Swimming: Sailors ready to take on Division I elite

Tony Altobelli

BELMONT SHORE - If only the CIF would allow Newport Harbor High

junior Aaron Peirsol free reign on the pool in this year’s CIF Southern

Section Division I preliminaries and finals this week at Belmont Plaza.

“If Aaron could swim all the events, I would have no doubt in my mind,

he could win every Division I event, except maybe the breaststroke

events,” Newport Coach Brian Kreutzkamp said about his 2000 Olympic

silver medalist. “That shows just how versitle he really is.”

Already with three individual CIF titles under his belt, Peirsol looks

for two more in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200 freestyle.

“He holds the Division I record in the 200 individual medley (1:49.02

set at last year’s finals),” Kreutzkamp said. “Every year, I give him a

choice of the backstroke and some other event and he chose the 200 free.

He’s seeded 14th, but I look for him to significantly improve on that.”

“Coach K’s” Sailors look to be among the top programs in Division I by

the time the final swimmer hits the wall in the finals. Last year,

Newport Harbor’s boys took third, a position Kreutzkamp would not be too

unhappy to see his team finish again.

“Top five is our goal,” Kreutzkamp said. “To do that, we’re going to

need quality swims from our relay teams. If we can get a top three in two

of the three relay events, we should be in good shape.”

Leading the relay brigade is Peirsol, Peter Belden, Joey Snelgrove and

Steven Jendrusina, last year’s Division I champion quartet in the 200

free relay.

Belden and Peirsol will join Andrew Cole and Ryan Lean n the 400 free

relay, while Cole, Snellgrove, Jendrusina and Sean Johnson will compete

in the 200 medley relay.

Individually speaking, Lean, a junior, will qualified for the Division

I preliminaries in the 200 free and 500 free, while Cole will compete in

the 100 free and 100 back. Belden will swim in the 50 free.

On the girls side, junior Carly Geehr will look to bring some

first-place hardware home after two near misses last year.

Geehr will get another crack and Irvine High’s Erin Volcan in the 200

free. At last year’s finals where Newport finished second in the team

standings, Volcan out-touched Geehr at the wall for first place, but it’s

Geehr who has posted the fastest time this year (1:51.36).

In addition to the 200 free, Geehr will also compete in the 200 IM,

where she’s seeded second (2:04.55).

Sophomore Nicole Mackey, who took second at last year’s finals in the

100 fly, looks for first place this year. She will also compete in the

100 backstroke.

Fellow sophomore Hayley Peirsol will make her second appearance to the

CIF Division I stage, competiting in the 200 free and 500 free.

Sophomre Mai Tajima (100 back) and senior Jennifer Arrow (100 breast)

will also swim in individual races for the Sailors.