Boys swimming: CdM, Newport compete in Millikan Relays

Joseph Boo

LONG BEACH - Corona del Mar High’s boys swim team sliced two

seconds off two events from its qualifying time and three off of the 4x50

individual medley during Saturday’s Millikan Southern Section Swim Relay

Finals at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach to take seventh place.

Meanwhile, Newport Harbor’s boys swim team, without its club swimmers

Aaron Peirsol and Ryan Lean, turned in similar times in the finals from

its qualifying races. But the Sailors had the best result among the two

Back Bay schools in a single event, placing fourth in the 6x50 freestyle

finals. The Tars ended up with 50 points as a team.

“They did very well,” Newport Coach Bill Barnett said. “It was a tough

meet, and they all did the same time as they did in qualifying. I was

happy with what they did.”

The Sea Kings, whose head coach Jon Moore stayed home because he was

sick, won the last race they competed in, the 4x50 medley consolation

race. The squad of Sherwin Kim, Morgen Johnston, Chriss Street and

Garrett Gentry led for almost the entire race. CdM clocked in at 1:44.60,

three seconds better than its qualifying time of 1:47.76. The Sea Kings

were ninth overall in the event.

CdM’s 4x50 breaststroke team sliced two seconds off its qualifying time

in finishing fifth overall. Johnston, Kim, Marc Pantuliano and Omar

Kattan came in at 2:03.83.

CdM’s 4x50 butterfly squad of Street, David Fabian, John Graass and Bobby

Messenger also finished fifth in the finals, coming in at 1:44.46.

In the only other race it qualified in the finals, CdM placed sixth in

the 4x100 individual medley with a time of 3:56.78. In their other

consolation races, the Sea Kings took second in the 4x100 freestyle

(3:25.61), sixth in the 4x100 freestyle (2:25.45), and was disqualified

from the 4x50 backstroke. As a team, the Sea Kings finished with 116

points.

Newport’s 6x50 team of Ryan Cook, Ryan Gough, Kurt Thayer, Paul Kepner,

Joey Snelgrove and Peter Belden was fourth in the finals with a time of

2:20.50, about one second better than its qualifying time. The Sailors

barely edged fifth-place Crescenta Valley by .45 seconds, helped by

Belden’s time of 21.9 at the anchor position.

That was the only event Newport qualified for in the finals. The Sailors’

team of Belden, Gough, Kepner and Mitch Probert finished third in the

4x100 individual medley consolation race with a time of 4:06.14, which is

a 3.28 seconds improvement from their qualifying time. Gough briefly gave

the Sailors second place on the second leg.

In other consolation races, Newport was sixth in the 4x50 butterfly and

4x50 backstroke, and seventh in the 4x50 backstroke.

Newport and CdM squared off against each other only once in the meet with

disappointing results. In the 4x50 backstroke consolation race, the

Sailors came in sixth with a time of 1:57.77. CdM was disqualified for

jumping in the pool too early during the second leg. Unofficially, the

Sea Kings came in at 1:58.11.

Both Peirsol and Lean are expected to swim for the Sailors this Wednesday

in a Sea View League dual meet against Irvine. It would be the first time

they swim with Newport this season.

The Vaqueros captured the Millikan Relay, formerly the CIF Southern

Section Relay Championships, for the third consecutive year in flying

fashion with 274 points. Irvine won all but one event capped off its

performance by setting a new CIF Southern Section record in the 4x50

backstroke with a time of 1:37.20. It was the second time the Vaqueros

broke that record this year. Villa Park and Fountain Valley finished

second and third, respectively.

MILLIKAN SOUTHERN SECTION SWIM RELAYS - BOY’S FINALS

4x100 IM consolation - 1. Long Beach Wilson, 3:57.73; 2. Marina, 4:04.93;

3. Newport Harbor, 4:06.14. 4x100 IM relay final - 1. Irvine, 3:38.41; 2.

Fountain Valley, 3:49.51; 3. Villa Park, 3:54.55; 6. Corona del Mar,

3:56.78. 6x50 free relay consolation - 1. Long Beach Wilson, 2:20.43; 2.

Ayala, 2:21.39; 3. Laguna Hills, 2:23.73; 6. Corona del Mar, 2:25.45.

6x50 free relay final - 1. Dana Hills, 2:17.55; 2. Irvine, 2:17.61; 3.

Villa Park, 2:19.94; 4. Newport Harbor, 2:21.91. 4x50 breast relay

consolation - 1. Long Beach Wilson, 2:06.91; 2. Righetti, 2:07.06; 3.

Long Beach Poly, 2:08.94; 7. Newport Harbor, 2:11.30. 4x50 breast relay

final - 1. Irvine, 1:55.62; 2. Loyola, 1:57.63; 3. El Toro, 2:01.55; 5.

Corona del Mar, 2:03.83. 4x50 fly relay consolation - Crescenta Valley,

1:42.9; 2. Loyola, 1:45.49; 3. Fountain Valley, 1:45.05; 6. Newport

Harbor, 1:47.72. 4x50 fly relay final - 1. Irvine, 1:38.57; 2. Villa

Park, 1:41.81; 3. Righetti, 1:43.70; 5. Corona del Mar, 1:44.46. 4x50

back relay consolation - 1. Crescenta Valley, 1:49.05; 2. Loyola,

1:51.42; 3. Laguna Hills, 1:53.53; 6. Newport Harbor, 1:57.22; 8 Corona

del Mar, disqualified. 4x100 free relay consolation - 1. Long Beach

Wilson, 3:23.74; 2. Corona del Mar, 3:25.61; 3. Hart, 3:27.82. 4x50

medley relay consolation - 1. Corona del Mar (Kim, Johnston, Street,

Gentry), 1:44.60; 2. El Toro, 1:45.13; 3. Edison, 1:46.70. Team results -

1. Irvine, 274; 2. Villa Park, 202; 3. Fountain Valley, 142; 7. Corona

del Mar, 116; Newport Harbor 50.