Relay Teams Keep Loyola Perfect : Swimming: The Cubs enter league finals with an undefeated record after beating Harvard-Westlake.

Loyola High swimmers Tariq Bruno, Ben Odell and Peter Baldwin have carried the Cubs’ swim team all season. It was no different Thursday against Harvard-Westlake in a Mission League dual meet.

Entering the meet’s last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the two Loyola relay teams needed to place first and third for the Cubs to win the meet.

Their top team--Bruno, Odell, Baldwin and Bill O’Connor--pulled away from the Wolverines to win the relay in 3:24.53. The other Loyola relay team came in third and the Cubs won, 87-83.

Loyola finished the season at 10-2, 6-0 in league meets. Harvard-Westlake finished 9-1, 5-1.

“We were very excited coming into the meet,” Odell said. “We knew we had the possibility to pull it off, but it really came down to that last event. I was on fire, ready to win.”

Bruno swam the anchor leg in the relay only moments after winning the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:00.09, qualifying him for high school All-American consideration.

“Tariq has that ability (to swim consecutive races),” Odell said. “Nothing phases him.”

Both Odell and Bruno, coming off winning performances in the Foothill Swim Games, won two individual events and swam on two winning relay teams. Bruno, a freshman, swam a season-best 54.89 to win the 100-meter butterfly. Odell won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:46.45 and the 500-meter freestyle in 4:46.25.

“They pretty much dominate their events,” Harvard-Westlake Coach Gary O’Brien said.

Odell and Bruno have already qualified in their winning events for the Southern Section championships, which begin May 14.

At the Foothill Games, Bruno won the 100 breaststroke and placed second in the 100 butterfly. Odell won the 500 freestyle and placed second in the 200 freestyle.

Odell placed second in the 200 freestyle in last season’s Southern Section finals and his Coach Nick Woller said he is the favorite to win in May. Bruno hopes to win the 100 breaststroke at the Southern Section championships.

In other events Thursday, Baldwin won the 200-meter individual medley in 2:03.16 and teamed with Bruno, Odell and O’Connor to win the 200-meter medley relay in 1:41.03.