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Boys’ Swimming Preview: League titles, improvement goals for city trio

La Cañada High boys’ swimmer Matthew Bilaver will be counted upon as the Spartans aim for a Rio Hondo League title.
(Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)
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There’s excitement in regards to the upcoming boys’ swimming season for the La Cañada High, Flintridge Prep and St. Francis programs.

Last season, the Spartans finished 6-1 and 4-1 in the Rio Hondo League to finish second behind champion San Marino.

In the postseason, the Spartans captured six individual league titles and advanced four entrants to the CIF Southern Section Division II Finals in Riverside.

With most of his squad back, La Cañada coach David Hill is anxious to get 2018 underway and perhaps make a run at a league title.

“This is one of the first years that our Rio Hondo League championships are going to be scored,” Hill said. “Obviously we want to win a league title, but we’re looking for a lot of individual medalists at league and we’re looking to bring back our [200-yard] medley relay at CIF.”

Three-fourths of the Spartans’ outstanding 200-yard medley relay team is back in juniors Eddie Cosic and Thomas Hoffman and sophomore Danny Syrkin.

Along with the graduated Luke Stefan, the Spartans set a league relay record time of 1 minute, 35.27 seconds.

The squad won the Division II championship, only to have the title stripped because of a disqualification due to a disputed early start.

A year later and that heartbreak has only served as fuel.

“I’m really proud of the guys and how they handled the situation,” Hill said. “That sort of thing has broken other teams, but not these guys, they’re determined.”

Outside of the trio, Hill is expecting big things from senior Mathew Bilaver in the backstroke and sprints, and from former St. Francis swimmer Noah Hershone.

No city squad – boys’ or girls’ – has a longer streak of league titles going than does Flintridge Prep, which captured its fifth consecutive Prep League crown last season.

Expectations remain high in league and are a little more tempered in CIF as the Rebels are coming off a great year that included them finishing fourth in Division III with 163 points, which was within striking distance of champion Anaheim Canyon (185 points).

“Our goal for this year is to win league again and I think we’re in pretty good shape,” said Flintridge Prep coach Ingrid Herskind, who recently retired from coaching cross-country. “As for matching our fourth-place finish in CIF, that’s going to be a little tougher.”

Herskind lost a gem in senior Andreas Langen, a Southern Section champion and the school’s first-ever CIF State qualifier.

While no one may be able to replace Langen, Herskind returns a slew of talented swimmers, led by Winston Chen.

The junior was part of the league champion 400 freestyle relay team and the 200 medley relay team, while he won the 200 IM (2:01.08) and finished second to Langen in the 100 backstroke (51.99).

Herskind will also rely on junior Matt Ng in the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay, and on the Brookbanks twins, Ben and Oliver, in a variety of events.

The real wild card for Flintridge Prep is senior Brett Bell, an outstanding backstroke swimmer, who injured his knee in the offseason. If Bell can return to form, then Flintridge Prep will be formidable.

Maybe it’s fair to say that no area boys’ team has as daunting a league as St. Francis.

The fledgling Golden Knights program battled to sixth place last season in the powerful Mission League, but optimistic coach Brady Lowdermilk notes that his team was only 105 points away from third place.

“We’ve returned all of our significant point-earners from that meet, so I suspect we’ll place higher this year,” Lowdermilk said. “It’s something we’ve talked about and the guys are motivated to make an impact at that championship meet.”

St. Francis’ premiere swimmer is back in senior Michael Humphrey, who qualified to the Division I prelims in the 100 butterfly (52.77 seconds) and was a pivotal member of St. Francis’ 200 IM relay squad.

“Michael Humphrey is just two-tenths of a second away from the school record in the 100 fly,” Lowdermilk said. “He and Ethan Gray will battle back and forth all season for that one. We’re also close to the school record in the 200 medley relay, so that’s something we’ll target.”

Lowdermilk is expecting big seasons from junior John Balog in the 100 freestyle (52.14), sophomore Christopher Bruce in the 100 free (50.06), Gray in the 100 butterfly (53.43), sophomore Michael Smith in the 500 free (4:57.64) and from utility swimmers Peter Rassam and Adam Schroeder.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter: @campadresports

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