Cavegirls 5th- Cavemen 6th at Hobbs

By Don Eskins

The Cavegirls and Cavemen swim teams opened the 2025 season with a successful showing at the Hobbs Tori Invitational on Saturday, November 8. Overall, the Cavegirls placed fifth and the Cavemen sixth in a 15-team field.

Top individual efforts were turned in by Cavegirl Olivia Jang, who qualified for state in the 200 IM with a time of 2:27.61, and Caveman Benjamin Jang, who qualified for state in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:05.57.

“Overall, our swimmers did well this weekend. We saw a lot of great efforts and a strong team spirit from start to finish. For some, this was their first meet as a high school swimmer. As a result, they had to deal with a lot of nerves and anxiousness,” said CHS head coach Samantha Segura. “However, they’ve been working really hard, and it showed in their swims.

“With our pool being down for seven months, most of our swimmers had not had much time to prepare for this meet,” said Segura. “So, our coaches were incredibly proud of the effort, the attitude, and progress they showed this weekend.”

Next up for Carlsbad’s swimmers will be the Pecos Invitational on Saturday, November 15, in Pecos.

CHS Hobbs Tori Invite Scores and Times:

Girls’ 200 Medley A Relay: Placed fifth with a time of 2:11.91, consisting of Taitum Lindsey, Julia Comer, Olivia Jang, and Tiny Martinez; B Relay: Placed 11th with a time of 2:30.01, with Sophia Staton, Chloe Noel, Sofia Escorial, and Kimberly Quintana.

Boys’ 200 Medley A Relay: Placed third with a time of 1:52.59, consisting of Samuel Vega, Benjamin Jang, Constantine Gonzales, and Kason Longbine; B Relay: Placed 13th with a time of 2:27.11, consisting of Brentley Fine, Santiago Gallardo, Bennett Mitchell, and Mason Shott.

Girls’ 200 Free A Relay: Placed sixth with a time of 1:59.52, consisting of Taitum Lindsey, Tiny Martinez, Kimberly Quintana, and Olivia Jang; B Relay: Placed 12th with a time of 2:11.21, consisting of Sophia Staton, Julia Comer, Sofia Escorial, and Chloe Noel.

Girls’ 50 Free (Out of 50 swimmers): Kimberly Quintana placed 12th overall with a time of 30.09, Tiny Martinez placed 16th at 30.89, Sofia Escorial placed 23rd at 32.27, Brennan Reed placed 26th at 33.19, Sophia Staton placed 30th at 34.24, and Alysani Navarrette placed 33rd at 35.15.

Boys’ 50 Free (out of 57 swimmers): Benjamin Jang placed fourth at 24.11, Kason Longbine placed 10th at 25.70, Constantine Gonzales placed 18th at 26.90, Bennett Mitchell placed 23rd at 28.10, Santiago Gallardo placed 26th at 29.27, Mason Shott placed 32nd at 30.35, and Manuel Baldemar placed 41st at 34.24.

Girls’ 200 Free: Taitum Lindsey placed seventh with a time of 2:29.94.

Boys’ 200 IM: Brentley Fine placed 16th with a time of 3:37.58.

Girls’ 100 Free: Tiny Martinez placed 11th at 1:06.52, Kimberly Quintana placed 12th at 1:06.88, Julia Comer placed 14th at 1:08.14, Chloe Noel placed 15th at 1:08.22, Sofia Escorial placed 23rd at 1:13.69, Sophia Staton placed 31st at 1:19.86, and Alysani Navarrette placed 32nd at 1:23.59.

Boys’ 100 Free: Kason Longbine placed 11th at 58.28, Samuel Vega placed 12th at 58.37, and Santiago Gallardo placed 27th at 1:12.02.

Girls’ 100 Back: Taitum Lindsey placed seventh with a time of 1:16.51, and Brennan Reed placed 14th at 1:24.33.

Boys’ 100 Back: Samuel Vega placed fourth at 1:03.94, Mason Shott placed 14th at 1:17.64, and Brentley Fine placed 19th at 1:37.32.

Girls’ 100 Breast: Olivia Jang placed third at 1:16.62, Julia Comer placed 11th at 1:26.69, and Chloe Noel placed 14th at 1:30.68.

Boys’ 100 Breast: Benjamin Jang placed first at 1:05.68, Constantine Gonzales placed ninth at 1:13.68, Bennett Mitchell placed 12th at 1:19.80, and Manuel Baldemar placed 19th at 1:56.12.