Prepped for prelims

Mike Sciacca

There were several indications in the weeks leading up to the Pacific

Coast League track and field preliminaries and finals, said Dave

Brobeck, that had the Breakers boys’ head coach feeling pretty

optimistic about his team’s chances.

His intuition was right.

“League finals went about as well as it could have,” Brobeck said

of his team’s performance at Irvine High.

At the finals, Laguna beat Tesoro to secure a third-place overall

league finish and came close to beating a 5-0 Corona del Mar squad.

Naturally, there were several Laguna highlights on the day of

finals. Among them: Aman Bhatia came from behind to win the 1600 and

finished second in the 3200; Sean Fuszard finished second to Bhatia

in the 1600; Jeremy Eaton won the 800 and finished third in the 400;

Shane Riehl was runner-up in the 800; Justin Rovin won both the 110

and 300 hurdles; George Cheng finished third in the 110 hurdles; the boys’ 4 x 400 relay team won the event; the boys’ 4 x 100 relay team

finished third; Brittany Clark won the 100 and was second in the 200,

and Addison Doud won both the shot put and discus.

Each of the above athletes have qualified for this weekend’s CIF

Prelims, as has Alex Crawley in the 3200.

“There was a very strong feeling going around that it was just our

day,” Brobeck said. “Our peaking was textbook and most athletes

executed their race plans flawlessly.

“Getting first and second in the 800 and mile was obviously a big

highlight. Aman ran 4:29 and Sean Fuszard ran 4:32. This is the best

mile tandem we’ve had at Laguna for over 15 years. Similarly, in the

800 Jeremy Eaton and Shane Riehl both ran 2:01 to go 1-2.”

But Brobeck said that perhaps the biggest thrill for Laguna came

in the final event of the day, the boys’ mile relay.

The relay was run in a heavy downpour, to boot, yet Laguna’s

foursome of Eaton, Riehl, Jason Scott and Rovin, won the race by two

seconds.

“The sky opened up and it was raining violently,” Brobeck said.

“It reminded me and the guys of the day we won state in cross country

last November. The outcome was miraculous, too. We won by a full two

seconds and defeated three teams that had previously beaten us in

dual meets in dramatic fashion. My guys were nails.”

In swimming, Laguna has qualified nine athletes for the

CIF-Southern Section Prelims, which were held Thursday The finals are

set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

Those who have qualified for the boys’ competition are: Ryan Fair

(100 free, 50 free, 4 x 100 relay, 4 x 50 relay); Cameron Brinkman

(4x50 relay); Trevor Frimond (4 x 100 relay, 4 x 50 relay); Shawn

Pflender (100 backstroke, 4 x 100 relay), and Adam Kaplan (100 free,

50 free, 4 x 100 relay, 4 x 50 relay).

Laguna also qualified its girls’ 4 x 50 free relay team that is

composed of Breanna Dupliesa, Jessica McKee, Erin Reid and Brittany

Forrest.

The boys’ 4 x 50 relay is qualified second overall in the prelims

with a time of 1:29.73.

That squad of boys already has broken seven school records.

“The overall success of this year is due to the outstanding effort

put in by each and every swimmer,” Laguna coach Rick McKee said.

“They worked extremely hard and they are enjoying the fruits of their

hard work.”

In softball, Laguna concluded its season Monday with a 7-1 loss to

visiting Calvary Chapel.

In the first meeting between the schools on April 21, Calvary

Chapel no-hit the Breakers behind overwhelming pitching in a 19-1

rout.

In Monday’s rematch, Laguna proved a bit tougher competition by

recording three hits while limiting the Eagles to seven runs.

Anne Olson, who led the team in scoring with six runs during the

season, scored the lone Laguna run.

Senior catcher Simone de Vilmorin ended her three-year career at

Laguna with a double in her final at-bat and finished the year

leading the team in extra base hits for the season.

Laguna, under first-year head coach Skip Andrews, showed progress

as the season came to a close.

Earlier in the year, the Breakers were beaten on average by a

score of 13-1.

In the final weeks or the regular season, Laguna improved that

average to 9-3.

Highlights for Laguna included junior pitcher Lauren Delgado

finishing with a 6.4 strikeout average per seven innings, a .281

batting average, a .305 on base average and only five strikeouts

batting in 57 at-bats; Olson, a sophomore, scored a team-best six

runs; de Vilmorin had three extra base hits and walked five times;

freshman Shannon Sweeney struck out just five times in 44 at-bats,

and junior shortstop Meagan McCullough hit .320 and had a .346 on

base percentage in limited playing time.

“When every game is a struggle, you need to step back often and

see how far you have come since day one,” Andrews said. “If you look

at the knowledge and field sense the girls had to start the season,

we have come a long way and everyone can be proud of the way they

came through this season.”