Cambridge Takes Runner-Up at Region Championships

Date: December 20, 2025

Prelims Recap 

Cambridge entered the meet prepared and focused, converting weeks of training into strong qualifying swims. Across nearly every event, the Bears advanced athletes into A‑ and B‑finals, setting up a high‑scoring finals session.

Prelims Recap (P)

Cambridge opened the session with a strong relay presence and multiple top‑seeded individual swims:

• Girls 200 Medley Relay (P): Cambridge (Naude, Drevet, Kader, Garijo) qualified 2nd in 1:57.81, putting the Bears squarely in the title hunt. 
• Boys 200 Medley Relay (P): Cambridge A (Robertson, Berezitsky, Damm, Kates) advanced 5th in 1:54.17; the B‑relay also qualified in 2:08.57. 
• Girls 200 Free (P): Cambridge stacked the A‑final seeds—Charlotte Weeter (2:04.42, 2nd), Molly Melchiors (2:06.94, 3rd), and Casey Chingirian (2:07.27, 4th)—with Addison Mynatt moving on to the B‑final.
• Boys 200 Free (P): Tayne Naude slotted 3rd in 1:57.63, setting up a medal push.
• Boys 200 IM (P): Oscar Ryzhkov led the Bears at 2:10.46 (2nd), Brighton Damm at 2:13.29 (4th), with Nash Christiansen in 8th NEW BEST TIME
• Boys 50 Free (P): Cambridge sprinted into A‑final lanes—Brian Guy (23.78, 4th), Bryson Mynatt (23.87, 5th), and James Kates (24.48, 9th). 
• Girls 50 Free (P): Amber Naude grabbed top seed in 25.38.
• Boys 100 Fly (P): Oscar Ryzhkov seeded 3rd in 56.74; Campen Dawes qualified 8th. NEW BEST TIME
• Girls 100 Fly (P): Audrey Lampa (1:07.16, 5th) and Alexis Walkenhorst (1:12.40, 6th) advanced. 
• Boys 100 Free (P): Bryson Mynatt (53.04, 3rd) and Brian Guy (53.79, 4th) paced Cambridge; Tate Robertson (56.34, 8th); Nash Christiansen (57.94, 10th); James Kates (56.39) NEW BEST TIME qualified. 
• Girls 100 Free (P): Bears into the fast heat—Weeter (57.20, 3rd), Garijo (57.83, 5th), Salvia (59.42, 7th) NEW BEST TIME, and Drevet (1:00.52, 9th). 
• Boys 500 Free (P): Brighton Damm led the field at 5:16.25 (1st), with Tom Berezitsky at 5:47.87 (3rd) NEW BEST TIME. 
• Girls 500 Free (P): Cambridge qualified multiple—Melchiors (5:33.90, 4th) NEW BEST TIME, Chingirian (5:43.57, 5th), Maya Berezitsky (6:16.82, 10th), Leila Kader (6:18.90, 11th).
• Boys 200 Free Relay (P): Cambridge A posted 1:31.56 (1st seed); the B‑relay advanced in 1:44.48. 
• Girls 200 Free Relay (P): Cambridge A qualified 2nd in 1:43.74; B‑relay in 1:55.00. 
• Boys 100 Back (P): Tayne Naude took top seed (55.27); Robertson qualified 5th. NEW BEST TIME 
• Girls 100 Back (P): Amber Naude led prelims (1:02.77), with Lampa (1:13.57, 8th), Carrizal (1:13.70, 9th) NEW BEST TIME, and Kader (1:17.28, 11th) moving on.
• Boys 100 Breast (P): Shane Merrill (1:18.72, 9th NEW BEST TIME), Ayaan Gadre (1:22.16, 11th), Campen Dawes (1:22.97, 12th) qualified. 
• Girls 100 Breast (P): Alana Drevet secured 2nd seed (1:13.67), with additional Bear qualifiers including Mihika Ayyagari (1:24.72). 
• Boys 400 Free Relay (P): Cambridge A at 3:25.82 (2nd); the B‑relay also qualified in 3:54.17. 
• Girls 400 Free Relay (P): Cambridge A at 4:00.01 (2nd); B‑relay at 4:26.45.

Finals Recap (F)

Cambridge converted a deep prelim slate into hardware across sprint, middle‑distance, and relay events:

Relays

• Girls 200 Medley Relay (F): Cambridge took silver in 1:53.05 (Naude, Drevet, Kader, Garijo). NEW BEST TIME
• Boys 200 Medley Relay (F): Cambridge placed 4th in 1:52.75 (Robertson, Berezitsky, Damm, Kates). 
• Boys 200 Free Relay (F): Bears grabbed silver in 1:29.82 (Guy, Mynatt, Ryzhkov, Naude). NEW BEST TIME
• Girls 200 Free Relay (F): Cambridge earned silver in 1:40.91 (Naude, Garijo, Chingirian, Weeter). NEW BEST TIME
• Boys 400 Free Relay (F): Cambridge finished 2nd in 3:24.52 (Ryzhkov, Mynatt, Guy, Naude). NEW BEST TIME
• Girls 400 Free Relay (F): Bears were 3rd in 3:49.77 (Weeter, Melchiors, Drevet, Chingirian). NEW BEST TIME

Individual Highlights

• Girls 50 Free (F): Amber Naude won the title in 23.91. NEW BEST TIME; Christine McVicker (16th, 30.66 NEW BEST TIME), Ella Fajen (20th, 32.51)
• Girls 100 Back (F): Amber Naude added another win in 59.00 NEW BEST TIME; Audrey Lampa (6th, 1:09.82 NEW BEST TIME) and Meg Carrizal (7th, 1:10.02 NEW BEST TIME) scored key points. Leila Kader (11th, 1:07.55 NEW BEST TIME); Ella Fajen (13th, 1:19.72); Amy Watkins (16th, 1:31.99 NEW BEST TIME)
• Boys 100 Back (F): Tayne Naude took silver in 51.63 NEW BEST TIME; Tate Robertson was 6th (1:05.35 NEW BEST TIME).
• Boys 500 Free (F): Brighton Damm captured the championship in 5:12.22 NEW BEST TIME, with Tom Berezitsky 4th (5:45.37 NEW BEST TIME). 
• Girls 200 Free (F): Charlotte Weeter claimed silver (1:54.94 NEW BEST TIME); Molly Melchiors (5th, 2:03.59 NEW BEST TIME), Casey Chingirian (7th, 2:07.37) added finals points; Alexis Walkenhorst (2:14.00, B‑final NEW BEST TIME) and Maya Berezitsky (2:18.32, B‑final NEW BEST TIME) contributed in consols.
• Boys 200 Free (F): Tayne Naude scored bronze at 1:48.87. NEW BEST TIME
• Boys 200 IM (F): Oscar Ryzhkov took silver (1:58.81 NEW BEST TIME); Brighton Damm (5th, 2:11.34 NEW BEST TIME); Nash Christiansen (8th, 2:26.76 NEW BEST TIME); Shane Merrill (9th, 2:32.99). 
• Girls 100 IM (F): Caroline Garijo (4th, 2:25.02 NEW BEST TIME); Abby Salvia (5th, 2:27.73 NEW BEST TIME); Meg Carrizal (6th, 2:29.71 NEW BEST TIME)
• Boys 50 Free (F): Bryson Mynatt (4th, 23.43 NEW BEST TIME), Brian Guy (5th, 23.54), James Kates (9th, 24.33 NEW BEST TIME).
• Girls 100 Fly (F): Audrey Lampa (4th, 1:06.34), Alexis Walkenhorst (6th, 1:10.06 NEW BEST TIME), Emily Edison (8th, 1:22.85 NEW BEST TIME), Christine McVicker (9th, 1:29.50 NEW BEST TIME). 
• Boys 100 Fly (F): Oscar Ryzhkov took bronze (53.99 NEW BEST TIME); Campen Dawes (9th, 1:14.52) in consols.
• Girls 100 Free (F): Weeter 2nd (53.17 NEW BEST TIME), Caroline Garijo 4th (57.21 NEW BEST TIME), Alana Drevet 7th (58.92), Abby Salvia 8th (59.16 NEW BEST TIME). 
• Boys 100 Breast (F): Shane Merrill 9th (1:19.73); Ayaan Gadre (1:21.35 NEW BEST TIME) and Campen Dawes (1:23.25) placed in the B‑final. 
• Boys 100 Free (F): Brian Guy (3rd, 52.65 NEW BEST TIME); Bryson Mynatt (5th, 53.27); Tate Robertson (8th, 55.87 NEW BEST TIME); Nash Christiansen (9th, 56.81 NEW BEST TIME); James Kates (10th, 57.01); Henry Sommet (18th, 1:07.44 NEW BEST TIME)
• Girls 100 Breast (F): Alana Drevet took silver in 1:10.21. NEW BEST TIME
• Girls 500 Free (F): Molly Melchiors (5th, 5:33.87 NEW BEST TIME), Casey Chingirian (6th, 5:40.77); Leila Kader (7th, 5:47.09 NEW BEST TIME); Maya Berezitsky (9th, 6:10.80)
• Diving (F): Mylon Sriganesha won Boys 1m (119.35); Taylor Eastman and Emily Temple finished 3rd and 4th in Girls 1m, respectively.

Shloka Nagappan earned swimmer of the meet for her significant time drop in the 100 breaststroke, a culmination of steady, disciplined improvement throughout the season. Her dedication to refining her stroke technique and racing strategies has been evident at every meet, and her performance at Regionals reflected that hard work. Tate Robertson also shares this honor as a result of consistent time drops across all of his events and his unwavering commitment to training — both in the water and in the weight room. His growth this season has been noticeable not only in his results, but in his leadership and discipline at practice. His prelim‑to‑finals progression was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Captains named Caroline Garijo the "queen of the meet" as she represented the heart of the team — competitive, steady, and relentlessly positive. Her versatility across relays and individual races, combined with her enthusiastic team spirit, made her a standout leader throughout the meet. Nash Christiansen earned "king of the meet" through a combination of hard work, energy, and team‑first attitude. He not only delivered a scoring performance in the 100 Free and IM, but he also supported teammates across every session with encouragement, focus, and genuine leadership.

Team Scores

Women — Final Standings

1. Blessed Trinity — 257
2. Cambridge High School — 248
3. Westminster Schools — 226
4. Centennial — 109
5. Kell — 40

Men — Final Standings

1. Westminster Schools — 359
2. Cambridge High School — 207
3. Blessed Trinity — 138
4. Centennial — 110
5. Kell — 16

Combined Team Standings

1. Westminster Schools — 585
2. Cambridge High School — 455
3. Blessed Trinity — 395
4. Centennial — 219
5. Kell — 56