Posted: Feb 23, 2022
Las Positas swimmers building to big finish
By Matt Schwab
The Las Positas College men's and women's swimming and diving teams don't have the depth they normally have, but the smaller group is impressive nonetheless.
"We have a really good group of individuals with good, positive attitudes," head coach Jason Craighead said. "All are good, hard workers. We're going to grow a lot throughout the season."
The Hawks, who started revving up with strong swims in the Coast Conference Kickoff at Las Positas on Feb. 18, feature two elite swimmers in Castro Valley High graduate Ashley Sand and Granada product Francois Moufarrej.
Las Positas' chief rival West Valley has more depth, so the Hawks will have to maximize the talent it has to prevail in the bigger meets.
Moufarrej is technically a freshman although he swam last year during the shortened COVID season.
"He's a sprinter ... 50 freestyle, 100 breast, 100 free. He'll sprint anything short," Craighead said. "He's top two or three in the state so far in each of those events."
Also on the men's side, Ross Brown (Amador Valley) is a standout freestyler and backstroker.
"He's a great kid," Craighead said of Brown. "I coached him when he was 9 years old in summer league and then he made it all the way back through, and he's still coming into his own."
Craighead thought Brown was a sprinter and then they tried the 200 free.
"He kicked butt in that," Craighead said in admiration, adding that Brown has also thrived in the 500 free and mile, the ladder event in the Kickoff meet. "He's still figuring out what his possibilities are," Craighead said.
Sand is off to a blazing start in the breastroke and IM at a time when swimmers are building toward peak performances later on.
"We're pretty confident her times already will get her into the State Meet," Craighead said of Sand. "She's undefeated in all her races, some of them by a pretty decisive margin. Not everybody's posted times yet in the state, but of those who have posted she's the fastest."
Other solid female swimmers are Sarah Thompson (Granada), Samantha Dorn (Tracy), Kendalyn Cox (Amador Valley), and Gabrielle Benavidez (Arroyo). All of them did well in the Kickoff meet rotating in on triumphant relays.
The program, which has a lot of fresh faces, looks to be building to a big finish this season.
"Our goal is to be fast at the end and we're just putting in the work right now," Craighead said.
Craighead has guided Hawks to 11 Coast Conference championships since rolling out the program in the spring of 2011, including an impressive run of five straight titles from 2015-19. The COVID pandemic ended that string, but Craighead looks to regain the top mantle again in 2022.
Las Positas will host the Hawk Invite on April 1-2. What's unique about the meet is they hand out awards based on the disciplines, not just individual races. For instance, they have butterfly champions, based on the amount of points in those events.
"It's a good, competitive event. We usually have all the fastest schools in Northern California," Craighead said.
Las Positas will also host the Coast Conference meet April 21-23, and the CCCAA State Meet is at Monterey Park in East Los Angeles May 5-7.
The Las Positas College men's and women's swimming and diving teams don't have the depth they normally have, but the smaller group is impressive nonetheless.
"We have a really good group of individuals with good, positive attitudes," head coach Jason Craighead said. "All are good, hard workers. We're going to grow a lot throughout the season."
The Hawks, who started revving up with strong swims in the Coast Conference Kickoff at Las Positas on Feb. 18, feature two elite swimmers in Castro Valley High graduate Ashley Sand and Granada product Francois Moufarrej.
Las Positas' chief rival West Valley has more depth, so the Hawks will have to maximize the talent it has to prevail in the bigger meets.
Moufarrej is technically a freshman although he swam last year during the shortened COVID season.
"He's a sprinter ... 50 freestyle, 100 breast, 100 free. He'll sprint anything short," Craighead said. "He's top two or three in the state so far in each of those events."
Also on the men's side, Ross Brown (Amador Valley) is a standout freestyler and backstroker.
"He's a great kid," Craighead said of Brown. "I coached him when he was 9 years old in summer league and then he made it all the way back through, and he's still coming into his own."
Craighead thought Brown was a sprinter and then they tried the 200 free.
"He kicked butt in that," Craighead said in admiration, adding that Brown has also thrived in the 500 free and mile, the ladder event in the Kickoff meet. "He's still figuring out what his possibilities are," Craighead said.
Sand is off to a blazing start in the breastroke and IM at a time when swimmers are building toward peak performances later on.
"We're pretty confident her times already will get her into the State Meet," Craighead said of Sand. "She's undefeated in all her races, some of them by a pretty decisive margin. Not everybody's posted times yet in the state, but of those who have posted she's the fastest."
Other solid female swimmers are Sarah Thompson (Granada), Samantha Dorn (Tracy), Kendalyn Cox (Amador Valley), and Gabrielle Benavidez (Arroyo). All of them did well in the Kickoff meet rotating in on triumphant relays.
The program, which has a lot of fresh faces, looks to be building to a big finish this season.
"Our goal is to be fast at the end and we're just putting in the work right now," Craighead said.
Craighead has guided Hawks to 11 Coast Conference championships since rolling out the program in the spring of 2011, including an impressive run of five straight titles from 2015-19. The COVID pandemic ended that string, but Craighead looks to regain the top mantle again in 2022.
Las Positas will host the Hawk Invite on April 1-2. What's unique about the meet is they hand out awards based on the disciplines, not just individual races. For instance, they have butterfly champions, based on the amount of points in those events.
"It's a good, competitive event. We usually have all the fastest schools in Northern California," Craighead said.
Las Positas will also host the Coast Conference meet April 21-23, and the CCCAA State Meet is at Monterey Park in East Los Angeles May 5-7.