CONCORD — Foothill swimmer Luka Mijatovic made it look easy.

The sophomore took first place in the 500-yard freestyle in record-breaking fashion at the North Coast Section championships on Saturday at the Concord Community Pool. He touched the wall in 4:14.17, breaking the section record previously held by former Northgate swimmer Alexei Sancov, who finished in 4:17.17 in 2018.

Mijatovic finished 11 seconds faster than second-place finisher Ethan Wang and nearly broke the national high school record of 4:12.87 set by Santa Margarita Catholic Grant Shoults in 2016.

“From the beginning I wanted to take charge, get the lead and just maintain it the rest of the way to try to get that record,” Mijatovic said. “The goal of this meet was to break that record and I’m glad I got to do it.”

Mijatovic also took first place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:34.44 and helped Foothill place second in the 400 freestyle relay (3:03.93). He won the 200 and 500 freestyle races at the 2024 NCS championships as a freshman.

Last year, Mijatovic shined at the CIF state championships at Clovis West High when he took first place in the 500 and second in the 200 freestyle. He will be looking to capture state titles in both events next week.

“I’m trying to keep that hungry mentality and try and get it done again,” Mijatovic said.

DOUGHTERY VALLEY’S WU SETS RECORD

A year after Dougherty Valley’s Songrui Wu took home two NCS titles, the junior found a way to do the same this year while etching himself in the section record books.

Wu won the 200-yard individual medley for the second year in a row, finishing in 1:45.47. He broke the seven-year NCS record held by Amador Valley’s Chris Jhong, who finished in 1:45.51.

“It’s really fun to have people to race here at NCS,” Wu said. “I just said, ‘Let’s break some records and do some fast swims.’”

Wu came in first in the 100 backstroke in 47.47.

AMADOR VALLEY SWIMMER’S BIG DAY

It’s been a long season for Amador Valley sophomore Rylee Hutchinson.

Hutchinson has dealt with injuries all season and had an up and down regular season.

But the USC commit overcame the adversity and shone in a big moment on Saturday.

Hutchinson won the 200 freestyle, touching the wall in 1:50.90. She beat out Foothill’s McKinley Scobie and Carondelet’s Elisabeth Butler, the meet’s top two qualifiers, to take the crown.

“This just means a lot,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve had a rough season, so just coming out with the win was really nice.”

CAMPOLINDO FRosh Canoles SHINES

Stella Canoles established herself as a rising star on Saturday.

The freshman won the 50 freestyle (22.90) and the 100 backstroke (49.40) and helped Campolindo place second in the 200 freestyle relay.

“I’ve worked really hard this summer and I’m just so excited because my coaches have been really awesome in helping me get to where I am today,” Canoles said. “It was a really cool experience and I’m just having a great time.”

Canoles said she was nervous entering Saturday’s finals, but when the time came to deliver, that’s exactly what she did.

“I think I handled (the pressure) pretty well today,” she said. “I do way better when I’m not going out there nervous.”

WATER POLO PLAYER Culleton WINS TITLE

Ellis Culleton usually does most of his work in the pool during the fall when he’s playing for Campolindo’s elite water polo program. But in his first season on the swim team, the sophomore showed he could be just as good at competitive swimming.

Culleton won the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.91, edging out top qualifier Simon Li by .9.

“This was a big dream of mine,” Culleton said. “I had to sacrifice a lot of time and miss a lot of swim practices. I can’t go to state finals because I’m going to senior nationals for water polo. But switching between two sports has been really fun. One sport always helps the other.”

DE LA SALLE, CAMPOLINDO ROLL ON

The dynasty continued for De La Salle.

The Spartans captured their fourth consecutive NCS team title, accumulating 316 points to finish ahead of Foothill, which had 204.

“We got the hardest working group of kids I’ve ever seen,” De La Salle coach Tom Johnson said. “People think of swimming as an individual sport, but this is a team and they perform like a team. They perform for each other and they’re just an amazing group of guys.”

Junior Blake Hill took first place in the 100 butterfly in 48.92. Matthew Nakayama, Finn Sepic, Jed Johnson and Charley Wilson helped De La Salle win the 200 freestyle relay as the Spartans finished in 1:23.39, ahead of second-place Las Lomas.

Campolindo’s girls team won its second consecutive and third NCS team title in four years, totaling 262 points to finish ahead of San Ramon Valley (250).

Canoles had Campolindo’s only first-place finishes. The Cougars came in second in the 200 medley and freestyle relays.

Other local winners included:

San Ramon Valley senior Raya Mellott won the 200 IM (2:00.72) and the 100 breaststroke (1:01.25). Mellott is committed to swim at the University of Virginia.

In the paralympic 100 freestyle, Liberty’s Olivia Bell won the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:26.54. Bell also won the 50 freestyle with a time of 33.92.

San Ramon Valley freshman Daniela Linares Danzanos won two events. She captured the 100 butterfly title with a time of 54.43. She later won the 100 backstroke clocking in at 54.49.

Granada’s Brooke Bennett placed first in the 500 freestyle in 4.50.50.

Campolindo senior Ethan Taylor won the 100 breaststroke (54.69), beating out California’s Rostik Khilkon (55.10).

SOFTBALL

No. 9 Mitty 2, St. Ignatius 1: A dramatic seventh-inning comeback gave Mitty a key West Catholic Athletic League win at home on senior day. The Monarchs trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh on Friday, but it didn’t take long for them to make their mark.

Adelle Duncan led off the inning with a single to left, then with one out, Ellie Kleinheinz doubled to left, scoring Duncan.

Wasting no time, Alyssa Hahn, the next batter, roped her own double to left, scoring Kleinheinz and giving the Monarchs the win.

No. 8 Live Oak 1, Prospect 0: Live Oak eked out a close one to remain unbeaten in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division play. The Acorns got the big hit from junior Kayla Tulowitzki, who homered to left field in the top of the sixth inning. Senior Maya Medina and sophomore Julianna Altamirano combined for a strong performance in the circle.

BASEBALL

No. 9 St. Ignatius 7, No. 6 St. Francis 3: SI walked off St. Francis in style on Friday night — just in the nick of time. The teams were tied 3-3 entering the bottom of the seventh, and had been since the Lancers tied the game in the fifth, until AJ Wineinger stepped up to the plate.

With the bases loaded and one out, Wineinger ripped a drive down the left field line and cleared the outfield fence, giving the Wildcats a series sweep with a game-ending grand slam.

Christopher 7, No. 11 Leigh 5 (9 inn.): It took some time, but Christopher finally beat Leigh in Gilroy. The Cougars trailed 4-0 after four innings but responded with three runs in the fifth. They responded again in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs to erase a 5-3 deficit and force extras.

In the bottom of the ninth, three-sport star Jaxen Robinson took it from there. The Northern Arizona football commit blasted a two-run homer to center field, giving Christopher a win it won’t soon forget.

TRACK AND FIELD

A number of athletes stood out as the WCAL held its championship meet on Friday at St. Francis.

Ellie McCuskey-Hay led the way for St. Ignatius on the girls side, winning four events. She topped the field in the 100-meter dash (11.75 seconds), 200-meter dash (24.61), 4x100-meter relay (47.17, school and meet record) and long jump (18-10.5, meet record).

Maya Ifo Desai won two events for Mitty, topping the shot put (40-4.5) and discus (154-11).

On the boys side, Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Jasaun Mabrey, SI’s Noah Gonzalez, St. Francis’ Kyle Velasco, SI’s Joshua Haven and SI’s Prince Babalola Buchango each had a pair of elite performances, meeting tracking company MileSplit’s US Second Team standard.

Mabrey did so in the long jump (22-10) and triple jump (45-9). Gonzalez just outstretched Mabrey in the long jump (23-1) and the triple (47-6). Velasco ran the 110 hurdles prelims in 14.68 and the 300 hurdles prelims in 39.37.

Haven was even better in the 110 hurdles, clocking a time of 14.41. He tied Mabrey in the long jump finals with a mark of 22 feet, 10 inches.

Babalola Buchango (14.61) also put up a strong performance in the 110 hurdles and topped the 200-meter prelims in 21.65.

Bay Area News Group writer Christian Babcock contributed to this report