Benicia High’s varsity swim teams defeated former Solano County Athletic Conference rival Rodriguez late last week in their toughest meet yet this season.

The Panther boys won 113-57 while the Lady Panthers were 93-77 winners. Benicia’s boys remain undefeated this season.

Senior Cris Gomez led the Panthers to a 1-2-3 sweep in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Junior Hannah Barlow (50 free and 100 free) and sophomore Alyssa Powell were dual victors for the Lady Panthers. Powell qualified for sections in both the 200 IM (2:22.03) and 100 butterfly (1:02.75).

The Lady Panthers qualified for sections in the 400 free relay with Powell, Barlow, Esther Hurst and Kelsi Norman winning in 3:56.81. Hurst also qualified for sections in the 100 backstroke (1:07.29), as did Norman in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.38).

Junior Xavier Quintana made sections while winning the 100 butterfly (57.83). The Panther boys also qualified for sections in the 400 freestyle relay with Eric Sousa, Nick Barlow, Gomez and Matt “Moose” Simonson winning in 3:33.17. Sousa also won the 200 freestyle.

“Rodriguez is always a challenge for us,” said Benicia head coach Jeff Kuta. “This win shows the depth of our team this year. We needed all those fourth and fifth place points to push us over the top. I was especially proud of (freshman) Brian Thyrion and (sophomore) Mireya Cabral-Mixco, who gutted out the 500 freestyle to earn a point and a varsity letter against quality competition.”

The Panthers return to action against SCAC arch-rival American Canyon on March 25 at the James Lemos Swim Center.

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