Boys swimming: Newport rolls, 101-68

Joseph Boo

LAGUNA HILLS - Oh those crazy Sailors.

It initially seemed as if Newport Harbor High’s boys swim coach Brian

Kreutzkamp decided on his lineup for Wednesday’s Sea View League dual

meet with host Laguna Hills by picking names out of a hat. How else to

explain freestyle swimmers Ryan Lean and Peter Belden partaking in an

individual medley event.

But at the end, the new lineup didn’t affect Newport’s effectiveness. The

Sailors, ranked No. 3 in Orange County, got an easy 101-68 victory over

the Hawks for their first league victory.

While both Belden and Lean took the top two spots in the 200-yard

individual medley, they also won the races they specialize in.

Lean’s performance in the 500 freestyle was not a triumph, it was a

simple display of his complete dominance in the event. He broke his own

Orange County record by three seconds, finishing in 4:41.83. But it is

still well off the sophomore’s personal record of 4:33.82, which Lean set

in the United States junior nationals last week.

“It was a good effort from him,” Kreutzkamp said. “It’s not his best

time, but it was good enough for the win.”

In his first time swimming the event, Lean finished second in the 200 IM

with a time of 2:14.46, eight seconds behind another new IM swimmer,

Belden. In his first 200 IM, the Newport senior won with a time of

2:06.69.

“We swam a little off of our events, and I’m happy with how they did,”

Kreutzkamp said.

Belden also captured an event more familiar to him, the 100 freestyle,

but his winning margin was slim. He held off Ryan Andrews of Laguna Hills

by .11 seconds, finishing in 51.13.

Other Newport (2-1, 1-1 in league) highlights include a sweep of the 50

freestyle. Joey Snelgrove won in 23.16. His teammate Kyle Bean finished

in 23.42, and Ryan Cook was third in 24.03.

Kreutzkamp was also pleased with the performance of Brandon McClain, who

was triumphant in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.48. His

teammate Mitch Probert was second in 1:10.47, which was less than a tenth

of a second better than Laguna Hills’ (2-3, 1-1) third-place finisher.

To lock up the victory, the Sailors took first and third place in all

three relay events.

“This was a good event to help us get ready for next week,” Kreutzkamp

said, looking ahead to the Foothill Invitational, which will draw some of

the area’s top teams.

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Newport Harbor 101, Laguna Hills 68

Boys200 medley relay - 1. Newport Harbor (Gough, McClain, Weiner,

Belden), 1:48.63; 2. Laguna Hills, 1:50.23; 3. Newport Harbor, 1:55.83.

200 free - 1. R. Andrews (LH), 1:52.42; 2. S. Andrews (LH), 1:56.24;3.

Kepner (NH), 1:56.24.

200 IM - 1. Belden (NH), 2:06.09; 2. Lean (NH), 2:14.46; 3. LeBarton

(LH), 2:17.03.

50 free - 1. Snelgrove (NH), 23:16; 2. Bean (NH), 23:42; 3. Cook (NH),

24:03.

100 fly - 1. K. Andrews (LH), 59.54; Weiner (NH), 59.72; 3. Filsoof (LH),

1:02.94.

100 free - 1. Belden (NH), 51.13; 2. R. Andrews (LH), 51.24; Bayless

(LH), 52.08.

500 free - 1. Lean (NH), 4:41.83; 2. Kepner (NH), 5:13.64; 3. K. Andrews

(LH), 5:30.23.

200 free relay - 1. Newport Harbor (Thayer, Cook, Snelgrove, Belden),

1:35.13; 2. Laguna Hills, 1:38.53; 3. Newport Harbor, 1:40.29.

100 back - 1. Filsoof (LH), 1:02.99; 2. Gough (NH), 1:03.02; 3. Astor

(LH), 1:07.89.

100 breast - 1. McClain (NH), 1:09.48; 2. Probert (NH), 1:10.47; 3.

LeBarton (LH), 1:10.52.

400 free relay - 1. Newport Harbor (Kepner, Thayer, Snelgrove, Gough),

3:34.11; 2. Laguna Hills, 3:43.47; 3. Newport Harbor, 3:44.21.