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Burroughs’ Wilson, Burbank’s Miller swim to Pacific League titles

Burroughs’ Maya Wilson smiles after winning the 200-yard freestyle in the Pacific League swim finals at Burbank High on Thursday.
(Tim Berger / Burbank Leader)
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Justin Miller was hoping for one last Pacific League victory in his home pool.

Instead, the Burbank High senior doubled his pleasure with two titles Thursday at the league finals.

Burroughs freshman Maya Wilson enjoyed an impressive finals debut, demonstrating she could be the league’s swim star of the future with two championships of her own.

Miller captured the boys’ 100-yard freestyle crown in 49.72 seconds and teamed with David Lee, Ashot Gavurmadzhyan and Roman Rostomyan to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:31.46, helping the Bulldogs place third with 240.5 points.

Wilson doubled in the 200 freestyle in 1:51.93 and 500 freestyle in 5:04.66, leading the Indians to a fourth-place girls’ finish with 201 points.

Crescenta Valley won its 10th consecutive girls’ championship by a 565-392 margin over Arcadia, with Pasadena taking third with 235 points. Burbank finished sixth with 176 points.

Arcadia halted a 24-year title reign by the CV boys with a 461-409.5 victory. Burroughs placed fifth with 201.5 points.

Arcadia’s Tenny Chong equaled his own league finals record by clocking 20.76 seconds in the 50 freestyle, with Miller taking second in 22.33.

“I did my PR in the 50, so I knew this meet was going to be fast. Tenny helped me push to go faster in the 50 and I knew it would set me up well for the 100,” Miller said. “Being the top seed in the 100 added pressure. I felt like I was carrying extra weight on my shoulders. Once I dove in and started off with the lead, I knew I had to keep it and it helped me go my fastest.”

An early surge in the 100 freestyle helped Miller hold off Hoover’s Haik Guskayan, who took runner-up in 50.69.

“I’ve been trying to reach that [sub-50] goal all season,” Miller said. “This was basically my last 100 freestyle race and just knowing I hit it felt really good.

“It means a lot. Just seeing my teammates on the other side of the pool and knowing I’ve been training here for four years, I know these walls the best out of everybody that I was racing against. I knew I had a little bit of an edge on them and then being top seed just added to it.”

Rostomyan helped Burbank overcome a slight deficit against Hoover entering the anchor leg of the 200 freestyle relay to secure the title. Rostomyan also took second in the 100 butterfly (51.57) and third in the 500 freestyle in 4:53.90, in addition to contributing to a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:21.58).

Wilson faced a tough challenge from fellow freshman Gabi Icheva of Crescenta Valley in the 200 freestyle, but rallied in the second half of the race to win by nearly a second.

“The last 50 or so, I could see myself pulling away a little bit, but I didn’t want to get too confident, so I just stuck to what I do in practice with pace training,” Wilson said. “Personally, I just focus on my own race, but it’s always good to race somebody else to kind of push you a little more.”

Wilson wasted little time establishing an advantage on Hoover’s Lauren Warshaw in the 500 freestyle, pulling away to prevail by more than six seconds. Burroughs teammate Mia Fallon finished fourth in 5:40.33.

“I can just put it to my training. I work really hard every day in practice,” said Wilson, who trains with fellow league champion Trenton Julian of Glendale at Rose Bowl Aquatics. “Now I know I can go these times and go faster than these times and just trust my training. …That’s kind of where I’m going, but I’m not there yet. Let’s hope I can.”

Reigh Abaoag produced the best individual finishes for the Burroughs boys, taking third in the 100 butterfly (53.20) and fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.06), with Drew Baelly placing fourth in the 100 freestyle (51.42).

Burbank sophomore Michelle Morlock secured fifth in the girls’ 100 backstroke in 1:11.17.

Burroughs was fourth in the girls’ 200 medley relay (2:05.21), fifth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:52.74) and fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:02.74).

Burbank placed fifth in the girls’ 200 medley relay (2:08.21), sixth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:54.82) and sixth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:20.52).

The Indians finished fourth in the boys’ 200 medley relay (1:43.35), fifth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.43) and seventh in the 400 freestyle relay (3:30.12). Burbank was sixth in the 200 medley relay (1:47.57).

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