Northwood's Varsity Girls produced several dominating relay teams that swept first in all three relay events supporting the 100-70 win over Portola. Photo courtesy of Alex Tolkachev.
If the Northwood Timberwolves continue to swim as they did today, they should have a strong case for a serious run at the Pacific Coast League Championships next month. As this 2021 season looks destined to be a another doozy, Northwood has found its groove and the Timberwolves relay teams have become especially dangerous. The boys and girls squads led the Northwood Timberwolves to an almost clean sweep of the relays, each winning a high percentage of points allotted against Portola High School.
Northwood's boys squad stayed perfect taking down the Bulldogs,102-68, while the Lady T-Wolves had an impressive win 100-70 on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at the Portola High School Aquatic Center. The boys individual entries swept first place in 5 of 8 events. The victory marks the third straight for Northwood's boys who improved to 3-0 on this dual league season.
The Lady T-Wolves had 6 of 8 individual events for first place wins, and managed to perform so well because their focus and resilience have remained consistent over the course of the season.
There is no overstating the quickness of these runaway relay victories. The supporting cast of individuals have shown speed improvements germinating since last high school season. If anything, the 2021 Timberwolves are sure to improve times as this season progresses.
“It was good for us to come in and just move at some high rates of speed," said Northwood Head Coach Alex Nieto. "For us, it's more about the process, improving times and having fun."
Next week, the Timberwolves will face their neighboring Beckman High School Patriots at an away meet on April 21st, and will hope to ride their newfound run of form to another couple victories.
200 FREE
The Northwood Open Girls got the meet started with a 1-2 finish with Rachel Yokota touching the wall first in 2:23.38, and Claire Cho claiming second in 2:29.23. Open Boys Michael Li didn't disappoint finishing in front with a 2:08.68. Second place went to Christian Thorpe (2:10.17). Timberwolves Open Boys sophomore Aditya Harri rounded third in 2:10.72. In the JV Girls event, Kacy Kesler powered in for second (2:17.77), while Charlotte Waddell touched third in 2:26.66. Portola's Andrea Ruiz took the top time in 2:14.40. The afternoon saw a triple sweep from Northwood's JV Boys in the 200 Free that included Benton Cheng (1:52.78), Kendrick Pham (1:57.99) and Gavin Lai (2:02.08). Varsity Lady T-Wolves Katerina Tolkachev was first out of the gates with a win in the 200 Free turning in a 1:59.03. Kim Huynh held onto second with 1:59.32, while Portola's Renee Yasuda stretched to touch in 1:59.73 for third. Portola's Ethan Ho secured the win in the Varsity Boys 200 Free (1:47.68) with just a tick behind was Northwood's senior Zachary Waddell checking in at 1:48.78. His teammate junior Nolan Chomin took third in 1:48.78.
100 IM
Open Girls freshman Emma McDowell jumped out to an early lead and never relented at the 50 turn (29.34), then touched for the win in 1:39.34. Nicole Karraa checked in for second with 2:10.72.
200 IM
JV Girls Vivian Guo secured the win in the 200 IM clocking in at 2:26.12, and moving a couple body lengths away from Portola's Peyton Shim (2:34.79). Zoe Liu claimed third in 2:35.03. JV Boys Anthony Foo dominated the 200 IM surging to the top time of the afternoon with a 2:08.92 Ryan Xu followed second with a time of 2:11.44, while Portola's Ethan Trieu went 2:14.37 for third. Varsity Girls Acile Jammoul marked the top time in the 200 IM with a 2:15.10 for the victory over Portola's Elise Sullivan who checked in with a second time 2:15.96, while Taylor Inouye touched third in 2:17.21. Northwood Varsity Christopher Leung had a sizable lead going into the breaststroke leg of his 200 IM over Portola's Mike Cheng. If there's one thing you don't want when racing Leung, it's to be behind after fly and back. Leung split a 31.63 on the breaststroke and then came home in 1:56.79 over Cheng (2:01.38). Senior Jeremy Mah touched in for third at 2:03.22.
50 Free
Sophomore Audrey Li continued the momentum for Northwood's Open Girls finishing a top time in 35.17. Katrina Estrada charted a time of 36.83 for second. On the Open Boys side Corey Okkamoto powered in a 25.57 for third place. Portola's Alex Phipps took the win in 25.60 with his teammate Nader Tawfik pulled in for second with 25.72. Timberwolves JV Girls picked up two top placements with Katie Ho (28.47) and Sarah Hsu (28.70). JV Boys Ethan Chen ripped in another win for the Timberwolves with a leading time of 23.74, nearly a full second ahead of the rest of the field, while Justin Chung (24.30) and Portola's Grant Kramer (24.40) touched for a 2-3. Junior Lauren Kim closed out the win in the Varsity Girls 50 Free (25.65). Portola's Camryn Chung touched second (26.46), while Kira Kang clocked in for third (27.19). Varsity senior Kenneth Duong took the top spot with an exceptionally fast 50 Free to win a 22.20 punch to the wall over Portola's Zach Smay (22.53). Touching just behind them in 22.59 was Kevin Hong.
50 Fly
Lady T-Wolves Sanjana Venkatesh needed every inch of the big lead and she got it ripping a 37.44 for the win in the Open Girls 50 Fly. Kartina Estrada seized second in 46.53. Sophomore Joshua Bonode helped the JV Boys effort surging for a third to touch the wall in 26.57. Portola's Cody Le posted the first place finish in 25.60 with Trentin Yee rounding third (25.72).
100 Fly
Lady Timberwolves Ainsley Zapata cleared 1:12.51 in the JV Girls event for second with Britney Cao capturing third in 1:14.19. Portola's Sloane DeTorres took first (1:09.75). Freshman Ethan Chen touched the second wall out in 23.74, over Portola's Ethan Ouyeung (27.97). Chen pulled away on the final wall securing the win for the JV Boys 100 Fly in 55.63. Ouyeung locked down second with a 58.86, while his teammate Ethan Hsu claimed third (59.80). Varsity Girls Kim Huynh (59.64) went lights out taking the win over Portola's Sophia Sim (58.83) and Kiana Fan (1:01.20). On the Varsity Boys side, Younghun Kim pulled in a second place finish 53.16 in the 100 Fly. Portola's Ben Kim (52.22) and Nathan Hahn (55.44) provided a first and third finish.
100 Free
Freshman Rachel Yokota established herself as the fastest Open Girls 100 Free swimmer of the day clocking in a 1:05.30. The Open Boys ripped in their first triple finish from Andrew Zhang (55.19), Michael Li (57.52) and Aditya Harri (57.67). Northwood JV Girls Sarah Hsu went out hard splitting a 30.05, holding onto a lead down the stretch for a winning finish in 1:02.33. Vivian Guo grabbed second in 1:02.99, and Portola's Andrea Ruiz rounded third (1:04.20). Timberwolves Oliver Allen checked in with a second time of 54.42 in the JV Boys 100 Free, while Portola's Ben Curtis took the win (53.68). Grant Kramer closed out the race touching third in 55.78. Acile Jammoul brought home second place for the Varsity Lady T-Wolves with this event in 56.59. Junior Lauren Kim posted third place honors in 57.44. Portola's Kai Wong took the event in 42.96. The battle for second was tight in the Varsity Boys with two boys going less than a half second between Henry Chen (49.69) and Portola's Zach Smay (49.77). Mike Cheng took the win in 48.41.
500 Free
Samin Shahrabian brought home second place for the JV Girls in event (6:17.28) with teammate Charlotte Waddell prevailing with a third in 6:17.79. Portola's Tessa Trieu took first in 6:05.15. JV Boys Benton Cheng delivered a double win of the day, and made a statement winning in the 500 Free as he touched the wall in 5:09.93 to claim first, while Portola's Liam McGuane earned second in 5:23.01. Aidan Nishikawa hit the wall for third (5:27.69). Among other notable performances on the Varsity side Lady T-Wolf Tanya Ahmed had a very competitive duel start going on in the 500 free with Portola's Summer Sim Both were out pacing very close on the first 200 yards with Ahmed (2:12.00) and Sim (2:14.00), but Ahmed shifted another gear on her back half producing 34+ splits to run away with the win in 5:39.59. Sim was second 5:47.65, while Victoria Nguyen stopped the watch for third in 5:58.08. Timberwolves sophomore Christopher Leung dominated the 500 Free surging to the top time of the evening with a 4:39.82. Zachary Waddell held onto second with a 4:49.18, while Portola's Malcolm Loke clocked third in 4:54.82.
50 Back
Northwood's Open Girls won the 50 back with Audrey Li (41.60) and Nicole Karraa (41.76) who made a run and swept the event. Open Boys Jalen Hsia (32.24) and Andy Kim (32.84) finished second and third in this event. Portola's Eyad Zahran took the top time in 32.02.
100 Back
JV Girls Kacy Kesler took a victory by winning the 100 Back (1:13.01), and her teammate Samin Shahrabian recorded third in 1:16.60. Portola's Olivia Quach held onto second with a 1:15.30. Chalk up three more wins for a triple in the JV Boys 100 Back! Timberwolves Gavin Lai (1:01.59), Oliver Allen (1:01.65) and Daivik Patel (1:02.80) all had a big margin victory. The Varsity Lady T-wolves would finish the 100 Back with rounding off a 2-3 placement with junior Avery Liu (1:01.54) and freshman Genevieve Chomin (1:02.22). Portola's Kiana Fan won the event in 1:00.07. Timberwolves freshman Elson Lee ended the evening on a high note as he won the Varsity Boys 100 Back in 56.25. Fellow teammate Nolan Chomin tracking closed out third in 57.17. Portola's Malcom Loke spit the two in a tight battle for second (56.79).
50 Breast
Northwood's Open girls shapes up with speed and depth sweeping Portola in the 50 breast. They lead a field that includes Claire Cho (42.08), Sanjana Venkatesh (42.67), and Emma McDowell (46.09). On the Open Boys side, Northwood ended their individual events roaring by as well. With a duo that included Andrew Zhang (35.64) and Andy Gao (33.67) hitting the wall in a 1-2. Portola's Mathew Park rounded third (35.26).
100 Breast
Freshman Zoe Liu proved to be the fastest JV Girls in the pool for the 100 Breast, posting the top time in 1:18.15. Portola's Peyton Shim concluded her events for second (1:19.90), while Britney Cao rounded third (1:21.59). Northwood's JV Boys produced a double 2-3 placements in the 100 Breast. Josue Olague sealed a second place in 1:05.93 with Grant Lai right here with him in 1:07.02. Portola's Ethan Hsu produced the win in 1:03.28. Lady T-Wolf Taylor Inouye saw her first win of the day as she topped the 100 Breast (1:08.88). Portola's Elise Sullivan added a second place with a 1:09.14, while just behind Madeleine Kim closed out third in 1:15.53. Another good battle in the Varsity Boys 100 Breast between Northwood's Ben Liu and Eric Zhu took place. Liu turned up the heat with a time of 59.40. Zhu surged to a 1:01.37 for the second spot, while Portola's Austin Beckett tracked down third with a 1:02.09.
Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley - 1st place 2:27.08 N/A (39.48), N/A (41.01), N/A (31.60), N/A (34.99)
Open Boys 200 Medley - 2nd place 1:59.90 Andrew Kim (34.25), Andy Gao (33.34), Christian Thorpe (26.66), Aditya Rawat (25.65)
JV Girls 200 Medley - 2nd place 2:04.60 Tessa Trieu (32.83), Peyton Shim (36.34), Mekena Wong (28.42), Sloane DeTorres (27.01)
- 3rd place 2:13.50 Samin Shaharabian (35.91), Sarah Hsu (36.68), Ella-Blue Wilmot (31.22), Ainsley Zapata (29.69)
JV Boys 200 Medley - 2nd place 1:45.82 Kendrick Pham (26.57), Grant Lai (29.37), Ethan Chen (25.25), Andrew Harper (24.63)
- 3rd place 1:47.88 Daivik Patel (28.66), Josue Olague (29.70), Anthony Foo (25.85), Justin Chung (23.67)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley - 1st place 1:51.62 Avery Liu (28.62), Taylor Inouye (31.21), Kim Huynh (26.82), Lauren Kim (24.97)
Varsity Boys 200 Medley - 1st place 1:37.72 Jeremy Mah (25.31), Ben Liu (27.07), Younghun Kim (23.37), Christopher Leung (21.97)
- 3rd place 1:41.53 Elson Lee (26.51), Eric Zhu (27.63), Danny Kim (24.75), Colman Sun (22.64)
Open Girls 200 Free - 1st place 2:15.17 Nicole Karraa (34.22), Katrina Estrada (36.77), Rachel Yokota (32.18), Emma McDowell (32.00)
Open Boys 200 Free - 1st place 1:44.61 Jalen Hsia (28.30), Andy Gao (26.23), Corey Okamoto (26.42), Christian Thorpe (25.66)
JV Girls 200 Free - 1st place 1:56.68 Vivian Gao (28.83), Emilie Harper (29.42), Kacy Kesler (29.06), Sarah Hsu (29.37)
- 2nd place 2:01.08 Ella-Blue Wilmot (31.84), Charlotte Waddell (31.99), Katie Ho (28.10), Ainsley Zapata (29.15)
JV Boys 200 Free - 1st place 1:37.86 Aaron Kim (25.58), Andrew Harper (24.69), Ryan Xu (24.05), Ethan Chen (23.54)
- 2nd place 1:38.29 Josue Olague (25.94), Evan Eich (24.26), Anthony Foo (24.43), Justin Chung (23.66)
Varsity Girls 200 Free - 1st place 1:45.29 Acile Jammoul (26.30), Taylor Inouye (26.37), Lauren Kim (25.85), Genevieve Chomin (26.77)
- 3rd place 1:49.44 Kaitlyn Kong (27.88), Tanya Ahmed (26.97), Yosra Elseifi (27.76), Avery Liu (26.83)
Varsity Boys 200 Free - 2nd place 1:31.79 Mike Cheng (23.16), Josiah Lee (23.10), Nathan Hahn (22.96), Ethan Ho (22.10)
- 3rd place 1:31,61 Rijad Ceranic (24.02), Ryley Yoo (23.62), Ryan Connole (22.74), Younghun Kim (22.24)
JV Girls 400 Free - 1st place 4:20.14 Lauren Nguyen (1:09.64), Vivian Guo (No Data), Kacy Kesler (1:07.46), Zoe Liu (1:04.26)
- 3rd place 4:22.24 Britney Cao (1:07.03), Samin Shahrabian (No Data), Katie Ho (1:01.31), Emilie Harper (1:06.61)
JV Boys 400 Free - 1st place 3:35.01 Benton Cheng (52.12), Oliver Allen (55.90), Ryan Xu (55.50), Kendrick Pham (51.49)
- 2nd place 3:35.76 Justin Chung (54.43), Gavin Lai (53.26), Brandon Cho (54.92), Evan Eich (53.15)
Varsity Girls 400 Free - 1st place 3:46.41 Acile Jammoul (56.89), Kim Huynh (55.27), Katerina Tolkachev (56.72), Tanya Ahmed (57.53)
- 3rd place 4:00.78 Addison Cadena (1:01.24), Victoria Nguyen (59.05), Yosra Elseifi (59.89), Genevieve Chomin (1:00.60)
Varsity Boys 400 Free - 1st place 3:13.86 Christopher Leung (No Data), Younghun Kim (No Data), Kenneth Duong (No Data), Jeremy Mah (No Data)
- 3rd place 3:23.27 Michael Abshier (No Data), Elson Lee (No Data), Nolan Chomin (No Data), Kevin Hong (No Data)
Meet Scores
Boys
Northwood High School 102.00 vs 68.00 Portola High School
Girls
Northwood High School 100.00 vs 70.00 Portola High School