Boys swimming: Close call for Peirsol

Barry Faulkner

BELMONT SHORE - When you’re the defending CIF Southern Section

Division I champion and an Olympic hopeful, qualifying at the section

boys swimming preliminaries can become a little routine.

But the mundane nearly became memorable for Newport Harbor High sophomore

Aaron Peirsol Thursday at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.

Believing he still had another heat before his 100-yard backstroke

qualifying heat 3, Peirsol had to scurry to the starting blocks, climbing

up just before the race went off.

“I think the starter wanted to see Aaron swim, so he may have held things

up a little,” Harbor boys coach Brian Kruetzkamp said.

“Almost all the other events had four heats today, so I thought I was in

heat 4,” Peirsol said. “But someone told me I needed to get over there,

and I was just able to make it. It was pretty weird.”

That was about the only unusual happening for Harbor, which had three

individuals qualify for tonight’s 6 o’clock championship finals (in five

events). The Sailors also placed their 200 and 400 freestyle relays into

the championship finals, which feature the top eight qualifiers.

Peirsol bettered his high school best this season with a time of 50.71 in

the backstroke, the fastest time of the day.

He also qualified second in the 200 individual medley (1:54.11), trailing

only Irvine High senior, and Irvine Novaquatics teammate Jeff Natalizio

(1:53.68).

Natalizio dropped more than 2 1/2 seconds from his previous best,

inspiring Peirsol in the process.

“It’s going to be a good race (tonight),” said Peirsol, who was unshaven

and will not shave for tonight’s meet. Peirsol defeated Natalizio by more

than four seconds to win the 200 IM at Sea View League Finals.

Other Harbor individuals in the championship finals include sophomore

Ryan Lean and junior Peter Belden.

Lean, the Sea View League champion in the 500 freestyle, qualified fifth

in that event with a time of 4:38.32, a drop of more than 5 1/2 seconds

from his best this season. He also nabbed the final spot in the 200 free

final, shaving nearly a second off his previous best with a 1:46.00

clocking.

Belden, the Sea View champion in the 50 free, qualified fourth in the

same event with a time of 21.93. His previous best this season was 21.96.

Belden is the first alternate in the 100 free, just missing the last spot

in the eight-man consolation finals with a time of 50.25.

Peirsol, as well as Belden, contributed to the Tars’ 200 and 400 free

relays, which qualified second and fourth, respectively.

The short relay, including Joey Snelgrove and Steve Jendrusina, posted a

season-best time of 1:28.50, a mere one-hundredth of a second off the

pace of top qualifier Dana Hills.

The 400 relay, including Lean and Ryan Gough, touched out in 3:17.35,

more than a second faster than it had gone this spring.

Snelgrove will represent Newport in the 50 free consolation final, where

his time of 22.59 tied for ninth overall.

The Sailors’ 200 medley relay quartet of Gough (backstroke), Shaun

Johnson (breaststroke), Robert Weiner (butterfly) and Snelgrove

(freestyle) qualified 15th overall, earning a spot in the consolation

final with a time of 1:46.62.

Weiner (100 butterfly) and Ryan Cook (100 free) also competed for Harbor,

but did not advance.