Northgate’s men sealed their place in history as the fastest in the state.

An elite group of Norhgate swimmers placed first in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championship held May 22-23 at Clovis West High School. The big win comes a week after the North Coat Sectional, where Northgate claimed victory for a second swimming title in as many years.

A deep, talented group of swimmers led the Broncos to the state win at the first meet of this type and to the historic back-to-back NCS championships. They won the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard free relay in a repeat of NCS, along with a wide range of top-five finishes.

“We’re the fastest 400-free relay in the country,” senior Mason Tittle said.

“We’re the only school to ever win the state championship meet,” added Calvin Kirkpatrick, clarifying that this year was the first ever California state swim championship.

The Broncos won by a decisive 59 points over San Ramon Valley High School, a wider margin even than the previous week at NCS.  The team ended the NCS meet with 261 team points, 32 more than second-place San Ramon Valley.

“We knew that it was a possibility, they needed to swim at the level they were capable of to pull it off, and they did,” second-year coach Tommy Ortega said after meet’s end.

For the second year in a row, the Broncos’ NCS success was a result of their depth as a team. Out of eleven events, the team only had three first place finishes. Instead of taking first in a handful of races, the Broncos made their presence felt in every event, having at least one swimming place in the top five in ten events.

One of Northgate’s three first-place finishes was good for an NCS record. A team of Calvin Kirkpatrick, Stanley Wu, Mason Tittle, and Max Bottine clocked in with a 1:30.26 time in the 200-yard medley relay. This beat the previous record time of 1:30.52 set by a group of Campolindo swimmers in 2013.

“It’s great to bring four guys together and put something in the record books,” said Kirkpatrick, who swam butterfly in the relay.

“I’m immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished as a group,” standout senior Mason Tittle remarked on the NCS victory. “I think that we have established ourselves as one of the greatest sports teams in the history of Northgate, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

With two NCS banners hanging up in the Northgate gym, Tittle is right. This group of swimmers has truly made their mark on Northgate sports history. Before this group hit the scene, Northgate swimming only had one NCS title to its name.

Principal Michael McAlister shared his congratulations to the team: “I’m so proud of our swimmers and the grit that they showed both Friday and Saturday. It was clearly a team effort with our depth allowing for us to ultimately out-swim and outscore some amazing competition. Congratulations goes to the boys and the girls as well as the coaching staff and parents,” he said.

NCS standouts Eric Van Brocklin, Mason Tittle, Max Bottine, Stanley Wu, Calvin Kirkpatrick, and Philip Stahl will head out to compete in the state meet at Clovis West High School on May 22-23. The six men will be joined by Natalie Doan, Emma Smethurst, Brynn McGowan, Daniella Sugijanto, and Danielle Arauzo from the women’s team.

Unfortunately, Northgate’s recent dominance appears to be facing an abrupt ending. With five of the team’s top six swimmers graduating this year, junior Max Bottine is the only NCS-qualifying swimmer left behind to compete on the 2016 squad.

Van Brockin, Tittle, and Kirkpatrick will all swim for UC Santa Barbara next season, while Wu will swim for The University of Florida.

“I am confident that our team can rise to the occasion and be competitive next season,” said Bottine. “We are losing some talent, but there is still plenty of talent staying behind, and there are some promising swimmers who will be freshmen next year.”