Swimming: Big win for Newport boys
LOS ALAMITOS — For much of the meet, Newport Harbor High senior Reece Hemmens played cheerleader, trying to pump up his teammates.
Yet, in the meet-ending 400-yard freestyle relay, it was himself who Hemmens had to motivate to make up a deficit. The Newport Harbor boys’ swim team, needing a win to secure a meet victory, was down by more than four-tenths of a second entering Hemmens’ final leg.
Hemmens left no doubt on the final backstretch, overcoming a challenge by Los Alamitos’ Gabriel Browning and ultimately leaving him behind.
Newport Harbor’s Nick Halphide, Jason Grew, Charlie Covina and Hemmens won the event in 3 minutes, 14.27 seconds. The Sailors also won the meet, earning a big 87-83 Sunset League victory. It perhaps establishes the Sailors (2-0 in league) as league favorites, after handing the defending champion Griffins (2-1) their first league loss.
Los Alamitos was too strong on the girls’ side, improving to 3-0 in league after posting a 101-69 victory.
Hemmens was a double-event winner, capturing the 100 free in 48.39 seconds. He also won the 50 free in 21.85 seconds by out-touching Los Al’s Brandon Toland (21.89).
“The first 25 wasn’t the greatest, but it definitely felt good to come back a little bit in the second half and just barely get him, get the team hyped,” Hemmens said. “It was great.”
Halphide was the other double-event winner for the Sailors, as he won the 200 free in 1:44.73 and the butterfly in 53.94. The junior has improved a lot in a short period of time, after quitting water polo in December and starting club swimming with SOCAL. Now, he has Coach Ross Sinclair’s Sailors thinking league title.
“Los Al was undefeated in season until now, so this is really big for us,” Halphide said. “As far as league championships go, we only have two in the books. One in 2007, and one in 1940-something. So a league championship would be a really big deal for us and a big step for the program. It’s not a given, but I think we have the ability to put the work in to get a league championship.”
No other boys won individual events for the Sailors, though Hemmens, Grew, Max Sandberg and Halphide won the 200 free relay in 1:28.04. The Newport “B” relay of Covina, Michael Paduano, Matthew Carlson and Makana Sanita got third place, giving the Sailors a 64-60 lead with three events remaining.
It was a turnaround, after the Griffins’ Asael Marvel led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 individual medley that gave the hosts an early 10-point lead. But Newport Harbor completed the comeback.
“I think it’ll help change people’s mind-set, especially the younger water polo players who aren’t necessarily stoked about swimming,” Halphide said. “I think to go and win a big meet like that against an undefeated team, it will definitely help change their mind-set, have them want to come out and compete and train hard every day.”
Grew, Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt and Paduano went 2-3-4 in the backstroke, increasing the Sailors’ lead to six. It was narrowed to two, 79-77, after the breaststroke, despite a strong second-place effort from Sandberg (1:04.39).
That meant that Newport could clinch the meet by winning the 400 free relay. Hemmens made sure that happened.
“I think it’s a turning point for our program,” Sinclair said. “The boys have been working really hard. They’re buying into the idea of competing and swimming and getting excited for it. For the first time since I’ve been here, I think the boys are more excited to compete than the coaching staff. [The Griffins] always bring it. [Coach] Brent [Danna] does a good job, they get fired up, so it’s a big win for us.”
On the girls’ side, Newport sophomore Ayla Spitz dazzled in her two individual events. She won the backstroke in an Orange County-leading 55.60, and also easily won the 200 individual medley in 2:05.30.
Newport junior Dinny Stevens won the 500 free in 5:08.76, and Kili Skibby impressed with second-place finishes in the 100 free (54.26) and the breaststroke (1:09.61). The 100 free time was a lifetime best. Zoe Spitz also finished second in both her individual events, the 50 free (24.91) and the 100 fly (58.55).
Ayla Spitz, Skibby, Zoe Spitz and Stevens touched first in both the 200 medley relay (1:50.25) and the 400 free relay (3:35.17). Ayla led a sizable comeback on the anchor leg of the latter event. But the Griffins, ranked No. 3 the county and led by Sydney Rouse and Bayley Weber, were too strong.
Newport Harbor’s girls, ranked No. 7 in the county, are now 1-1 in league.
“[Ayla Spitz’s backstroke win] just goes to show the mentality that we need,” Coach Brian Melstrom said. “She’s up by five seconds in that race, she could have easily turned off the jets, and she goes for it 100% the whole way ... All you can control is the effort that each one of our girls brings. I thought that each one of [Los Alamitos’] girls wanted to go out and race today. I don’t question it, that our girls didn’t, but they certainly didn’t swim very well.”
The Sailors boys and girls swim next on the road at Edison next Tuesday.
Twitter: @mjszabo
