark of 1:45.50, set by the foursome of Sydney Johansen, Carissa Metcalf, Cora Stebbins and Alex Rieger at the Sac-Joaquin Section meet back in 2011. It was the last surviving record from the pre-Brian Nabeta era of the program, as the 2022 and 2023 teams had surpassed every other benchmark in team history. The Mering/Hill/Jaffe/Kapinya squad came a mere .02 from matching that old standard at the section final one week prior.

St. Francis also swam a season-best 3:29.14 in the 400 free relay, lopping off more than a half second from the 3:29.65 at the Sac-Joaquin Section meet. Jaffe opened with a 51.49 split in the first 100, then junior Isabelle Schmid, Mering and Hill continued to give the Troubies ninth place and the top seed in Saturday's consols.

The long relay represents the best finish of the day for SF, and one of five second swims in the meet. Jaffe will take part in four of those entries, bookending the day with the 200 medley and 400 free relays. She also placed 10th in the 100 back at 55.61, cutting more than a full second from her seed time; and grabbed the 16th and final qualifying spot in the 100 free with a 51.14. Mering, a San Diego State swim commit, notched a 13th-place 2:03.51 in the 200 individual medley, improving 30 seconds from her entering mark and jumping five places from her seed to earn a consolation final berth.

St. Francis also had a late addition of its 200 free relay into the meet. Finishing fourth at the section championship, the foursome of Kapinya, Schmid, senior Ashlyn Brock and junior Marissa Recio were alternates to the state meet. But a late scratch earlier in the week earned that group a spot in the prelims, and they nearly matched their SJS final time with a 1:38.97 to place fourth in the opening heat.

Saturday's finals session begins at 10:30 a.m. with the girls' 200 medley relay.

CIF SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 2
Clovis Olympic Swim Complex (Clovis, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed • All events are preliminaries

GIRLS' 200 MEDLEY RELAY - 1. Clovis West (Hailey Marinovich, Hannah Marinovich, Hill, Oka-Fedder), 1:42.72... 11. St. Francis (Mering, Hill, Jaffe, Kapinya), 1:45.38.

GIRLS' 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY - 1. Emilia Barck, Campolindo, 2:00.88... 13. Grace Mering, 2:03.51.

GIRLS' 50 FREESTYLE - 1. Jada Duncan, Whitney, 22.68... 30. Lilla Kapinya, 24.19.

GIRLS' 100 FREESTYLE - 1. Ava DeAnda, Riverside Poly, 49.53... 16. Erica Jaffe, 51.14

GIRLS' 200 FREE RELAY - 1. San Ramon Valley (Parkinson, Knapp, Babushkina, Stevenson), 1:34.31... 25. St. Francis (Kapinya, Schmid, Brock, Recio), 1:38.97.

GIRLS' 100 BACKSTROKE - 1. Madison O'Connell, Carondelet, 53.14... 10. Erica Jaffe, 55.61; 25. Grace Mering, 56.76.

GIRLS' 400 FREE RELAY - 1. Santa Margarita (Mori, Lee, Lin, Aquino), 3:24.85... 9. St. Francis (Jaffe, Schmid, Mering, Hill), 3:29.14.