ELK GROVE, Calif. – Senior Erica Jaffe led the 100-yard backstroke preliminary heats with a time of 57.68 seconds, added a fourth-place showing in the 200 individual medley, while leading off two third-place relays during Wednesday's Sac-Joaquin Section girls' swimming championship trials at Elk Grove Aquatics Center.

The CIF-SJS meet consists of girls' trials on Wednesday, boys' trials on Thursday, with finals on Friday. Additionally, the results from Monday's section diving championships at St. Mary's High are added to the swim results as part of the overall team scoring.

Jaffe swam the backstroke portion of the 200 medley relay, joining sophomore Landen Didriksen, senior Marissa Recio and sophomore Lilla Kapinya en route to a time of one minute, 48.93 seconds. The UCLA commit later went 2:06.29 for fourth place in the IM, easily out-swam the field with her 57.68 in the back, then led off a foursome of Isabelle Schmid, Mia Hill and Kapinya to a 3:35.20 in the 400 free relay.

Additionally, the 200 IM and 100 back finals will have the most Troubadour representation. Besides Jaffe in the championship final, Hill (2:08.93) and Recio (2:09.26) will hold the top two seeds in the 200 IM consolation final thanks to their respective ninth and 10th places on Wednesday. Jaffe will have SF company in the backstroke, with senior Lexie DeAngelis snaring the eighth slot in the championship final, just 0.76 ahead of Christian Brothers' Olivia Esperas. Schmid then followed Esperas by another .09 for 10th.

In all, St. Francis have five individuals and three relays competing in championship final heats on Friday. DeAngelis, Schmid, Kapinya and Recio compiled a 1:39.27 in the 200 free relay for fifth place. Kapinya placed seventh in the 50 free prelims at 24.18, while Recio followed with a fifth-place 5:09.65 in the 500 free.

Meanwhile, the crew of Madeline Kann, Riley Wood, Lillian Damrell and Lena Moggan highlighted the Troubies in frosh-soph events with a second-place 1:43.39 in the 200 free, less than a second behind Whitney and 1.30 ahead of Granite Bay. Wood had the highest SF frosh-soph finish of the day with a third-place 1:02.29 in the 100 back. She also finished eighth in the 200 free at 2:03.90, giving her two championship finals on Friday. Madeline Kann will also swim in two different 'A' finals, thanks to a fifth (25.70) in the 50 free and a sixth (57.21) in the 100 free prelims.

The SJS swim championships run through Friday. The top three finishers in each varsity event, plus any varsity at-large qualifiers, earn spots in the CIF state championships at Clovis West from May 15-17. Diver Paige Vicente already locked up a spot in the 1-meter diving competition on that Thursday.

2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Elk Grove Aquatics Center (Elk Grove, Calif.)
Winners plus SF finishers listed • All events are preliminaries

GIRLS' 200 MEDLEY RELAY FROSH-SOPH - 1. Bella Vista, 1:54.56... 7. St. Francis, 1:59.53.

GIRLS' 200 MEDLEY RELAY VARSITY - 1. Vista Del Lago, 1:46.55... 3. St. Francis (Jaffe, Didriksen, Recio, Kapinya), 1:48.93.

GIRLS' 200 FREESTYLE FROSH-SOPH - 1. Cate Kadden, Rocklin, 1:57.13... 8. Riley Wood, 2:03.90; 13. Lena Moggan, 2:06.65; 25. Emma Dietrich, 2:13.52; 40. Savannah Hamilton, 2:18.33.

GIRLS' 200 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Brianna Gough, River City, 1:50.04... 10. Isabelle Schmid, 1:56.86.

GIRLS' 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY FROSH-SOPH - 1. Allie Wallace, Bear River, 2:13.99.

GIRLS' 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY VARSITY - 1. Melanie Quinto, Del Oro, 2:03.81... 4. Erica Jaffe, 2:06.29; 9. Mia Hill, 2:08.93; 10. Marissa Recio, 2:09.26; 25. Landen Didriksen, 2:16.96.

GIRLS' 50 FREESTYLE FROSH-SOPH - 1. Natalie Jeske, Rio Americano, 25.38... 5. Madeline Kann, 25.70.

GIRLS' 50 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Jada Duncan, Whitney, 22.53... 7. Lilla Kapinya, 24.18; 22. Lexie DeAngelis, 25.31.

GIRLS' 100 BUTTERFLY FROSH-SOPH - 1. Sarah Pflueger, Rocklin, 58.34... 9. Lillian Damrell, 1:02.77; 24. Meredith Little, 1:07.71

GIRLS' 100 BUTTERFLY VARSITY - 1. Jada Duncan, Whitney, 53.37.

GIRLS' 100 FREESTYLE FROSH-SOPH - 1. Roxie Jahn, Whitney, 54.17... 6. Madeline Kann, 57.21; 8. Lillian Damrell, 57.25; 26. Mikayla Magri, 1:00.66; 30. Maya Wenceslao, 1:01.28.

GIRLS' 100 FREESTYLE VARSITY - 1. Brianna Gough, River City, 50.86... 13. Lilla Kapinya, 54.20.

GIRLS' 500 FREESTYLE FROSH-SOPH - 1. Lynnmarie Wang, Oakmont, 5:13.81... 13. Emma Dietrich, 5:55.92; 18. Savannah Hamilton, 6:00.36;.