CHS Swimmers Times Fall at State Meet

A CHS Swim Team Report

The CHS Swim Team was in Albuquerque for the 2025 NMAA Swimming and Diving State Championships on February 21-22 at Academy High School. There were 30 women’s teams and 28 men’s in attendance.

Six Cavemen and four Cavegirls qualified for the weekend of competition. All 10 of Carlsbad’s swimmers finished with season- or personal-best times.

CHS swim team head coach Samantha Segura was especially proud of the Cavemen and Cavegirls efforts at state.

“We’re all feeling great! We finished out the season strong, and I’m so proud of them all,” said coach Segura. “The best part, though, is that our kids are proud of themselves, too. As their coach, that’s all I could ask for.”

The Cavegirls competed in the Girls’ 200 Yard Medley Relay, which featured freshman Taitum Lindsey in the Backstroke, freshman Tiny Martinez in the Breaststroke, junior Olivia Jang in the Butterfly, and sophomore Kimberly Quintana in the Freestyle. They entered the race seeded 21st, with an entry time of 2:06.71, and finished with a season-best 2:06.39. They placed 21st overall.

The Cavemen competed in three relays. The Boys’ 200 Yard Freestyle Relay featured junior Samuel Vega in the Backstroke, freshman Benjamin Jang in the Breaststroke, senior Mason Dhenin in the Butterfly, and sophomore Kason Longbine in the Freestyle. The boys entered the race seeded 15th with an entry time of 1:49.68. They finished 17th overall with a season-best 1:49.52.

The Boys’ 200 Yard Freestyle Relay featured sophomore Constantine Gonzales, senior Moses Mendoza, Kason Longbine, and anchor Mason Dhenin. In this relay, the boys were seeded 23rd with an entry time of 1:42.09. They dropped 1.19 seconds and finished 21st overall with a season-best time of 1:40.90.

The Boys’ 400 Yard Relay was the highlight of the weekend. The relay featured Samuel Vega, Moses Mendoza, Benjamin Jang, and anchor Mason Dhenin. They entered the race seeded 18th with an entry time of 3:45.07.

The team dropped 5.21 seconds to earn a spot in the Finals on Saturday. In the Finals competition, they were seeded 16th with a time of 3:39.86. During Saturday’s Finals, they dropped another 5.06 seconds, finishing 13th overall with a season-best time of 3:34.80, a 10.27-second total time drop.

Carlsbad qualified four swimmers in individual events. Olivia Jang competed and qualified for the Finals in the Girls’ 100 Yard Butterfly and Girls’ 100 Yard Breaststroke.

With an entry time of 1:03.44, Olivia was seeded 14th in the 100 Yard Butterfly. She dropped 0.54 seconds and moved up four places, finishing 10th overall with a personal-best time of 1:02.90.

In the 100 Yard Breaststroke, Olivia was seeded 16th with an entry time of 1:14.01. She dropped 0.42 seconds and moved up two places to finish 14th overall with a personal-best time of 1:13.59.

For the Cavemen, Benjamin Jang competed in the Boys’ 200 Yard IM and Boys’ 100 Yard Breaststroke; Samuel Vega competed in the Boys’ 100 Yard Backstroke; and Mason Dhenin competed in the Boys’ 500 Yard Freestyle.

Jang was seeded 23rd in the 200 Yard IM with an entry time of 2:14.47. He dropped 2.94 seconds and moved up five places to finish 18th overall with a personal-best time of 2:11.53. In the 100 Yard Breaststroke, he was seeded 17th with an entry time of 1:06.68. He dropped 2:05 seconds and moved up six places to finish 11th overall with a personal-best time of 1:04.63.

In the Boys’ 100 Yard Backstroke, Vega was seeded 11th with an entry time of 58.71. He dropped 0.83 seconds and finished 12th overall with a personal-best time of 57.88.

Dhenin was seeded eighth in the 500 Yard Freestyle with an entry time of 5:14.00. He dropped 5.94 seconds to finish with a personal-best time of 5:08.06. He placed 11th.

The Cavegirls earned 10 points and placed 26th overall. The Cavemen earned 25 points and placed 20th.