Sailors sweep titles

Rick Devereux

Irvine High must feel like home ‘sweep’ home for the Newport Harbor

boys and girls swim teams as both squads won Sea View League swim

titles Friday.

The boys earned 474 points, followed closely by Woodbridge’s 467,

and the girls gathered 434 points, with Foothill coming in second

with 373.

It was the first time in recent memory either Sailor team won a

league championship in swimming, let alone both win in the same year.

The Tars finished third in league in both boys and girls last year.

“We were scouring the history books and couldn’t find the last

time Newport Harbor won league,” girls coach Ken Lamont said. “We

have a well-rounded team and we were able to have multiple swimmers

in a lot of events.”

The girls won despite not winning any event.

“We won on depth,” Lamont said. “Our girls really stepped it up.”

The female Sailors had six second-place finishers and five

third-place finishers in the 11 events.

“All the second and third place points add up,” said senior Anne

Belden, who was second in the 100-yard freestyle (54.02),third in the

100 backstroke (1:00.86) and was a member of the 200 free relay

(1:41.73) and 400 free relay (3:39.42), both of which came in second.

The boys had three league champions, including Clay Jorth in the

200 free (1:45.25), Dan Furman in the 50 free (20.90) and James

Jackson in the 100 back (55.25).

“I really want to emphasize the whole team,” boys coach Jason

Lynch said. “Everyone did well. Almost everyone improved on their

time [from the preliminaries].”

Newport Harbor has a reputation for a strong water polo program,

but the public perception may change now that the boys and girls are

league swim champions.

“I want us to be a totally dominating aquatic program,” said

Lynch, who coaches the boys water polo team. “I want to apply the

momentum of this title into the water polo season.”

Some of the swimmers used the water polo perception as motivation

in the league meet.

“To have this water polo team beat [Woodbridge’s] club team felt

great,” said Jorth. “I was so amped [headed into the meet]. I’ve been

thinking about it all week.”

Furman, whose time in the 50 free (20.90) was faster the

All-American automatic time of 21.29, also had his eyes on Woodbridge

swimmers.

“I wasn’t thinking about going under 21 seconds,” he said. “I was

just looking to win and beat [Woodbridge’s Evan Kraus].”

Woodbridge has several club swimmers while the Sailors don’t have

any.

The double titles may put an end to the notion that the Sailors

only have a water polo program.

“I think in the coming years people will look at us a little bit

closer as a swimming school and not just a water polo school,” Belden

said.

Furman said, “This will have to change people’s minds [about our

program].”

The CIF Southern Section Division I swim meet at Belmont Pool

begins Wednesday with the preliminaries and concludes Friday with the

finals.