Swimming: CdM takes third at Millikan relays
LOS ALAMITOS — The Corona del Mar High boys’ swim team was without two key club swimmers Saturday night in the finals of the Millikan Southern Section Relays.
One was expected. CdM Coach Barry O’Dea knew he would be without junior Tim Hanson, who was competing at a club meet.
But O’Dea also got a phone call from senior Tyler Lin on Saturday morning. The news was unfortunate, that Lin had suffered a minor calf injury and also couldn’t compete.
“He was bummed,” O’Dea said. “Uni’s fast, and being down Tyler makes [competing with them] tougher than it already was.”
The Sea Kings’ Pacific Coast League rival University did indeed repeat as Millikan Relays champions Saturday night at Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base. The Trojans and another league foe, Northwood, finished one-two with 254 and 244 points, respectively. CdM finished in third place with 206 points, while Newport Harbor was sixth.
Still, CdM remains optimistic that it’s tough to beat at full strength. The Sea Kings showed that last weekend by winning the Capistrano Valley Relays.
As O’Dea pointed out, the Sea Kings’ Capo Relays meet-record time of 3:28.61 last weekend in the 400-yard individual medley relay by senior Justin Hanson, Tim Hanson, senior Taylor Cortens and Lin would have won on Saturday night by nearly seven full seconds. Instead, with just half of that group, CdM placed second Saturday in 3:38.53.
“We’re looking really good for this season,” Cortens said. “I think we’re looking better than last year. We have a lot of depth in the 200 IM. We have four guys that are 1:50 or faster [Cortens, the Hanson brothers and Lin].”
Newport Harbor, which had Olympian Aaron Peirsol making his meet coaching debut at his alma mater, actually had the top championship finish among local teams. Junior Sawyer Farmer, senior Jake Parks, junior Griffin Burke and senior Dominik Folkner placed second in the 4x50 fly relay, in 1:37.08.
“I had a bad prelims,” Farmer said. “I [was disqualified] in the 4x100 [freestyle] relay, and overall I just had a bad day at prelims. I had to do better today ... [I like this meet] especially because it’s relays, and I like doing relays more than individual events probably, just because of the team aspect of it.”
If there’s one thing that Peirsol has been preaching to the Sailors, it’s the importance of the team. Senior Hayden Hemmens, an experienced club swimmer who’s bound for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said Peirsol gave a motivational speech to the Sailors prior to Saturday night’s meet.
“In the 2004 Olympics, he was telling us how the relay team was tired from the whole meet,” Hemmens said. “They kind of pumped each other up, and his entire speech was just so inspirational. It got me pumped, got the team pumped. Everyone was walking away with a huge smile on their face, and that’s what a coach needs to be able to do, teach their swimmers to swim fast while having fun and pumping each other up. He’s really doing a good job of that.”
Newport Harbor senior Simon Young, Hemmens, junior Braden Postil and Folkner were sixth in the 4x100 IM relay, in 3:45.19.
Both local teams were strong in the 6x50 free relay as well. CdM, using an all-water polo player team of Jon Polos, Vincent Ong, Ashton Jajonie, Baer Lanfried, Foster Hoose and Tanner Roletter, was fourth in 2:18.85. They were followed in fifth by the Sailors’ Jason Grew, Burke, Luke Bradbury, Postel, Parks and Zach Granoff (2:19.38).
The Sea Kings’ Ethan Archer, Roletter, Patrick Ong and Cortens were third in the 4x50 back, in 1:42.44. Newport Harbor’s Sawyer, Grew, Zach Del Puerto and Hemmens were close behind in fourth, in 1:43.20.
CdM’s Ong, Nick Caravaggio, Robert Naruse and Roletter were fifth in the 4x50 breast, in 2:00.54. Newport Harbor’s Young, Bradbury, Postel and Jarod McMillan were eight in the same event, in 2:03.00.
Patrick Ong, Hoose, Lanfried and Andres White were sixth for CdM in the 4x100 free relay, in 3:21.60. And in the final event, the 4x50 medley relay, Archer, Justin Hanson, Polos and Lanfried combined for fifth in 1:39.90.
“It’s hard to make a measurement for CIF off relays, but they’re fun,” O’Dea said. “That’s why I think it’s a great start to the season.”
Newport Harbor opens the Sunset League at Los Alamitos on Tuesday, while CdM opens the Pacific Coast League at Irvine on Wednesday. The Sea Kings also compete in their annual tri-meet against fellow Division 1 powers Loyola of Los Angeles and Capistrano Valley, on Thursday at Capistrano Valley.
As far as the rivalry with University, it isn’t going away for CdM any time soon. Last year, the Trojans won their third straight Pacific Coast League title and also captured the CIF Southern Section Division 1 crown.
“They lost Corey [Okubo], but we lost Liam [Karas],” Cortens said. “I think we can definitely contend with them better than last year. Uni always has a lot of depth, with all their club swimmers, but I think we’ve added a little more depth. I think we can really put up some good times.”
