Crescenta Valley girls, boys rule pool at Pacific League finals
BURBANK — For many years, Crescenta Valley High has been a vanguard of excellence in area swimming on the girls’ and boys’ sides. This season’s Pacific League swimming finals was another chance to add to the legacy of success.
In the finals, which took place at Burbank High, both the girls and boys came out on top. The girls rolled to victory with 558 points, 84 ahead of second-place Arcadia. The Pacific League title, which a share of had already been claimed, was the lady Falcons’ 11th in a row.
“It was a total team effort,” CV coach Peter Kim said.
Last season, the Falcons boys saw their 24-year title run come to an end at the hands of Arcadia. This year Crescenta Valley put the train back on the tracks with a resounding victory. The Falcons’ winning total of 571 points was 150.5 more than second-place Arcadia.
“Whenever you have a disappointing end of a season, although we lost to a great team last year, it’s a character check for those that are returning,” CV coach Jan Sakonju said. “This was certainly one of their major goals to achieve, so I’m happy for these guys.”
The Falcons girls had two swimmers win three events apiece, Kimmy Park and Amanda Petersen. Park dominated in the freestyle sprint events. The sophomore first swam to victory in the 50 freestyle in 24.25 seconds.
Park came back after the break to win the 100 freestyle in 53.64, well ahead of second-place Cindy Huang of Arcadia, who swam 57.03. The win in the 100 was an improvement in time and result from last year’s finals, where Park came in second with a mark of 55.93.
Park’s final title of the night came in the 400 freestyle relay. She teamed with Miya Higuchi, Petersen and Andrea Abelian to claim the title for the Falcons in a time of 3:44.61.
In addition to the relay, Peterson, a freshman, claimed two individual league championships. She started with a first-place showing in the 200 individual medley, where she took control from the start and was never threatened on the way to a time of 2:08.45.
Petersen came back and won the 100 breaststroke. She outclassed the field with a time of 1:05.16, well ahead of second-place Michelle Tan of Arcadia, who swam 1:12.37. The mark was a league finals record, breaking CV’s Heather MacDougall’s time of 1:05.23 in 2013.
“Amanda has been a rock star this year,” Kim said.
Higuchi claimed the other individual title that went the champions’ way to go along with her medal in the 400 freestyle relay. The junior won the 100 butterfly in 58.65 and was the only swimmer to dip under a minute.
The Crescenta Valley boys started and ended the meet in style, recording relay victories. The Falcons got it started with a win in the 200 medley relay. William Blake, Andre Yarcan, Karl Puttler and Bennett Hesse teamed up to win in 1:39.28.
The team of William Blake, his brother Harrison Blake, Puttler and Yarcan bookended the event with a win in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:15.65.
In addition to their two relay wins, William Blake and Yarcan added two individual Pacific League titles to their credits. Blake was first in the 200 freestyle, posting a time of 1:43.38. In the same event, his younger brother Harrison came in second in a time of 1:48.05.
The elder Blake’s other individual title came in the 500 freestyle. The junior won with a time of 4:44.02. Once again Harrison, a freshman, came in second, posting a mark of 4:47.82.
Yarcan’s two individual titles came in the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke. Yarcan won the 100 butterfly in 52.48 over second-place Reigh Abaoag of Burroughs. Later in the meet, he added the 100 breaststroke, winning in 58.55.
Puttler also captured an individual title. The freshman took the 100 backstroke with a mark of 55.98.
Hoover’s girls’ squad finished in sixth place with 153 points.
“It went surprisingly well,” Hoover coach Kevin Witt said. “We had a lot of people step up with good individual swims.”
The Tornadoes boys came in fourth with 165.5 points. The best individual showing was David Ashkharian in the 50 freestyle. The junior came in second in 23.11. In the 200 freestyle relay, the team of Hakop Ansuryan, Ashkarian, Jordan Corpuz and Armando Honarchian placed second with a time of 1:34.19.
Glendale finished seventh on the girls’ side with 139 points. The Nitros boys came in fifth with 161 points.
“Lots of personal bests today, which is what I was shooting for,” Glendale coach Carol Driffill said.