Irvine Wins Division I Swimming Titles

Irvine High enjoyed a very successful day at the Southern Section Division I swimming championships Friday, winning the boys’ and girls’ championships at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

Irvine won its first boys’ championship, ending Mission Viejo’s six-year run.

Irvine’s girls did not win one race, yet won the team championship with 218 points. Newport Harbor was second with 195 points and San Clemente third with 189.

Ventura Buena’s Ian Prichard was named boys’ swimmer of the meet. Prichard, the defending champion in the 500- and 200-yard freestyle, broke the meet record in the 500 with a time of 4 minutes 19.34 seconds. He broke the record of 4:19.47 set by Dan Jorgensen of Mission Viejo in 1985.

Prichard won the 200 in 1:38.37.

San Clemente’s Sarah Jones, who won the 50 and 100 freestyles, and Kaitlin Sandeno, who won the 500 freestyle and 100 butterfly, were named the girls’ co-swimmers of the meet.

Newport Harbor’s Aaron Peirsol, a sophomore, set a Division I record in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:49.02. He also came close to the national record in the 100 backstroke. His time of 48.28 was less than a second off the record of 47.50 set by Irvine Woodbridge’s Derya Buyukunco in 1994.

Peirsol held off Irvine’s Jeff Natalizio in the 200 IM, then buried the field in the 100 backstroke.

Natalizio also finished second to Peirsol in the 100 backstroke.

Irvine won only two races--Gonny Shimura in the 100 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay--yet finished with 295 points, 74 more than Mission Viejo.