Flintridge Prep swimming sweeps away Chadwick

LA CAÑADA —Both the boys’ and girls’ swimming teams from Flintridge Prep took to the pool to face the visiting Dolphins from Chadwick in a Prep League meet Thursday afternoon.

For the Rebels boys, it was an opportunity to begin the defense of their Prep League title from last year and, for the girls, Thursday’s meet presented the opportunity to capture an elusive team win.

Neither squad of Rebels let the opportunity slip by, both coming away with dominant wins over Chadwick in the their last competition before spring break.

The Flintridge Prep boys won in resounding fashion, 127-41.

“We looked very strong out there,” Rebels senior Marco Flores said. “It was nice to beat [Chadwick] and we’re looking very good this year.”

The girls swam to a 79-45 victory, matching the boys by winning 10 of 11 races to earn the league victory.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Rebels senior Jennifer Langen said. “This is one of the first seasons I’ve been on this team where we have a few wins under our belt already. Last year the girls actually had no wins at all, so it’s so exciting, especially since we have such a young team.”

The high point of the meet was the boys’ 200 freestyle relay, which Flintridge Prep (3-0, 1-0) won in a time of 1 minute 32.31 seconds to break the school record. The new record time set by Flores, Andreas Langen, Gary Lee and Carlo Sivilotti breaks the old record of 1:32.58, which had stood since 2005, set by Brandon Choi, Mike McDonnell, Alex Park and Ben Naecker.

“For the [200 freestyle] relay, that was awesome because we just broke our school record in season, not in our final meet,” Flores said. “So that’s an awesome feeling.”

The Rebels boys won all three of the relays contested against the Dolphins (1-1, 1-1). Flores, Langen and Lee also were on the winning 200 medley relay, along with Kevin Park, posting a top time of 1:47.97. By the end of the day Flores, a senior, and Langen, a freshman, had each won two individual events to go along with their two relay victories.

Flores led a Rebels sweep of the top three spots in the 200 freestyle, posting a time of 1:51.09. Later the senior won the 100 butterfly in a time of 56.37 in the first race after the break, where Flintridge Prep held a 48-13 advantage.

For the freshman Langen, swimming in his first Prep League meet, his first individual victory came in the 200 individual medley, which he won handily in a personal record time of 2:08.09, despite the event not being one he normally swims. However, he was not done, later far outdistancing the field to win the 500 freestyle in 5:05.49. Second place went to Gabriel Fernandez, who finished over 24 seconds behind Langen.

“This is my first high school swim meet, so I think I’m going to learn from this,” Langen said. “I know this mentality I have to get into now.”

The Flintridge Prep boys also swept the top three spots in both the 50 freestyle, led by Sivilotti’s winning mark of 22.70, and the 100 breaststroke, with David Shin taking the top honors by posting a time of 1:09.17.

Park took home the win in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.12. The junior was also a member of the winning 400 freestyle relay that capped the afternoon’s competition, along with Diego Delgado, Fernandez and Ethan Vandeventer.

“For our guys, basically I just put people in a lot of different races,” first-year Flintridge Prep coach Ingrid Herskind said. “I want to see what we can do.”

Both the boys and girls came out of the gates strong with dominant wins in the 200 medley relay. The Rebels won both by almost the length of the pool to set the early tone.

Lauren Au, Kimberly Cheng, Jennifer Langen and Madelena Pawlek won in a time of 2:05.37.

The quartet also combined to win the final race of the meet, posting a time of 4:05.63 in the 400 freestyle relay that they swam unopposed. Additionally, they accounted for all but one victory in the girls’ sweep of the individual events, with Au, Cheng and Pawlek taking two top finishes apiece. Karlie Garrity won the 100 freestyle, the only event the Rebels did not win, in a time of 56.01.

Au won a tight 50 freestyle and later added a win in the 100 breaststroke, leading from start to finish. Cheng won the 200 freestyle and later added a win in the 100 butterfly.

For Pawlek, it was her first Prep league meet. The freshman posted individual victories in both the 100 backstroke, winning it in 1:08.94, and in the 500 freestyle, which she swam unopposed.

“My 100 back was really great and it’s really fun to swim here at Prep with high school students because you get to know people that aren’t in your grade,” Pawlek said.

Like her younger brother did, Jennifer Langen won the 200 individual medley. Her time was 2:37.78, posted as the only swimmer in the pool.

“I’m really excited for him,” the elder Langen said of her brother. “My brother and I have a very good relationship and I’m very proud of him. He’s doing exceptionally well this season.”