San Marino High senior Daniel Li had just one more meet to compete in in his final year as a Titan: the CIF State Swimming & Diving Championships at Clovis West High School.
At the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex on May 11, Li secured his third, consecutive crown in the boys’ 100-yard breaststroke, winning the title in an All-American time of 53.40 seconds.
“He went out, he ended up winning that: ‘three-peating,’” San Marino boys’ swim coach Casey Holcomb said. “It is a remarkable, four-year high school swim career. Now he’s on to bigger and better things.”
Li won his first state title in 2022, winning the 100 breaststroke in 53.79. The senior, bound for Stanford in the fall, defended his breaststroke title in 2023 with a 52.88 finish.
The senior also competed in the boys’ 200 individual medley, placing runner-up in the state race with an All-American time of 1:46.73 behind Archbishop Mitty freshman Shareef Elaydi, who came in at 1:45.93.
“He swam out of his mind,” said Holcomb of Elaydi.
Li caps off a senior year with both a state and section title under his belt. The senior broke the CIF Southern Section Division I boys’ 100 breaststroke record on May 4 with a 53.05 finish. He also holds the Division II record with a time of 52.43.
The Stanford-bound swimmer is now turning his sights to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in swimming, according to Holcomb. The Olympic trials will be held in Indianapolis starting June 15 through 23.
In the boys’ 200 medley relay, Li teamed up junior Otis Tsai, senior Harrison Summers and sophomore Liam Thomas to finish ninth with an All-American time of 1:32.52. Tsai, who Holcomb said battled an injury and was out for the division championships last month, returned to the group for the state meet and helped the quartet smash the school record in the medley relay race in the prelims, clocking 1:31.99.
Overall, San Marino scored 65 points in the team competition and placed 15th in the state meet. Santa Margarita, the CIF Southern Section Division I champions, won the state title with 248 points.
The performance at state comes after a seventh-place team finish at the CIF Southern Section Swimming & Diving Championships in which the Titans competed in Division I. The season concluded with a Rio Hondo League title for the San Marino boys’ team.
“It was a great season and next year is a new year,” Holcomb said. “We look to continue to get better with each coming year.
Holcomb highlighted his group of seniors — Li, Summers and Anderson Nakagawa — for their efforts in their final year as a Titan.
“With three seniors leaving, I think we’ll still be pretty set for next year,” Holcomb said. “We’re looking over next year and we’re going to be pretty good.”
First published in the May 16 issue of the San Marino Tribune
