The Olympian High School swim team has a lot going for it and the Eagles seem to be responding at the right time of the season.
The team competed in Tuesday’s Mesa League prelims at Southwestern College with a bead on advancing as many swimmers as possible to Thursday’s league finals, which will be contested starting at 4:30 p.m. at the SWC aquatics complex.
Olympian qualified 18 event entries and all six relay teams for Thursday’s championship heats and 30 event entries in the consolation heats.
The Eagles are flying high right now after its boys team finished with a team-best 5-1 record in league dual meets. Olympian’s girls team was not too far behind with a 4-2 league dual record.
“The season has gone great,” OHS head coach Zach Bradley gushed. “The boys team and the girls team have exceeded expectations. Today (the league prelims) was a culmination for the season with all the hard work we put in. They’ve learned. They’ve had many chances to compete. This is the last hurrah. I’m stoked for this team.
Consistent scorers all season for the Eagles boys team have been Shane Sebree, A.J. Asuncion, Kevin Schwartz and Jordan Laxa.
Top scorers in dual meets for the girls team have included Grace Hill, Sara Gracia and Annika Ongteco.
“It is a very young group, but resilient and determined,” Bradley said. “The girls have come together as a unit and have held their own against more experienced teams in the Mesa League. I’m observing continuous improvements among my athletes, which is all I can ask for as a coach.
“The boys and girls teams are competing for one another; they are rejoicing in each other’s success and, more importantly, each athlete is taking pride in belonging to the Olympian High School swim and dive team.
“With the help of our staff, our parents and our athletes themselves, the culture of this program is changing and heading in the right direction. I’m grateful for the opportunity to coach this team and proud of these athletes in what they have each accomplished thus far. Success both in and out of the water is inevitable for these student-athletes.”
Eagles nest
Team members enjoy each other’s company and learn and have fun as a family unit.
Why chose swimming rather than possibly a less challenging sport? It’s all in the mindset, according to team members.
“There’s this rush I get whenever I swim,” said Schwartz, a four-year water polo and swimmer. “Anything else doesn’t do that. Every time I get a PR I get to a new level. I love it.”
Gracia is in her second year on the team and specifically enjoys the team camaraderie. Fast times are not overly important but she enjoys them when they come.
“I work on the little things, technique, turns,” she said. “You can challenge yourself to push yourself beyond your limits.”
Sebree is also in his second year on the team and is following in the footsteps of older brother Sean, who previously competed at Olympian High School and is now attending UC San Diego.
“Getting to race my friends to see who has the faster times makes me go faster,” he said. “I set goals for times that I have to pass. This year I feel I’ve made more progress in getting more CIF times than I thought I would get.”
Sebree could not attend last year’s section swim meet due to academic testing. He’s looking forward to see what he can accomplish in the next few weeks.
Top marks
Ongteco led Olympian with the top prelim mark of 1:03.17 in the girls 100 backstroke in Tuesday’s meet, a time that bettered her seed time of 1:03.62 and met the CIF automatic qualifying standard.
Ongteco is seeded fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:06.77), a time that meets the CIF consideration mark.
Sebree is seeded second in the 200 individual medley while Asuncion is seeded second in the boys 100 backstroke (1:01.92).
Sebree (5:13.57) and Schwartz (5:17.71) are seeded second and third, respectively, in the boys 500 freestyle. Schwartz is seeded third in the 200 freestyle (1:56.77).
Hill is seeded third in the girls 200 IM (2:28.12).
Olympian finished with the second-fastest prelim times in both 400 freestyle relays, timing 4:09.12 on the girls side and 3:45.09 on the boys side.
Fast lane
Eastlake finished undefeated in Mesa League dual meets this season, going 6-0 in both boys and girls competition.
The Titans loaded up for Thursday’s league finals with a strong showing at Tuesday’s league prelims.
Freshman Emily Lundgren set a meet record in recording the top time in the girls 200-yard individual medley (2:11.33) while finishing with the second-fastest prelim time in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.41) to teammate Cecelia Hagewood (1:08.55).
Eastlake’s Angelika Yngson set the prior meet record of 2:13.55 in the 200IM in 2017.
Both of Lundgren’s prelim swims met the CIF automatic qualifying standard, as did Hagewood’s time.
Both were members of the Titans’ top-seeded 200 medley relay team that set a meet record in Tuesday’s prelims with a time of 1:55.75. The time eclipsed the old record of 1:56.09 set last year by Eastlake.
Pia Davila (backstroke) and Aranza Martha (freestyle) joined Lundgren (breaststroke) and Hagewood (butterfly) on the record-setting relay unit.
The quartet of swimmers also showcased their talent in individual events.
Davila recorded the top prelim time in the 100 butterfly (1:03.56) and the second-fastest time in the 100 backstroke (1:05.06).
Hagewood netted the top prelim time in the girls 50 freestyle at 24.91 to meet the CIF automatic standard.
Martha notched the top prelim time in the 100 freestyle (56.33).
Nate Bjornstad, a sophomore, is seeded first in his specialty event, the boys 100 breaststroke, with the top prelim time of 1:01.00 and is seeded second in the 50 freestyle after posting a runner-up time of 23.25 to junior teammate Eli Stewart.
Bjornstad’s breaststroke time met the CIF automatic standard as did Stewart’s 50 free clocking of 22.74.
EHS coach Steve Wiggs called Stewart one of the most improved swimmers on the team this year.
“He came into this season not even sure he was going to finish it, but now he’s locked in,” Wiggs said.
The EHS head coach will likely sport a shaved head when appearing on deck for Thursday’s meet after Stewart recorded the high 22-second mark in the 50 sprint event.
“I told him I’d shave my head if he could do that (as a motivating tool), so I’ll likely be bald on Thursday,” Wiggs quipped.
On the boys side for Eastlake:
Emilio Camarillo posted a prelim-leading 2:09.83 in the boys 200 IM while Skylar Kinney touched with the top prelim time in the 100 butterfly (54.81) to edge Camarillo’s second second-fastest mark in the event (56.62).
Both Kinney and Camarillo’s butterfly marks met the CIF automatic standard.
Colby Hughes topped swimmers in the boys 500 freestyle with a CIF automatic qualifying time of 4:58.30. Hughes finished with the second-fastest prelim time in the 200 freestyle (1:56.46).
Aaron Medina is seeded second in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.82) and third in the 100 freestyle (51.08) while while Sebastian Lanswick is seeded third in the breaststroke event (1:09.27).
Medina’s breaststroke time met the CIF automatic mark.
On the girls side for the Titans:
Mirsha Lora timed second in the 200 freestyle (2:03.02) and 500 freestyle (5:24.76) while Erin Gidley finished third overall in the 500 freestyle (5:29.38). All the times met the CIF automatic qualifying standard.
Eastlake recorded the top prelim times in five of the six relay events. Besides the girls 200 medley relay, the Titans also posted time prelim times in the boys 200 medley relay (1:44.07), boys 200 freestyle relay (1:37.27), girls 400 freestyle relay (3:48.31) and boys 400 freestyle relay (3:32.42).
Baron pride
Bonita Vista freshman Paola Castillo recorded two top prelim times: 1:58.22 in the girls 200 freestyle and 5:14.33 in the 500 freestyle. Both met the CIF automatic standard.
BV junior Ezra Aguimatang notched the fastest prelim time in the 100 backstroke (56.80) and the third-fastest time in the 100 butterfly (56.67). Both times met the CIF automatic qualifying standard.
Baron senior Emiliano Castro finished with the second-fastest prelim time in the 100 freestyle (51.03) and third-fastest time in the 50 freestyle (23.63).
Bonita Vista finished the league dual meet season 3-3 in boys competition and 1-5 in girls competition.
Horse power
Otay Ranch junior Samuel Gomez recorded top prelim times in the 100 freestyle (49.00) and 200 freestyle (1:49.15).
Otay Ranch recorded the top prelim time in the girls 200 freestyle relay (1:54.00) ahead of Hilltop (1:54.12) and Bonita Vista (1:55.58). Eastlake was fourth in 1:58.61.
The Mustangs notched the second-fastest time of 2:00.90 in the girls 200 medley relay to meet the CIF qualifying standard.
Green machine
Hilltop senior Yzatis Silva posted the second-fastest qualifying times in the 50 freestyle (25.93) and 100 freestyle (56.82). The 50 sprint time met the CIF automatic standard.
Hilltop timed 1:54.12 in placing second in the girls 200 freestyle relay.
Hilltop finished 6-2 (4-2 in league) in girls dual meet competition during the regular season and 5-3 (3-3 in league) in boys dual meet competition.
Lancer head coach Ernie Medina seemed pleased by the group’s progress this season.
“Lots of improved times,” Medina noted about Tuesday’s prelim meet.
Of note, Silva, Jordan Carpadakis and Lorenzo Rodriguez are all team captains. Silva and Carpadakis are both four-year letter-winners.
On a crusade
Mater Dei Catholic sophomore Anna Cetnar is seeded second in the girls 100 butterfly (1:05.16) while Crusader freshman Marco Croshier-Martucci is seeded third in the boys 200 IM (2:20.31) as is junior Alexi Brown (1:07.10) in the girls 100 backstroke.
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
