Irvine Boys’ Swimmers’ Depth Trumps Newport Harbor’s Ace

Although Newport Harbor had world-ranked swimmer Aaron Peirsol, Irvine had the depth as the top-ranked Vaqueros defeated the sixth-ranked Sailors, 98-72, in Sea View League boys’ swimming Wednesday.

Irvine won the 200 freestyle and medley relays and had crucial second- and third-place finishes at Newport Harbor High.

The Vaqueros also had wins by sophomore Gonny Shimura, who won the 100 freestyle in 48.17 seconds, and senior Chris Peck, who turned in a 57.05 clocking to win the 100 butterfly. Nicholas Yu won the 100 breaststroke for Irvine in 1:02.06.

Irvine’s victory didn’t take away from the impressive showing of Peirsol, who won the 100 backstroke in 50.91, a second off his school record of 49.87.

Peirsol, who is ranked among the top five in the world in the 200-meter backstroke, also won the 200 individual medley (1:55.33).

In nonleague boys’ swimming:

No. 3 Villa Park 193, Capistrano Valley 146, No. 4 Santa Margarita 135--Chris Koontz won the 100 butterfly (55.01) and swam on the winning 200 medley relay team for Villa Park (3-0), which won the tri-meet at Saddleback College. Brent Nolan won the 200 freestyle (1:52.06) for Capistrano Valley (1-1).

Santa Margarita’s Jonathan Russell won the 50 freestyle (22.37) and the 100 backstroke (53.80).

In Sea View League girls’ swimming:

No. 1 Irvine 103, No. 3 Newport Harbor 67--Junior Stephanie Hsiao’s come-from-behind anchor leg gave visiting Irvine (2-0, 1-0) the lead after the 200 medley relay. Hsiao also won the 100 freestyle (53.56).

Nicole Mackey won for Newport Harbor in the 200 freestyle (1:51.9) and individual medley (2:06.03).

In nonleague girls’ swimming:

No. 6 Santa Margarita 203, Capistrano Valley 159, Villa Park 138--Jamie Kroeze of Santa Margarita won the 50 (24.82) and 100 freestyles (54.92) and was on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Freshman Erica Figge also contributed for the Eagles, winning the 200 freestyle in 2:00.52.

Nicole Bowdle was the only winner for Capistrano Valley, taking the 200 individual medley (2:18.84) and the 100 breaststroke in a Southern Section Division I qualifying time of 1:08.84.

Canyon 102, Brea Olinda 68--Lauren Mathewson, Sheva Khalafbeigi and sisters Erin and Lauren Volcan won two events each. All four girls also swam on both winning relay teams for the host Comanches (2-1). Khalafbeigi turned in a top mark in the 200 freestyle (2:04.5) and Erin Volcan won the 500 freestyle in a Southern Section Division I qualifying time of 5:03.9.

In Sea View League baseball:

Irvine 3, Newport Harbor 1--Irvine managed only three hits, but two were home runs. Chris Lewis hit one in the first inning and Travis Otott had a two-run home run in the second.

Chad Hazlett pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits, striking out four and walking none to pick up his fourth victory.

Laguna Hills 4, Woodbridge 3--Joe Viglione drove in two runs, including the game-winner in the fifth for the visiting Hawks (2-4, 1-0). Woodbridge is 0-1 in league.

In nonleague baseball:

El Toro 3-2, No. 4 University 1-7--Evan Whitaker hit a two-run single in the top of the eighth of the opener and Conner Gleason (2-0) gave up only three hits and struck out five for the visiting Chargers.

In the second game, University gained a split as Noah Edmonds and Kevin Conlin hit two-run home runs. Erik Foxman went six innings, giving up one hit and striking out six, for the Trojans (5-2).

Los Amigos 4, Estancia 1--Miguel Zapata was two for three with two doubles and a run to lead host Los Amigos (3-3). Bishop Griggs pitched a three-hitter for the Lobos.

Santa Ana 4, Santiago 3--A.J. Fernandez laid down a squeeze bunt with two strikes and one out in the bottom of the seventh to score Manny Pedroza from third with the winning run for host Santa Ana (4-2).

In nonleague golf:

No. 1 Santa Margarita 378, No. 6 Woodbridge 391--Steve Conway finished at par 72 for the Eagles (4-0). Woodbridge is 4-1.

Los Alamitos 395, Sunny Hills 403--Junior Breene Murphy birdied two holes, including Los Coyotes’ 460-yard, par-four No. 2 for the Griffins (3-0).

Marina 405, No. 10 Newport Harbor 411--Robbie Kramer of Marina shot a two-under 33 at Meadowlark and a six-over 42 at Big Canyon for a combined score of 75. Kramer birdied the first three holes at Big Canyon and got his fourth birdie on the eighth hole as Marina won for the first time in four matches.

In the Saddleback Valley softball tournament:

Laguna Hills 7, Trabuco Hills 4--Laguna Hills scored three runs in the top of the ninth. The Hawks advanced to the championship game, where they will play Irvine, a 6-4 winner over Marina, at Alicia Park in Mission Viejo at 7:15 tonight.

In nonleague softball:

Huntington Beach 4, Garden Grove 1--Tiffany Brown pitched all seven innings, striking out six and allowing no earned runs, to pick up the victory for visiting Huntington Beach (3-1).

Los Amigos 1, Laguna Beach 0--Nancy Grajeda scored from first base on Britni Bowers’ single to lift the host Lobos (4-4). Kristen Orem (4-3) struck out seven and gave up only one hit.

In nonleague boys’ tennis:

No. 1 Corona del Mar 11, No. 6 Sunny Hills 7--In a matchup of two of the county’s top singles players, Brian Morton defeated Joseph Kao, 6-3, then won his next two sets, 7-5, 6-0. The Sea Kings are 5-0. Sunny Hills dropped to 2-3.

In nonleague boys’ track and field:

No. 9 Corona Del Mar 79, Fountain Valley 57--Junior Travis Beardslee was a three-event winner, taking the 800 (2:00.8), the 1,600 (4:25.8) and the 3,200 (11:00) for host Corona Del Mar (2-0).