Youth Scene: Team takes third

The Newport Lightning boys’ 13-and-under AAU team continued its strong showing this season by earning third place in the Focus Basketball July Classic, the two-day tournament that ended July 18.

The Lightning beat Young Ballers of Los Angeles, 52-33.

Newport also defeated Five on Five (South Orange County), 45-26, and lost to Desert Crush (Antelope Valley), 37-36, in pool play.

The Lightning lost to High Five America (San Diego), 64-42, missing out on the right to go to the championship game.

The Lightning were led by the strong play of Keisean South (16 points per game, 12 rebounds per game), Ben Bockrath (7.5 ppg , 2.5 assists per game), Kevin Fults (6.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Harrison Carter (8 ppg, 8 rpg).

Parker Reposa (5 rpg), Dylan Atencio (2.5 steals per game, 2.5 ppg) and Augie Miller (6.5 rpg) played great defense while guarding some of the top players in California. Ben Humphreys and Chance Brooks provided key minutes in the games.

— Reader submission

Killer Whales win big

The Newport Hills Killer Whales scored a convincing 809-433 South Coast Swim Conference victory over the Greenbrook Gators of Fountain Valley recently.

It was a similar story to the previous week’s meet, only with different faces, as the Killer Whale swimmers spent another weekend breaking more personal, team and pool records. Two new individual pool and team stroke records and one new team medley relay mark.

The girls’ 7-8 age group and the boys’ 13-14 led the way for Newport Hills, winning all of five individual stroke events, as well as the medley and freestyle relays.

The week before the Gators, the Killer Whale 7-8 girls set a new record in the 100-yard freestyle relay. Against the Gators, the 7-8 girls established a new team record in the 100 medley relay. The foursome of Anna Wilde, Gianna Danese, Sophie Wallace and Caroline Garell set a new time of 1 minute, 13.53 seconds, breaking the old mark of 1:13.53 set in 2008. The former record-holders Chloe Harbilas, Lauren Openshaw, Madison Strasmann and Erika Anderson recently established the new Newport Hills 9-10 girls’ 100 medley relay mark.

The week before facing Greenbrook, Taylor Cortens set two new benchmarks in the 11-12 boys’ division, and against the Gators, it was Henry Wilde in the 9-10 boys.

Henry set new team and pool marks in both the 50 free and the 25 fly. His time of 27.88 in the 50 free erased the old mark of 28.12 and his 14.00 benchmark in the 25 fly replaced the old record of 14.13, both broken records had been set by Cortens in 2008.

Three-time event winners in individual stroke events for Newport Hills were Bianca Bays (25 free, 25 breaststroke and 25 fly) in the under-6 girls, Wallace (25 free shared with Wilde, 25 breaststroke and 25 fly) in the 7-8 girls, Jake Bays (25 free, 25 breaststroke and 25 fly) in the 7-8 boys, Henry Wilde (50 free, 25 fly and 100 individual medley) in the 9-10 boys and Cortens (50 freestyle, 50 breaststroke and 50 backstroke) in the 11-12 boys.

Ryan McManigal (25 breaststroke and 25 fly) in the under-6 Boys, Wilde (25 free shared with Wallace and 25 back) in the 7-8 girls, Openshaw (50 free and 50 breaststroke) in the 9-10 girls, Morgan Cortens (50 breaststroke and 50 back) in the 9-10 boys, Madeline Musselman (50 freestyle and 50 fly) and Natalie Wilde (50 back and 100 IM) in the 11-12 girls, Hollace Barden (50 fly and 100 IM) in the 15-18 girls and Blake Motal (50 fly and 50 back) in the 15-18 boys were all double winners in individual stroke events for the Killer Whales.

Individual Newport Hills winners were Caroline Garell (50 free) in the 7-8 girls, Jonathan Polos (50 fly) in the 11-12 boys, Morgan Paduano (50 free), Shannon Frome (50 fly) and Elizabeth Russell (50 back) in the 13-14 girls, and Ian Givant (50 free), Andrew Larsen (50 breaststroke), Ryan Cargile (50 fly), Kyle Cousens (50 back) and Danny Robertson (100 IM) in the 13-14 boys.

— Reader submission