That’s the ticket

Warriors, Patriots swim well at CIF finals in Riverside




CIF CHAMPS—Viewpoint High swimmers, from left, Vincent Finello, Mick Leonard, Jake Jepson and Thomas Finello won the boys’ 200-yard medley relay race in a school record 1 minute, 35.48 seconds at the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend in Riverside.

CIF CHAMPS—Viewpoint High swimmers, from left, Vincent Finello, Mick Leonard, Jake Jepson and Thomas Finello won the boys’ 200-yard medley relay race in a school record 1 minute, 35.48 seconds at the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend in Riverside.

They came. They swam. They conquered.

Local prep swimmers fared their best against the best at the CIF-Southern Section Swimming and Diving Championships last week at the Riverside Aquatic Complex.

Westlake, the preeminent program in Ventura County, flexed its muscles when the boys’ squad captured sixth place in Division 2 with 148 points. The Warrior girls’ snared 11th with 108 points.

“I think we’ve done really well with all that my team has gone through this year,” Westlake head coach Shannon Breese said of the Warriors, who mourned the death of teammate Brendan Zitting in April.

“ We came together and proved, once again, that we still really are the dominant team out here, no matter what anybody says.”

Boys’ and girls’ squads at Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo also had solid showings in Division 2 this postseason. Rio Mesa, Viewpoint and La Reina battled in Division 3.

Grace Brethren siblings Tobias Hynes, a senior, and Anabelle Hynes, a sophomore, thrived in Division 4.

WESTLAKE WARRIORS

The Warriors delivered at the biggest meet of the season to date.

Westlake swimmers Elena England, Reyna James, Sarah Clarke, Caitlin Ryan, Karly Gonzalez, Jeremy Marcin, Joao Casaca, Daniel Hayon and Cooper Fuchs extended their postseason run by qualifying for the CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex.

England, who will swim at UC Santa Barbara next year, teamed up with James, Clarke and Ryan to take seventh place in the 200- yard girls’ medley relay at the section meet in 1 minute, 48.63 seconds. England, Gonzalez, Clarke and Ryan took ninth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:33.63).

England earned state consideration times in the 100 freestyle (51.95) and 100 backstroke (56.29), finishing sixth in both races. Ryan took ninth in the 50 freestyle.

Marcin, Casaca, Hayon and Fuchs clocked a 3:09.48 in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay for fifth place last weekend.

Fuchs snared fifth in the 50 freestyle (21.37) and eighth in the 100 freestyle (47.35).

Kyle Daniels and Andy Xia helped Fuchs and Casaca place seventh (1:37.22) in the 200 medley relay. Hayon, a Claremont McKenna College commit, captured sixth in the 100 freestyle.

The 200 freestyle relay team of Hayon, Casaca, Marcin and Jordan Ellis took eighth (1:27.82).

VIEWPOINT PATRIOTS

The Patriots entered the Division 3 postseason as a team to watch, and they didn’t disappoint.

“We did a lot better than our expectations,” head coach Greg Bisheff said.

“Our boys crushed it.”

Viewpoint’s boys earned a fifth-place finish while the girls took 12th in the team standings.

Patriot boys Vincent Finello, Mick Leonard, Jake Jepson and Thomas Finello took home gold while shattering a school record in the 200 medley relay by three seconds, touching the wall in 1:35.48.

“The biggest surprise for us was Mick Leonard, a first-year swimmer,” Bisheff said of the senior, who played three years of lacrosse. “He split a 26.7 in the 50 breast in the relay. That was kind of key. That’s the fastest 50 breaststroke we’ve ever had.”

Thomas Finello, a junior, set a pair of school records in the 50 freestyle (20.84 during the finals) and 100 freestyle (46.24 in the prelims). He took home silver medals in both events.

Vincent Finello, Thomas’ brother, broke a school record from 2011 in the 100 backstroke. He touched the wall in 53.65 to finish in ninth at the section finals. He also took ninth in the 200 individual medley race.

Jepson won the 100 butterfly consolation final.

Farah Stack, a Loyola Marymount commit, broke the school’s 200 freestyle record (1:55.17) while taking fourth. She placed sixth in the 100 freestyle.

Stack teamed up with Cailan Feingold, Kate Kaplan and Chloe Kuelbs to win the 200 medley relay’s consolation final in 1:54.44.

“It was a really good season,” Bisheff said. “We’ve built a great tradition here.”

AGOURA CHARGERS

Timothy Nguyen won the boys’ 50 freestyle consolation title with a state consideration time of 21.56 in Division 2.

Fellow Charger Reid Shorten placed 17th in the 500 freestyle (4:45.73).

NEWBURY PARK PANTHERS

Jason Lu used the big stage to push himself to new heights.

The Newbury Park junior set school records in the 200 individual medley (1:53.36) and 100 backstroke (52.35) to place seventh and 11th, respectively, at CIF finals.

“Competition was tough this year,” he said. “I was a second faster than last year. It shows the competition really stepped up this year. Everybody was swimming really well.”

Lu, who’s considering swimming at UCSB or Pomona College, said he was disappointed he didn’t lower his times more, but he’s looking forward to coming back stronger for his senior year with the Black Cat Attack.

“I’m hoping next year our team will get more people in,” he said. “I definitely want to get a top-three finish in one event and maybe a junior national cut.

Victoria Dzieciol, Holly Maine, Abby Gulbranson and Sarah Proctor represented the girls’ side in the 200 freestyle relay. They touched the wall in 1:41.29, good for 13th.

“This CIF was a really good learning experience,” Lu said. “It showed me I still have a lot of work to do. I have to stay hungry. There’s a lot of fast people out there. I just have to train to catch up to them.”

THOUSAND OAKS LANCERS

Julia Jackson placed 18th in the Division 2 girls’ diving finals.

Fellow Lancers Andre Laserna, Stephen Blaauw, Josh Magpantay and Tristan Crongeyer placed 15th in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay (3:15.83).

Laserna won the consolation 100 freestyle title in 47.47. Blaauw placed 16th in the 500 freestyle (4:45.10).

LA REINA REGENTS

Bridget Aamoth and Alanah Hahn, both juniors, reached the final day of the Division 3 meet.

Aamoth took 12th in the 500 freestyle while Hahn placed 18th in the 200 freestyle.

RIO MESA SPARTANS

Rio Mesa’s girls displayed their strength in Division 3. The Spartan girls took fourth place in the team standings.

Freshman Teagan Monroe snagged a pair of gold medals in the 100 butterfly (55.07) and 100 backstroke (55.75). Both times earned her automatic spots at the state meet.

Monroe also helped teammates Magie Le, Alyssa Hill and Malainy Lyskin earn a state consideration time of 1:49.78 in the 200 medley relay, good enough for second place.

Nikki Ozawa joined Monroe, Le and Lyskin for bronze in the 400 freestyle relay (3:37.67).

Le took fourth in the 100 breaststroke and sixth in the 100 individual medley. Lyskin won the 50 freestyle consolation sprint.

Rio Mesa’s boys finished in 26th place as a team.

Josh Monroe powered his way to sixth in the 100 butterfly (52.06) and seventh in the 100 backstroke finals (52.88 seconds). Both marks are consideration times for the state meet.

Dante Escobar, a freshman, finished in 17th place in the 200 freestyle.

CAMARILLO SCORPIONS

Camarillo managed to find success in Division 2 after competing in Division 3 last season.

“We were up against much, much stiffer competition than in years past,” head coach Tim Hedrick said.

The Scorpions rose to the occasion by breaking two school relay records while snaring 25 points to finish in 31st place as a team.

Harrison Mello, Spencer Allen, Nicholas Dykstra and Michael Rodriguez teamed up to place 15th in 200 medley relay, setting a school record in 1:38.67.

The boys joined forces to break the old 400 freestyle relay record of 3:15, twice. The Scorpions swam a 3:14 during the prelims, and closed with a 3:13.40 at finals, good enough for 11th place.

“Our swimmers did well,” Hedrick said. “They were at or under their best times all the way through. They stepped up and did really well. I couldn’t be happier with how they did.”

GRACE BRETHREN LANCERS

Grace Brethren’s dynamic siblings, junior Tobias Hynes and his sister Anabelle, a sophomore, impressed coaches at the Division 4 meet.

Tobias Hynes won the 50 freestyle title in 21.60 and placed third in the 100 freestyle (47.94).

Anabelle Hynes raced in 200 IM and 100 butterfly consolation finals, finishing 14th and 17th place, respectively.

MOORPARK MUSKETEERS

Moorpark had two swimmers earn spots at the CIF finals, but only Cecilia Magnani made the trip.

Andre Galvez, a standout for the boys’ water polo squad, also earned qualifying times but decided to attend prom instead.

Magnani, the younger sister of Moorpark distance running legend Michelle Magnani, looked to make a name for herself in the 200 IM and the 500 freestyle.

The junior finished in the top-30 in both events but needed to be in the top-18 to reach the second day.

“Her times are better than last year,” head coach Peter Daland said. “She had personal bests in both of her main events. I think that gives her confidence moving forward.”

Magnani trains with Conejo Simi Swim Club during the offseason.

“She’ll try to train hard to train for potential college recruitment,” Daland said of Magnani. “I think she’ll do great next year.”

ROYAL HIGHLANDERS

Two Highlander girls competed at the Division 2 preliminaries but did not advance to the finals.

Alyssa Libang, a sophomore, raced in the 100 butterfly.

Chloe Park, a junior, battled in the 500 freestyle.

The fast and the furious

Local swimmers competed at the CIF-Southern Section Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend in Riverside. Here are the area’s top-finishers:

Division 2 boys

• Westlake’s 200 medley relay, seventh Westlake’s 400 freestyle relay, fifth

• Cooper Fuchs, Westlake, 50 freestyle, fifth

• Timothy Nguyen, Agoura, 50 freestyle, 10th

• Daniel Hayon, Westlake, 100 freestyle, sixth

Division 2 girls

• Westlake’s 200 medley relay, seventh

• Westlake’s 400 freestyle relay, ninth

• Elena England, Westlake, 100 freestyle, sixth

• Caitlin Ryan, Westlake, 50 freestyle, ninth

Division 3 boys

• Viewpoint’s 200 medley relay,first

• Thomas Finello, Viewpoint, 50 freestyle, second

• Thomas Finello, Viewpoint, 100 freestyle, second

• Vincent Finello, Viewpoint, 200 IM, ninth

• Vincent Finello, Viewpoint, 100 backstroke, ninth

• Jake Jepson, Viewpoint, 100 butterfly, 10th

Division 3 girls

• Viewpoint’s 200 medley relay, 10th

• Farah Stack, Viewpoint, 200 freestyle, fourth

• Farah Stack, Viewpoint, 100 freestyle, sixth


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