Honors: Belden Newport-Mesa Male Athlete of the Year

Barry Faulkner

Peter Belden, whose ability to excel in water polo and swimming

prompted Newport Harbor High coaches to term him a splash from the past,

is the 2000-01 Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa District Male Athlete of the

Year.

“I think he kind of redefined being a two-sport aquatics athlete,

making it more the way it used to be,” said Brian Kreutzkamp, who coached

Belden in water polo and swimming during an esteemed varsity career that

included team and individual distinction. Belden becomes the first

aquatics star to earn the district’s top male athlete in the 10 years the

Daily Pilot has bestowed the honor.

“It’s gotten to the point where a lot of guys specialize in either

water polo or swimming,” Kreutzkamp said. “But with three CIF (Southern

Section) Division I relay titles in swimming, having placed in the top

five in CIF in an individual event, as well as having won a CIF team

title and being named CIF (Division I) Player of the Year in water polo,

he has changed the way things have been done in recent years.”

Belden came to Newport Harbor with an extensive aquatic background

and, after a tough adjustment period, went about fulfilling the promise

Kreutzkamp and Bill Barnett had for him.

“From day one, we were always harder on Peter,” Kreutzkamp said. “We

immediately threw him into the fire and it was difficult for him during

his freshman year and part of his sophomore year. But that all wound up

paying dividends.”

Belden, who earned a water polo scholarship to UCLA, contributed off

the bench his sophomore year on a team that won the Sea View League and

held the No. 1 Orange County ranking heading into the playoffs.

As a junior, he amassed 68 goals, 93 steals and 46 assists to lead the

Sailors to another Sea View crown and a trip to the CIF Division I

semifinals. He was first-team All-CIF and All-Sea View League.

As a senior, he produced 96 goals, 80 steals and 75 assists and was

selected the Player of the Year in CIF Division I, as well as the Sea

View League. He also helped lead the Tars to the CIF Division I crown,

the school’s first section title since 1984.

Belden’s versatility was a key to his polo success, according to

Kreutzkamp.

“He has a unique blend of speed and power,” Kreutzkamp said. “He was

faster than just about anyone in the sprints, he was a dangerous driver

and he could also set two meters. And, when we needed him to, he was also

strong enough to guard two meters.

“He has such great body position and balance in the water, which, I

think, comes from playing since the time he could walk. When he came in,

he was a one-on-one driver who relied on his raw speed. But he really

worked hard in the weight room and he really improved at two meters. If

we needed him to score, he did that. If we needed a stopper, he’d do that

too. And we used him in our sprints (a swimmer from each team racing to

the ball dropped at mid-pool to establish possession to start each

quarter).”

Unlike most water polo standouts, Belden did not approach the swim

season as an off-season workout regimen to endure.

“All the younger guys looked up to Peter and he showed them how it

should be done,” Kreutzkamp said of the transition to swim competition.

“He was so competitive, he really didn’t care what the meet was, he

just wanted to win. He was always in great condition and he posted good

times. And I think his best work really came out in relays, because he

didn’t want to let his teammates down.”

As a senior, Belden teamed with Aaron Peirsol, Andrew Cole and Ryan

Lean to win the CIF Division I 400-yard freestyle relay crown. Along with

Peirsol, Joey Snelgrove and Steven Jendrusina, he also earned the CIF

title in the 200 free relay.

The winning 400 relay time (3:09.97) broke a 20-year-old school record

by nearly two seconds and the 200 free relay clocking (1:26.09) was also

a school record.

He was ninth in CIF Division I in the 50 free (22.03) and his efforts

helped the Sailors finish third in the Division I team standings.

As a junior, he won the Sea View title in the 50 free, was third in

league in the 100 free, then finished fifth in 50 free (22.05) at CIF

Division I Finals.

With Belden swimming a leg, Harbor won the CIF Division I crown in the

200 free relay and was third in the 400 free relay after both quartets

won at league finals.

As a sophomore, he was third in the Sea View League in the 50 free

(23.00) and helped the 200 free relay team finish 10th at CIF Division I

Finals.

And while he helped inspire water polo players to take their spring

season more seriously, Belden’s graduation, Kreutzkamp believes, will

have a more tangible impact on the program.

“It will be nearly impossible to replace him,” said Kreutzkamp, who is

also moving on to coach at Golden West College. “You’d almost need two or

three players to do what he did in water polo alone, and that doesn’t

even factor in swimming, or the leadership he brought to both programs.”

Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa District

Athletes of the Year

2000-01 - Peter Belden, Newport Harbor

1999-2000 - Kevin Hansen, Corona del Mar

1998-99 - Dennis Alshuler, Corona del Mar

1997-98 - Sam Nelson, Estancia

Brett Baker, Newport Harbor

1996-97 - Danny Pulido, Newport Harbor

1995-96 - Brian Coleman, Corona del Mar

1994-95 - Charles Chatman, Costa Mesa

1993-94 - Wade Tift, Newport Harbor

1992-93 - Beau Ralphs, Newport Harbor

1991-92 - Matt Fuerbringer, Estancia