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Crescenta Valley, La Cañada swimming split meet

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LA CAÑADA — There were three opponents, but only two victors at Friday afternoon’s nonleague swim meet between freeway rivals Crescenta Valley High and host La Cañada.

The Spartan girls picked up a tight 79-77 victory over the Falcons, while the Crescenta Valley boys delivered an impressive 103-52 triumph on a rainy afternoon in which both schools overcame a steady downpour.

Due to inclement weather, official times were unavailable for several events.

“We had a scoreboard that shorted out, we had a shortage in timers and we had to make sure that our athletes weren’t hiding from the rain in corners all over the pool deck,” first-year La Cañada High Coach Crissy Perham said. “With all that going on, we had a really, really close race that I’m not sure we expected.

“So, I’m happy with the win, but more so with the effort out there. We’ve been talking about improving and learning to overcome adversity and we did that today.”

La Cañada held a precarious 73-69 advantage going into the final 400-yard relay race that included three entrants for the Falcons and two for the Spartans.

While Crescenta Valley’s foursome of Yvette Kim, Genevieve Gonzales, Emily Shirvanian and Miya Higuchi won the event and picked up eight points, the Spartans’ top two relays squads finished second and third for six points and a clinching effort.

Individually, freshman Madeline Odell won the 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 11.45 seconds), junior Katrine Madsen captured the 200 IM (2:21.55) and freshman Shannon Ring won the 100 breaststroke for the Spartans.

The La Cañada foursome of Odell, Ring, Madsen and Shelby Hopkins also won the 200-medley relay.

Crescenta Valley’s Higuchi and Kim each won two individual races Friday.

Higuchi captured the 50 and 100 (58.62) freestyle races, while Kim claimed the 100 butterfly (1:00.77) and 100 backstroke (1:03.50).

The Falcons also won the 200 free relay.

“We were missing some of our top swimmers today and I felt like this was an opportunity for some of our other swimmers to step up,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Peter Kim, who was without standouts Heather MacDougall and Tiare Coker, among others on Friday. “We fell behind early and made some adjustments, chipped away, but couldn’t close the gap.”

On the boys’ side, the Falcons won nine of 10 events (there was no 500 freestyle) in breezing to a 103-52 victory.

Freshman William Blake helped pace the Falcons to victory with wins in the 200 IM and 100 freestyle races in marks of 2:07.07 and 51.97, respectively.

Wesley Hovanessian won the 200 freestyle, Eddie Gallehugh captured the 50 freestyle (21.98), Hyun Sung Kim clinched the 100 butterfly (53.61) and Justin Sheen took the 100 breaststroke (1:02.77).

The Falcons’ 200 medley relay squad of Blake, Sheen, Kim and Gallehugh were victorious, while the foursome of Reagen Hesse, Gallehugh, Kim and Jessie Sullivan won the 200 free relay (1:36.38).

For good measure, the 400 relay team of Hovanessian, Blake, Kim and Sheen also won.

“What I liked most today was that, for the most part, the team competed despite the weather,” Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju said. “High school athletes often times aren’t mentally right if the conditions aren’t perfect and the weather could have caused a lot of problems.

“Fortunately, it didn’t affect us that much.”

La Cañada’s Daniel Beck claimed his team’s lone victory in the 100 backstroke.

“I loved the sportsmanship out there,” La Cañada Coach David Hill said. “I saw a lot of swimmers reach over after they finished their races and shake hands with their opponents, which is one of the most important aspects of sports.

“Obviously, conditions weren’t great, but I think both teams did their best to handle the weather and still compete.”

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