In a tight team battle, Hunter Hitchens produces a blistering 46.10 anchor split in the 400 free relay to advance the Northwood Timberwolves for the 86-84 victory over Corona del Mar's Sea Kings. Photo courtesy of Tim Potvin, photographer.
The Northwood Timberwolves, now at full strength with sophomore Hunter Hitchens made an immediate impact resurfacing at the Marion Bergeson Aquatic Center. Several swift swims occurred by both genders on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, and the aquatic center was packed. The crowd's volume turned up with each herculean effort in the pool. The boy's competition was much closer in the end, considering that not one team ruled the pool the entire time. First place finishes were spread out evenly in individual events, so in the end, it came down to the 400 free relay with the meet locked in a tie 78-78. Hitchens rallied from a 1.36 deficit going into his anchor leg off the block blazing a 46.10 split that advanced the Timberwolves for the 86-84 victory over the CDM Sea Kings. Northwood's Hwa Min Sim (49.17), Henry Wu (49.28), Gabe Munoz (47.24), and Hunter Hitchens (46.10) combined in posting a season best time of 3:11.79.
OCVarsity
400 Free Relay (Video)
Northwood's Lady T-wolves also emerged victorious with a 20 point win over the Corona del Mar's Sea Queens completing the sweep with a convincing 95-75 score, solidified by a huge win in their final relay.
"I am very optimistic about the Pacific Coast League Championships this year after what I've witnessed today." Head Coach Alex Nieto said. "We have the sophomore class that knows what to expect and how to compete at a high level, and they are a great compliment to our upperclassmen. We also have very capable juniors and freshmen as well."
"I think this was really a successful meet for our team and one to build upon," Hitchens said. "It's obviously exciting to win, but feels even better when you win for your team."
200 FREE
The meet started off well for Northwood as they took control early on with a sweep in the Open Girls 200 free. Junior Yaneth Garcia Llaguno took top honors with a 2:54.73 controlling the race from start to finish. Sophomore Jessica Serrano held off strong charging freshman Mrinali Umashankar, 2:58.88 to 3:00.45, to claim second place. In the midst of that run, Open Boys Calvin Lin went 2:06.54 to blow the field away by 1.19 seconds. CDM's Maxwell Johnson came in second in 2:07.73, while his teammate Christian Rosene turned in a 2:10.74 for third. Northwood's JV Girls also got an individual win from Hannah Roushdy, who won the 200 free in 2:15.48. CDM's Reagan Pfeif touched with a 2:16.66, as Caitlin Harvey followed rounding out the top three with 2:20.52. Coming up big in a win was freshman Amanda Hsieh who ruled the 200 free for the Lady T-wolves posting up a time of 1:56.14. Second place went to CDM's Bridgett Storm with 2:03.29, while junior Zoe Baick closed out third in 2:05.36. Northwood Varsity sophomore Hunter Hitchens left it all in the pool throwing down a very impressive 1:42.24. Hitchens led by about a body length after the first 50 yards, turning in 24.11. At the 100 wall he managed to lead further, pushing the pace as he turned in 50.09 with 100 yards to go. The back half touch to the wall finished 4.28 seconds ahead of CDM's Foster Hoose 1:46.52. Junior Mack Nesbit followed with 1:48.52 for third.
100 IM
Right in the thick of the battle the Northwood Open Girls swept the 100 IM event. That race saw best times from Aarya Koppikar (1:23.14), Keona Fernandes (1:27.92), and Amina Tawfik (1:29.03). Sophomore Ethan Abravanel won the Open Boys race, going 1:06.92 to touch out CDM's Kaveh Moaddeli (1:07.14). Freshman Jinwoo Park picked up third in the event with a 1:14.35.
200 IM
Northwood's JV Girls ruled the 200 IM to the tune of three wins. That included Amanda Nguyen (2:28.19), Katrina Loye (2:32.81), and Sobyn Chung (2:38.74). Northwood's JV Boys blasted a commanding sweep with Emiliano Olague finishing well ahead in 2:11.81. Second went to Sean Gao in 2:15.61, the third fastest swim was locked down by David Chang with 2:20.96. The Lady T-wolves were able to break under the 2:13 barrier in the 200 IM. That charge was led by Julia Gonik who posted the winning time of 2:12.46. Her teammate Nancy Zhu picked up second place in 2:18.23, while CDM's Heidi Ritner placed third with a time of 2:22.59. On the Varsity Boys side, Gabe Munoz churned out a solid 1:57.10 to win the 200 IM. That time clears the CIF Consideration standard by almost a half second. His closest competitor was teammate Henry Wu who was a bit off his personal best (2:03.17), but performed well enough for second in 2:05.56. CDM's Robert Genc rounded out the top three with a 2:08.96.
50 Free
The Northwood Open Girls came out of the 50 free event with Linh Huiynh finishing on a narrow victory over CDM's Joanna Kabab (31.72) with 30.44 for the win. Jeanie Lee finished third in a time of 34.29 by .10 hundredths of a second. Calvin Lin won the Open Boys 50 free with relative ease hitting the wall at 25.82. The Northwood sweep was completed with Jay Kim finishing second in a time of 26.03 followed by Nathan Ree who touched in a time of 27.70. With an incredible final 10 yards to go Hannah Mcllrath was almost able to catch CDM's Sabrina Burkholder for the JV Varsity Girls win in a time of 28.39 to 28.00. More importantly than that Burkholder's final surge is what pushed both girls to drop time. Maily Nguyen finished third in a time of 28.47. JV Boys Tae In Gu registered the second fastest time in the 50 free with 23.91 battling CDM's William Ueberroth who won the event by .08 hundredths of a second (23.83). CDM's Caden Strauss rounded out the top three with 24.63. CDM got a couple Varsity Girls 50 free wins from Nicole Lin (24.92), and Chloe Harbilas (25.96). Northwood's Olivia Chen claimed third in 26.28. In the same fashion CDM repeated the event winner standings in the Varsity Boys with Jon Polos (22.14), and Tanner Roletter (22.22) going 1-2. Northwood's Hwa Min Sim touched for third in 22.23, chopping .12 hundreds of a second off his best time.
50 Fly
Open Girls action saw Jeanie Lee touch out fellow teammate Jessica Serrano 39.12 to 40.51. CDM's Kenna Behar turned in the top time with 35.53. On the Open Boys side, Jay Kim locked down second place with a 29.27 in a tight battle with CDM's Kaveh Moaddell (29.16) and Stephan Parajon (29.91) who went first and third, respectively.
100 Fly
Junior Ashley Tung raced to a quick finish touching the wall with a personal best time of 1:11.49 for second in the JV Girls 100 fly. Fellow teammate Hannah Mcllrath tracking very close behind closed out third in 1:11.60. CDM's Brooke Ianni won the event in 1:10.58. Northwood would also go 1-2 in the JV Boys 100 fly led by freshman Thomas Kim putting up his best to date time in 57.85. Freshman Parker Mallough also contributed by adding a second place individual victory to his collection, with a 1:04.58. CDM's Nolan Kaya rounded the top three in 1:06.15. The Lady T-wolves mounted a furious challenge taking the lead on a 28.97 fly split from Josephine Manuel and going 1:01.31 for the solid win. Jacquelin Chen added a second place with 1:02.67, while CDM's Tia DiGovanni touched in for third with a 1:06.18. The Timberwolves Gabe Munoz highlighted the Varsity Boys side, blasting a 51.64 to pick up the win over CDM's Ethan Archer (52.25). Hwa Min Sim touched third in 53.30.
100 Free
Open Girls Cindy Le began her meet finishing first in the 100 free with a time improvement of 1:08.04. CDM's Abigail Siegel claimed second in 1:12.60, while Serousha Behtash took third in 1:20.28. Open Boys Aziz Abdulla punctuated a win with a 59.66 first touch followed by teammate Ethan Abravanell clocking second in 1:00.19. CDM's Brannon Syler rounded third with a 1:00.35. Maily Nguyen brought home second place for the JV Varsity Lady T-wolves with this event in 1:02.92. CDM's Sabrina Burkholder (1:00.23) and Kelly Morgan (1:03.98) produced first and third, respectively. In a tight race that had three swimmers under 26 seconds at the 50 mark, Michael Lee couldn't quite hold on for the win, but prevailed with a second in 53.33. CDM's William Ueberroth captured the win in 53.05, while Justin Pyne recorded a 54.59 for third. Varsity Lady T-wolves freshman Amanda Hsieh leveraging a quick first 50 and holding off CDM's Jaleh Moaddeli to win the event in 54.02. Moaddeli pulled in for second with a 55.30, while her teammate Chloe Harbilas held on for third in 55.51. Senior Nick Thorson posted third place honors in 50.02 for the Varsity Boys. CDM's Foster Hoose (48.24) and Tanner Roletter (49.48) went first and second in this event.
500 Free
Lady T-wolves Ashley Lee made a huge charge in the back half of the JV Girls 500 free for the win. Teammate Hannah Roushdy stayed close for 200 yards, but Lee was clearly gaining steam one lane over, and the Timberwolves sophomore went 34.86 on the final 50 to out split the field by almost a second. Lee won in 5:58.42. Roushdy took second in 6:07.86, while CDM's Reagan Pfeif rounded third with 6:16.65. Northwood's JV Boys won the 500 free with excellent depth from double winter Thomas Kim, who won in 5:27.32 ahead 8.86 seconds infront of CDM's Samuel Wardwell (5:36.18). Sean Doan was third in 5:36.32. On the Varsity Girls side, CDM's Jaleh Moaddeli won the 500 free in 5:24.37 with another close second from Northwood's Katya Burjakowsky. Moaddeli was 5:24.37 ahead of Burjakowsky, who went 5:25.90 while making a late charge back into contention on the last 100. CDM's Sarah Lawson took third, going 5:31.84. Hunter Hitchens completed his double individual event winner, consistently powered away from the field, controlling the race from the get-go to win in 4:45.96. Teammate Mack Nesbit took second in 4:58.30. Third place was CDM's Henry Wilde who went 5:05.64.
50 Back
The Open Girls 50 back was a shootout of youngsters, with only one senior in the top 8, and the youngest swimmer in the field also turned out to be the fastest. Northwood freshman Margaret Wang powered away from the field, cutting almost a second off her best time to go 37.98. CDM's Abigail Siegel was runner-up, going 38.71 and Lady T-wolves Danny Garcia Llaguno was third in 38.75. Northwood's Open Boys won the 50 back with one senior and two sophomores. Max Tsao (32.77), Andrew Wraith (33.61), and Nicholas Parker (34.16) made a run and swept Corona del Mar in the event.
100 Back
Northwood freshman Katrina Loye was dominant in the JV Girls 100 back, crushing the field in 1:10.34. The battle for second was tight, with two girls going less than a half second between CDM's Layne Anzaldo (1:17.01) and Northwood's Sam Ibasitas (1:17.47). Northwood was charged with the emotions of some exceptionally fast racing at this meet, and the Northwood JV Boys won more accolades by sealing a sweep. They produced another barn burner once again displaying great depth with Sean Gao taking the convincing win in 1:03.75. The Varsity Lady T-wolves featured a monster sweep in scoring 13 points with sophomores Nancy Zhu (1:02.12) and Josephine Manuel (1:04.35), along with freshman Lauren Hitchens (1:05.35). Senior Cameron Hsieh concluded his individuals with a second place for the Varsity Boys in 56.20. CDM's Ethan Archer (53.56) and Henry Wilde (56.99) placed first and third, respectively.
50 Breast
Northwood's Open girls shapes up the same way with speed and depth sweeping CDM in the 50 breast. They lead a field that includes Ayse Oztekin (38.08), Yalda Assemi (39.92), and Margaret Wang (41.76). On the Open Boys side, Northwood ended their individual events roaring by sweeping CDM as well. With a stacked trio that included Edward Suh (32.43), Jinwoo Park (35.09), and Kavi Mathur (35.94), they showed an indication of just how fast this Northwood team has become this season.
100 Breast
The Northwood JV Girls continued their hot momentum with a 1-2 win in the 100 breast from freshman Sobyn Chug in 1:19.26 and Amanda Nguyen (1:22.09). CDM's Brooke Ianni rounded the top three with 1:23.58. Northwood's 1-2 positions at this meet seem to be familiar, as the JV Boys went to freshman Emiliano Olague (1:06.82) and Conner Budka (1:07.20) both dropping time with personal bests. The Varsity Lady T-wolves would finish their individual events with rounding off a 2-3 placement with sophomore Julia Gonik (1:07.93) and Jenna Morely (1:11.86). CDM's Nicole Lin won the event in 1:07.39.
Every year the Foothill Swim Games are intense, and just when you think the swimming can't get any better, the Pacific Coast League Championships are even more electric. Look for some even more amazing swimming in the next few weeks ahead. Go T-wolves!!
Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley - 1st place 2:24.76 Daniela Llaguno Garcia (39.25), Yalda Assemi (39.50), Aarya Koppikar (35.32), Huynh Linh (30.69)
- 3rd place 2:44.94 Amina Tawfik (40.64), Serousha Behtash (47.23), Yaneth Llaguno Garcia (40.85), Keona Fernandes (36.22)
Open Boys 200 Medley - 1st place 2:02.18 Max Tsao (31.95), Edward Suh (32.98), Jay Kim (29.02), Aziz Abdulla (28.23)
- 2nd place 2:03.86 Andrew Wraith (32.89), Jinwoo Park (33.74), Ethan Abravanel (29.35), Emerson Connolly (27.88)
JV Girls 200 Medley - 1st place 2:07.65 Katrina Loye (31.76), Sobyn Chung (36.77), Hannah Mcllrath (39.00), Hannah Roushdy (20.12)
- 2nd place 2:11.44 Ashley Lee (34.67), Amanda Nguyen (36.99), Kaitlyn Spellman (31.60), Maily Nguyen (28.18)
JV Boys 200 Medley - 1st place 1:51.34 Sean Gao (29.62), Emiliano Olague (31.27), Thomas Kim (26.62), Alex Ra (23.83)
- 3rd place 1:56.72 David Chang (30.30), Leon Shi (31.68), Parker Mallough (28.41), Sheer Karny (26.33)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley - 1st place 1:53.46 Nancy Zhu (29.22), Julia Gonik (31.80), Josephine Manuel (27.537, Amanda Hsieh (25.07)
- 2nd place 2:00.67 Lauren Hitchens (37.06), Olivia Chen (27.80), Jacquelin Chen (27.96), Sian Davis (27.85)
Varsity Boys 200 Medley - 2nd place 1:38.70 Nick Thorson (25.39), Henry Wu (28.14), Gabe Munoz (22.67), Cameron Hsieh (21.99)
Open Girls 200 Free - 1st place 2:06.52 Cindy Le (31.67), Yalda Assemi (32.33), Danny Llaguno Garcia (31.27), Linh Huynh (31.39)
- 3rd place 2:14.70 Aarya Koppikar (33.98), Ayse Oztekin (33.95), Amina Tawfik (33.46), Margaret Wang (33.31)
Open Boys 200 Free - 1st place 1:44.54 Jay Kim (26.16), Sriteja Sadam (27.00), Nathan Ree (26.77), Calvin Lin (24.61)
JV Girls 200 Free - 1st place 1:53.90 Katrina Loye (28.62), Amanda Nguyen (28.47), Kaitlyn Spellman (28.83), Maily Nguyen (27.98)
- 3rd place 1:59.63 Ashley Tung (29.43), Alejandro Aramayo (29.38), Monroe Erie (30.48), Madeline Smith (30.34)
JV Boys 200 Free - 1st place 1:37.52 Justin Pyne (25.05), Michael Lee (24.58), Alex Ra (24.06), Tae In Gu (23.83)
Varsity Girls 200 Free - 3rd place 1:49.69 Katherine Monjay (27.66), Cristina Aramayo (26.80), Katya Burjakowsky (27.44), Maika Beatrice Marin (27.79)
Varsity Boys 200 Free - 1st place 1:28.03 Nick Thorson (22.83), Cameron Hsieh (21.67), Hwa Min Sim (22.14), Hunter Hitchens (21.39)
Open Girls 400 Free - 1st place 4:52.48 Cindy Le (1:09.28), Linh Huynh (1:14.83), Yalda Assemi (1:13.36), Danny Llaguno Garcia (1:15.01)
- 2nd place 5:04.40 Aarya Koppikar (1:13.04), Jeanie Lee (1:17.23), Ayse Oztekin (1:24.16), Amina Tawfik (1:09:97)
- 3rd place 5:33.80 Jessica Serrano (1:25.46), Mrinali Umashankar (1:22.14), Yaneth Llaguno Garcia (1:22.91), Keona Fernandes (1:23.29)
Open Boys 400 Free - 2nd place 3:56.96 Aziz Abdulla (1:00.48), Noah Pendleton (1:02.63), Ethan Abravanel (58.63), Calvin Lin (55.22)
JV Girls 400 Free - 1st place 4:09.96 Hannah Roushdy (1:03.04), Sobyn Chung (1:04.62), Hannah Mcllrath (1:01.47), Ashley Lee (1:00.83)
- 3rd place 4:22.71 Ashley Tung (1:03.85), Wen-Whei Chen (1:05.62), Michelle Tran (1:12.01), Madeline Smith (1:01.23)
JV Boys 400 Free - 1st place 3:32.74 Nick Huynh (53.52), Michael Lee (52.41), Emiliano Olague (52.92), Thomas Kim (53.89)
Varsity Girls 400 Free - 1st place 3:42.68 Julia Gonik (57.12), Josephine Manuel (57.11), Nancy Zhu (55.31), Amanda Hsieh (53.14)
Varsity Boys 400 Free - 1st place 3:11.79 Hwa Min Sim (49.17), Henry Wu (49.28), Gabe Munoz (47.24), Hunter Hitchens (46.10)
Dual-Meet Scores
Men
Northwood High School 86.00 vs 84.00 Corona del Mar High School
Women
Northwood High School 95.00 vs 75.00 Corona del Mar High School