The Piedmont High School swim team made waves at the prestigious De La Salle Invitational, competing against 25 schools and nearly 700 athletes in one of the most anticipated early-season meets. With 16 swimmers representing Piedmont, the team delivered an impressive performance, with the boys finishing 5th overall and the girls placing 12th.
Head Coach Adrien Downey emphasized the significance of the De La Salle Invitational, calling it an opportunity to race top-tier competition in a high-level setting without the pressure of a championship meet. “It’s a chance to test ourselves against strong teams and see where we stand early in the season,” Downey said.
Standout performances and new records
Among the highlights, Abigail Jacoby stood out for the girls’ team, contributing to all of their points across two relay events and two individual races—the 200 Individual Medley (IM) and the 500 Freestyle. “That’s a rare feat,” Downey noted. “Her consistency across both Friday preliminaries and Saturday finals was incredible.” Freshman Charlotte Zhang also made an impact in her varsity debut, posting strong relay performances.
On the boys’ side, Piedmont focused on strengthening their relays, a strategy that paid off with a third-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay final. “That was probably our best-executed race of the meet,” Downey said. Dima Secor and Cole Carnazzo made their mark in the 200 IM, becoming the only Piedmont swimmers to qualify for the A final in the same event.
Several swimmers punched their tickets to the North Coast Section (NCS) championships with automatic qualifying times. All three boys’ relays earned NCS auto times, along with individual cuts for Secor (200 IM, 100 Freestyle) and Carnazzo (200 IM, 100 Breaststroke). “It’s a relief and a confidence boost for them, especially given how hard they are training right now,” said Downey. “They will be even faster soon.”
Cole Carnazzo (Photo credit: George White) 
Dima Secor (Photo credit: George White) 
Owen Blanford, center (Photo credit: George White)
Additionally, Piedmont swimmers set new school records. The boys’ 200 Medley Relay team—Asher Takazawa, Cole Carnazzo, Owen Blanford, and Nik Costello—shattered the previous school record by several seconds with a time of 1:35.18. Secor and Carnazzo also re-broke their own school records in the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke, respectively.
Looking ahead
With De La Salle behind them, the team now shifts its focus back to dual meet competition, starting with a matchup against Arroyo on Friday. “It will be nice to return to smaller meets where we can focus on our full roster depth and team spirit before our conference meet in six weeks,” Downey said.
As for the weather, which was rainy, cold and windy, Downey said it didn’t impact the swimmers.
“Everyone is experienced at dealing with these conditions. With the right preparation and mindset, you can swim fast anywhere, anytime, and I think our team proved that at De La Salle.”
With their early-season success, Piedmont swimmers are setting the stage for a strong season. If their performance at De La Salle is any indication, they are poised to make a splash in the weeks to come.