SAN JOSE >> Santa Cruz County had just three swimmers make finals at the Central Coast Section Championships, but the trio did themselves, their school and coach, and friends and family proud with their showings at Independence High on Saturday.

Soquel High senior Oliver Santana secured a return trip to the CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships with his third-place finish in the boys’ 100-yard butterfly A Final in a personal-best 49.48 seconds. He also took seventh in the 100 breaststroke B Final, 15th overall, in 58.68.

Aptos junior Adelaide Friedley took fourth in girls’ 100 breaststroke B Final and finished 12th overall in 1:05.42.

And Monte Vista Christian freshman Easton Alanis took first in the boys’ 50 free para-athlete race in 36.06 and also qualified for state.

Santana, a New York University commit, entered CCS as the No. 3 seed in the 100 fly final with a 50.31 entry time. He bettered that mark with a 49.98 in the Thursday’s boys prelims, and, again, in the final

He finished behind Archbishop Mitty junior Enzo Balbuena (48.64), and Los Altos senior Henry Heit (48.98), a UC Santa Barbara commit, in the final.

“New PR, I’m super psyched about it,” Santana said. “Ideally, I would’ve been 48, but I’ll absolutely take any time drop I can get at this point. The state cut was a 49.60, so I made it. I’m coming back.”The state championships run Thursday through Saturday at Clovis High. Diving takes place on Day 1, swim prelims will be Day 2, and the swim finals on Day 3.

Santana isn’t going to remain idle between now and then.

“I gotta work on that last 25 (yards),” “Because that last 25 can really get down, and if I stay a little bit more consistent, then I have a good chance of going that 48. There’s always improvement, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m not going to complain about a best time ever.”

Santana prides himself on his underwater dolphin kicks, but Balbuena and Heit passed Santana and earned some separation during the final stretch.

“I just need to work on catching water as that piano hits,” Santana said. “We call it the ‘metaphorical piano’ that starts to drop. Last 25, you’re hurting, the piano falls on your back. So when that piano hits. … you have a tendency, as you get more tired, you start dropping your elbows, you pull less water. … If I can maintain that technique, grab more water as I get tired, I’ll be in a good spot.”

The temperature in San Jose was again in the mid-80s, sweltering if you consider what the locals experience on the coast, but the locals trio looked poised and energetic from the get-go.

Santana said he got close to 10 hours of sleep last night.

“Sleep is the best energy booster you can get,” Santana said. “If I’m really tired on a four- or five-day meet, that’s when the caffeine will start going in.”

Nearly two hours after competing in the 100 fly, Santana competed in the 100 breaststroke B Final. He took seventh out of eight swimmers. That said, he finished ahead of dozens of the section’s best, who met the qualifying standard, but were unable to secure a top-16 time in prelims.

“It was OK,” Santana said. “I think my 100 fly was the main focus for today. I went in there, swam that (breaststroke), did my best, didn’t do super great. But, it’s alright. I feel like I needed to catch more water. I was kinda spinning out a little bit pretty much for the duration. … I’m really happy with how today went. I’m psyched. State it is!”

Friedley, who placed 27th in the 100 fly at the 2024 state championships in 1:05.32, didn’t meet that mark, but she bettered her season-best on consecutive days in San Jose.

She competed in three events on Friday, but with only the fly to focus on in the finals, she looked refreshed.

She took an extra stroke coming into the wall, which cost her some time. Other than that, she was pleased with her effort.

“I felt really good on that one,” she said. “It felt a lot better than yesterday because yesterday I was tired from the relay and 100 free before. This (final), I just came here and swam that. I felt really good, especially my first 50. I took it out really fast and that’s kinda how I swim. It felt great.”

Saratoga freshman Aimee Sun won the 100 breaststroke B Final in 1:04.14. Archbishop Mitty sophomore Mia Su won the A Final in 1:00.96. Five of the eight swimmers in A Final and six of eight in the B Final are underclassmen.

Friedley said the 100 breaststroke is one of the fastest races at the CCS level. There’s plenty of young guns coming in and doing damage right away, she said.

“It pushes me to become faster, too,” she said. “It’s just motivation, especially going into next season and I have summer season coming up for club.”

MVC’s Alanis, who hails from Morgan Hill, has taken swim lessons since he was 5. He was dominant in his 50 free para-athlete win.

“It was great,” said Alanis, of his finish. “I didn’t give up. I was just doing my best; I wasn’t focused on anyone else.”

Really, there was no one else to focus on. Alanis was more than two seconds faster than the next closest swimmer, which is a massive lead in the sport. He’s going to skip competing at the state meet this year to focus on school.

Alanis was swarmed by friends and family after receiving his medal. “I felt amazing when they celebrated with me,” he said.

Alanis’ mother, Stephanie, said she introduced her son to swimming early, mainly as a safety measure since people with autism are drawn to water.

She wanted the proper fit for her son at the high school level and eventually chose MVC, a faith-based private school that is coached by Christopher Staka, a four-time All-American who helped the Texas Longhorns win the NCAA title in 2021.

She didn’t care if her some participated in competitions for the Mustangs. She merely hoped that he could be part of the junior-varsity program to experience a team environment and feel part of the community.

“It’s huge for him,” his mother said. “It shows anything can happen. If you work hard, anything’s possible.”

Staka believes Alanis, with has continued growth in the water, will consider competing in the Special Olympics.

After his big win, Alanis entertained the idea of competing in the 100 free at CCS next year. Those who know him well, like Staka, know he’ll find success.

Staka said Alanis was the only swimmer on his 30-member team with perfect attendance this season.

“Every single day he wants to work hard,” his coach said. “He wants to do exactly as he’s told. Every little detail I tell him he can do better at, he’s always trying so hard to get better at. It’s really amazing to see him everyday in the pool, on time, which is not something I get from every swimmer I have, but he’s always wanting to be on time. He stays there the whole time, and his work ethic is really something else. It really is.”