Newport girls break through
Members of the Newport Harbor High girls’ swim team huddled around Coach Brian Melstrom at the conclusion of Thursday’s Battle of the Bay meet.
Some were more reserved than others.
“Did we really win?” Sailors junior Cassidy Bucklin shouted out. “Oh my God!”
Yes, the Sailors really won. For the first time since some members of the team were in third grade, Newport Harbor can claim Back Bay superiority in girls’ swimming.
The young Sailors edged CdM, 90-80, at the Sea Kings’ pool to win the Battle of the Bay meet for the first time since 2010.
It was more of the same on the boys’ side, where the Sea Kings beat the Sailors by the same score, 90-80, to record their ninth straight Battle of the Bay victory.
Newport Harbor’s girls certainly earned their victory. They led the meet nearly the whole way and secured it by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay, where Zoe Spitz, Jessica Lynch, Linnea Kelly and Ayla Spitz touched in 3:40.00. The Spitz sisters and Kelly are freshmen, while Lynch is a sophomore.
“We won on the note that we wanted to win on, by winning all three relays and putting together a meet that I thought had enough to get it done today,” Newport Harbor Coach Brian Melstrom said. “It’s nice when that happens. I’m super-stoked with the girls today ... I’d say 95%, almost every single girl, swam a lifetime best today. And that’s what it takes. That’s what Battle of the Bay brings out. It’s so fun to see these girls swim with passion and swim to their ability.”
The Sailors finished first and third in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. Winning the medley gave them a boost, when Kaela Whelan, Kili Skibby, Amber Freund and Lynch touched in 1:57.06.
“It was important for us to win that and get us off on the right foot, give us some momentum for the whole meet,” Lynch said.
After CdM’s Jaleh Moaddeli closed strong to win the 500 free in a personal-best 5:19.55, CdM took its only lead of the meet, 56-54. But Newport Harbor responded in the next event, the 200 free relay
Ayla Spitz, Skibby, Whelan and Zoe Spitz won it in 1:39.50, the third-fastest time reported in Orange County this season. The Sailors’ “B” relay of Freund, Lissa Westerman, Sarah Barker and Kelly out-touched CdM’s “B” relay to give the Sailors two more important points, as Newport Harbor re-took the lead and didn’t look back.
With top freshmen like the Spitz twins and Skibby, as well as sophomores like Lynch and Amber Freund, the future appears bright for the Newport Harbor girls, who are missing two other top swimmers in sophomore Melinda Stevens (shoulder) and freshman Annie Rankin (hand).
“It’s really exciting,” Skibby said. “The announcer said in the last race how this might be the last time we see some of these swimmers, but for us it’s only the beginning. We have a bright future ahead, and I think we’re going to be really successful.”
Zoe Spitz won the 200 freestyle in a season-best 1:56.21 , as well as the 100 fly in 59.16. Ayla Spitz captured the 100 free in a season-best 51.27, as well as the 100 back (58.29).
Skibby won the 200 IM in a personal-best 2:19.85 and was second in the 100 breast, while Lynch also set season-best times in earning second place in the 500 free and third in the 200 free.
“Maybe they’re peaking at the right time,” said Melstrom, whose team will compete at Sunset League finals beginning Wednesday at Golden West College with preliminaries. “That’s always important going into next week.”
Besides Moaddeli’s 500 free victory, CdM junior Nicole Lin won the 50 free in 25.13 and the 100 breast in 1:09.18. Sophomore Chloe Harbilas was also a top performer for the CdM girls, finishing second in the 50 free (25.81) and 100 free (55.51). Both times were personal-bests. Sophie Wallace was third in the 50 free to give the Sea Kings a one-two-three sweep, which tied the meet at 31-31 at the time.
On the boys’ side, CdM junior Ethan Archer was a double winner, posting season-best times to take the 100 butterfly (52.23) and the 100 backstroke (53.12). The Sea Kings’ Foster Hoose won the 200 freestyle in 1:46.63, while Tanner Roletter (22.42) and Jon Polos (22.52) went one-two in the 50 free.
CdM’s Ryan Schildwachter won the 100 breast in 59.76, and was second in the 200 IM. The Sea Kings also won the 200 medley relay. Archer, Schildwachter, Polos and Vincent Ong touched in 1:39.57.
CdM Coach Barry O’Dea, in his 11th year, said it felt good to record the team’s ninth straight Battle for the Bay win.
“It’s super-exciting,” said O’Dea, whose team finished second in CIF Southern Section Division 1 in 2012 and ’13. “I’ve put a lot of effort to bring swimming back to life ... I feel like we’ve put some relevance back into it. We’ve got a complete aquatics program all the way around, for both boys and girls. The kids put a lot of time and effort in. It’s not an easy thing to do.”
The Sea Kings will now prepare for Pacific Coast League finals. Preliminaries are Tuesday for the girls and Wednesday for the boys at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center, with finals on May 6.
“They’re a little tired, but I think we’re going to have a really good taper going into league next week, so I’m excited about that,” O’Dea said. “All in all, we did what we were supposed to do today.”
Newport Harbor senior Sawyer Farmer was a double-winner for the Sailors boys. Farmer, bound for UC San Diego, won the 200 IM (2:03.87) and the 100 free (47.99). Newport’s Daniel Rafferty won the 500 free in 5:00.01.
Coach Ross Sinclair’s Sailors also won both freestyle relays. Farmer, Max Sandberg, Reece Hemmens and Nick Halphide won the 200 free relay in 1:28.92 as CdM’s “A” relay was disqualified. Newport’s Jason Grew, Hemmens, Halphide and Farmer then captured the 400 free relay in a quick 3:14.13.
Halphide was second in the 200 free and third in the 50 free for the Sailors.
“I thought we kept it competitive,” Sinclair said. “Barry does a great job here, I’ve witnessed it first-hand the last two years. I think we’re one to two years away from what he currently has. He’s got a deep squad year in and year out, and he pushes them. That’s good.”
