Hardy Swims to National Record

Senior Jessica Hardy, one of the best breaststroke swimmers in the world, became the first high school girl to complete the 100-yard breaststroke in under a minute as she won the event in a national-record time of 59.20 seconds during the Southern Section Division I championships Friday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

Hardy also defended her title in the 200 individual medley (2:01.68). Hardy swam the second leg on Long Beach Wilson’s winning 200-medley relay (1:43.84) that came within 13-hundredths of a second of breaking Irvine’s 2002 national record.

Her efforts helped Long Beach Wilson win its first Division I girls’ team title with 217 points. The Bruins’ other title came in Division II in 1995.

Mission Viejo’s boys’ team won the first and last relays of the night and nothing in between, but parlayed a slew of personal-record times into repeated second- and third-place finishes and combined them with 48 points earned by three divers to run away with their first title since 2003.

The Diablos won their 23rd title since 1975.

-- Lauren Peterson

Boys’ Tennis

Vying for a record sixth consecutive City Section boys’ tennis title, top-seeded Woodland Hills El Camino Real was upset, 16 1/2 -13, by Palisades at Balboa Sports Complex in Encino to end an 80-match winning streak against City Section opponents that dated to April 13, 2000.

“Palisades won five in a row twice before us,” said El Camino Real Coach Marvin Jones, whose team has posted a 92-2 record over the last six seasons. “There must be a reason why you can’t get that sixth.”

The match was close throughout, but the difference proved to be Palisades’ superiority in doubles, where the second-seeded Dolphins (15-1) won seven of nine sets. Adam Deloge, a junior transfer from Los Angeles Loyola, clinched the victory for Palisades with a 6-0 singles victory over Darius Borhan.

“We wanted to win eight sets in doubles, but as it turned out we got a few points in singles that we weren’t expecting,” said Palisades co-captain Neema Ghiasi, who teamed with Daniel Burge to win two of three sets at No. 3 doubles, including a 6-3 victory over the top duo of Alex Tobin and Jonathan Jacobs.

Palisades’ No. 2 doubles team of Sepehr Safii and Mason Hays swept, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, and its No. 1 team recovered from a 6-4 loss to Tobin and Jacobs with 6-4, 6-1 victories. Troy Aiken swept, 6-1, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 1 singles for El Camino Real (15-1).

The win marked the 25th team title for Palisades. Five years is the longest the Dolphins have gone between titles.

-- Steve Galluzzo

Boys’ Volleyball

Chatsworth made City Section history when it defeated Woodland Hills Taft, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 25-13, at Cal State Northridge to become the first school to win four consecutive boys’ volleyball titles.

Senior Robert Pate, who played on three of the four championship teams, had 18 kills and four blocks and junior Cody Lowe had 16 kills and six blocks, including a match-clinching kill.

Chatsworth (16-2) used a distinct height advantage and neutralized Taft’s top player, Elmo Noorzay, who finished with nine kills. Pate, 6 feet 4, and Lowe, 6-8, towered over Taft’s starters, the tallest of whom was 6-2.

Taft (12-6) committed seven net violations, four in the fourth game.

-- Peter Yoon

Softball

Kelly Melone of Anaheim Loara will need to go on a tear to break the state record, but the senior shortstop hit three home runs last week to become the Southern Section’s all-time career leader. Melone has 32, eclipsing the 30 of Brea Olinda’s Geney Orris from 1995 to 1998. She is second in the state all-time behind Jennifer Lizama, who hit 38 for Oakland Bishop O’Dowd from 1993 to 1996.

Baseball

Senior Thomas Milone (9-1) struck out seven in his first perfect game, throwing 45 strikes and 15 balls, and also hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to help Foothill League champion Saugus (23-3, 14-1), ranked No. 3 by The Times, to an 8-0 victory at Canyon Country Canyon.