Lightweights: CdM teams swim to second in PCL

Steve Virgen

NEWPORT BEACH - Similar to the varsity results, the Corona del Mar

High junior varsity boys swim team took second in the Pacific Coast

League Finals Saturday at Newport Harbor.

The Sea Kings finished just 21 points behind University, but they had

plenty of success and should come back stronger next year.

The Estancia Eagles had a chance to focus on just one level, after

some of their swimmers had been competing with the varsity throughout the

season.

Costa Mesa boys swimming is suffering from a lack of participation.

In the girls competition, CdM also took second in the PCL, while Costa

Mesa grabbed third and Estancia ended its season with its strongest

effort and a fourth-place finish.

The CdM boys team won seven of the eight individual titles and won the

three relay events.

In the 100-yard freestyle, CdM took the top three finishes as Spencer

Harris won in 54.36, followed by David DiRocco (55.93) and Daniel

Niehenke (56.31). Costa Mesa’s Dave Barnett was 16th (1:05.29). Barnett

was 13th (28.25) in the 50 free.

Sea Kings Jason DiRocco (2:03.17 in the 200 free), Tom Harper

(2:21.80, 200 individual medley), David DiRocco (24.63, 50 free), Scott

Street (5:44.85, 500 free), Niehenke (1:04.79, 100 backstroke) and Ryan

Mullin (1:12.22, 100 breaststroke) also won PCL titles.

Harper, Mullin, Griffin Gentry and John Edgett were victorious in the

200 free relay (1:43.02), then Mullin teamed with Niehenke, Harris and

Jason DiRocco to win the 200 medley relay (1:55.05). The Sea Kings

completed the relay sweep when Harris, Niehenke, Jason DiRocco and David

DiRocco won the 400 free.

Estancia’s Kris Hartwell, Aranth Varma, Frank Gamboa and Greg Johnson

finished fourth in the 200 medley relay (2:11.72), and Skipp Todd teamed

with Hartwell, Johnson and Gamboa to take fifth in the 200 free relay

(1:58.20).

CdM’s Travis Hersh, Harris and Gentry touched second in their

respective events. Hersh swam 2:07.34 in the 200 free, Harris clocked a

24.84 in the 450 free and Gentry a 1:05.15 in the 100 butterfly.

Gamboa was third in the 200 IM (2:29.86) and fifth in the 500 free

(6:07.35), while CdM’s Brett Brewer was seventh in the 500 free

(6:19.56).

Jason DiRocco was fourth in the 100 fly (1:08.07), while Estancia’s

Hartwell finished eighth in the 100 back (1:13.47). Hersh and Harper

touched third (1:14.74) and fourth (1:15.64), respectively, in the 100

breaststroke for the Sea Kings.

The Newport-Mesa girls featured one champion: Corona’s Yvette Zharson,

who won the 100 fly (1:11.59).

The Sea Kings had 15 finishes in the top eight, while Costa Mesa had

four.

CdM’s Jessica Wells took second in the 100 back (1:12.53) and eighth

in the 200 free (2:30.56). Her teammate, Kari Hammerschmitt, was third in

100 back (1:18.20), while Costa Mesa’s Tiffany Ness was eighth (1:141.82)

in the same event.

Mustang Katie Thorsness was fifth in the 500 free (6:38.09) and sixth

in the 200 free (2:24.96), while CdM’s Kathryn Cole was seventh in the

latter (2:26.21).

Sea Kings Alexandra Schwartz and Florentine Rodenhuis finished fifth

(2:48.12) and sixth (2:48.98), respectively, in the 200 IM, while Carley

Verble and Allison Powers took sixth (1:22.08) and seventh (1:23.45),

respectively, in the 100 fly.

CdM water polo standout Lindsay Daley was third in the 100 fly

(1:04.19) and fourth in the 50 free (28.72), while Zaharson was fifth

(29.16) in the latter.

CdM’s Dominique DeLa Loza was sixth in the 100 free (1:06.93) and

seventh in the 500 free (6:49.70).

Florentine (CdM), Quyen Nguyen (Costa Mesa) and Alexandra Schwartz

(CdM) finished fourth (1:23.15), fifth (1:23.35), and sixth (1:24.14),

respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.

Estancia’s Jayme Fay dropped 23 seconds off her preliminaries time in

the 500 free and finished ninth with a personal-best 6:54.10. Her

teammate Stephanie Reid dropped six seconds from her previous best in the

200 IM, and Britta Pitti dropped three seconds and swam her personal

best.

In the 100 breaststroke, Eagles Maxine Postel and Sarah Ahmed swam

personal bests by eight and five seconds, respectively.

Estancia’s 200 free relay (Pitti, Fay, Lucy Rodriguez and Arwynn

Knott) swam five seconds faster than its preliminaries time and was fifth

in 2:12.25.

Corona’s Whitney Conover teamed with Zaharson, Cole and Daley to take

second in the 200 free relay (1:58.23), while Wells, Rodenhuis, Zaharson

and Cole were third in the 200 medley relay (2:12.93).

DeLa Loza, Wells, Hammerschmitt and Daley swam a 4:34.38 in the 400

free relay for third place.

Costa Mesa had fourth-place finishes in each of the three relays.

Thorsness, Jaclyn Adams, Perla Marroquim and Celinda Sandoval touched in

2:07.65, while Ness, Nguyen, Jessica Steenhard and Thorsness completed a

2:24.45 in the 200 medley relay. Mustangs Lacy Navarett, Steenhard, Ness

and Veronica Lepper clocked a 5:05.18.

In freshman baseball, Corona del Mar’s baseball team won the Pacific

Coast League title with a 14-4 win over visiting Costa Mesa in six

innings. Sea Kings pitchers Todd Macklin, Andy Lujuan and Parker Ferguson

controlled the Mustangs and shortstop Cory Azzilino supported the effort.

Blake Contant smashed a home run for CdM, while Barret Sprowl went 3 for

3, including a triple. The Sea Kings’ Marcus Hoffman earned an RBI to end

the game in the bottom of the six.