Harbor View Swim Team uses depth to stay perfect

“We are the Dolphins! The mighty, mighty Dolphins ...” could be heard loudly chanted across the pool deck as the Harbor View Dolphins raised their league record to 4-0 after a hard-fought win over Green Valley (Fountain Valley) on Saturday.

The pool deck remained packed until the last races, with both sides cheering on their relay teams in the final event. Harbor View’s 677-666 win comes on the heels of finishing second to Green Valley in the league relays last month.

HVST coaches Ted Bandaruk and Kate Inglis said the win was a testament to the depth of the Dolphins’ team.

“It’s not just the top three swimmers from the official races that earn points, it’s the top five,” Bandaruk said.

It was the points from those fifth-place finishes the Dolphins earned, and desperately needed, which put the Dolphins over the top in total score by a mere 11 points.

“Thank you to all the families who drove to soccer/volleyball/water polo, then came back to swim! Every one of those points made a difference,” Inglis said.

Harbor View had a great showing with racers on both the boys’ and girls’ sides, setting pool records and personal bests.

Timmy Hanson (boys’ 13-14) posted three records, Isabella Mesiwala Jung (girls’ 11-12) broke two records, Colton Quick (boys’ 7-8) continued his strong year by breaking another record and Natalie Wong (girls’ 15-18) broke a record in her first meet since joining HVST.

Numerous swimmers broke their own personal bests and continue to work hard as they prepare for rival Newport Hills Swim Team, the Killer Whales, on Saturday.

Since a majority of kids from Harbor View and Newport Hills teams live in the same Port Streets neighborhood and go to school together, the teams will be battling against their friends for neighborhood bragging rights.

Best friends often line up on the starting blocks against each other as they swim for rival teams. The rivalry doesn’t end with the kids though. Fathers from both teams will compete in an unofficial relay race.

Harbor View’s, “Swim Meat Crew,” will go head to head against Newport Hills’ “Port Street Amigos,” in a widely anticipated race. Both the Swim Meat Crew and the Port Street Amigos are made up of Dads who spend every home swim meet raising money for the team by preparing food for all in attendance.

The Harbor View Dolphins (7-8 year-old division) after training hard in practice, look forward to competing against neighborhood rival Newport Hills this Saturday.

— Reader submission