Corona del Mar swimming dominates Battle of the Bay meet at rival Newport Harbor

Corona del Mar's Jake Kubichek swims the breaststroke in the boys' 200 individual medley.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

April 5, 2022 9:59 PM PT

Winning every varsity event in a high school swim meet is hard to do.

Winning every varsity event against your Back Bay rival is even more challenging.

But the Corona del Mar High swim team accomplished both tasks Tuesday in a Surf League meet at rival Newport Harbor.

The Battle of the Bay turned into a one-sided affair as the Sea Kings swept both genders for the second straight year. The CdM girls beat Newport Harbor 117-51, while the boys earned a 102-68 victory.

“The kids were fired up,” CdM coach Kareem Captan said as the Sea Kings improved to 4-0 this season in both genders, including 2-0 in Surf League competition. “We’ve been swimming well all season and they always want to do well at this meet.”

CdM’s girls, who won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 title last year, moved up a division but still look formidable. Junior Maggie Schalow, a University of Virginia commit, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 52.81 seconds on Tuesday. She also captured first in the 100 butterfly in 55.34 seconds.

Corona del Mar's Maggie Schalow swims the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay during Tuesday's meet.

Schalow has never lost an individual high school race, and she doesn’t plan to start anytime soon.

“We improved our placing in almost every event,” she said. “That’s really want made us get that ‘dub’ ... I think the pressure is definitely on us, but that motivates us more to do better this year in a new division. I think we’re honestly just really excited to see what we can bring to the table to D1.”

Fellow junior Jillian Schlom, a former competitive swimmer who is now a devoted water polo player, won the 50 free (24.85) and 100 free (54.67) for the CdM girls. The Sea Kings also had another double event winner in Alex Milisavljevic, a freshman who won the 200 individual medley (2:14.72) and the 500 free (5:16.06).

Joyce Chang, another freshman, won the 100 breast (1:10.22) and was second in the IM for the winners. Junior Milan Bever finished first in the backstroke (59.17) and second in the 200 freestyle, and the Sea Kings also used a standout effort from Brown-bound water polo player Claire Eusey, who finished second in the 100 free.

“We’re all super-motivating toward each other,” Bever said. “We all cheer each other on, hype each other up, and that’s why everyone swam so well.”

Corona del Mar's Makar Briggs swims the 200 freestyle during the annual Battle of the Bay match at Newport Harbor on Tuesday.

CdM sophomore Camren Simoncelli won both sprint freestyle events on the boys’ side, touching first in both the 50 free (22.32) and the 100 free (48.62).

“Cam has always been fast, but he’s been putting in a lot of work,” Captan said. “He’s been getting the reward for all of his hard work. As a sophomore, it’s great to see.”

Corona del Mar's Kevin Li swims the breaststroke in the boys' 200 individual medley during the annual Battle of the Bay meet.

Sea Kings senior Jake Kubichek, a Vanderbilt commit, won the individual medley (1:59.40) and the backstroke (55.64). Senior Makar Briggs (200 and 500 free) and sophomore Evan Lim (butterfly and breaststroke) were also double event winners.

CdM swims at Los Alamitos in its final league dual meet on April 19.

“Last year we just didn’t have as much depth as we do this year,” Kubichek said. “All of the water polo kids have gotten significantly faster this year, which is helping. Instead of going one-five-six [in a race], we’re going one-two-three in some stuff.”

Newport Harbor’s boys and girls both fell to 2-2 overall, and 0-2 in league. Coach Kevin Potter said the Sailors did have some solid swims, including second-place finishes by senior Will Fosselman in the boys’ 50 free and freshman Aidan Arie in the 500 free.

The Sailors swim at Fountain Valley on April 19 to close out league dual meet action.