Northwood's talent ran deep down its roster, and unleashed an impressive showing against the Mission Viejo Diablos and San Clemente Tritons as part of a powerful performance at Tuesday's preseason triangular.  Photos courtesy of Mitch Mallough.

It's March, which means you can feel the magic of Madness at work again for the Northwood Timberwolves swim team.  The T-Wolves made their dominant presence known today, swimming like a fast-moving machine that couldn't be stopped.  The talent ran deep down its roster, and unleashed an impressive showing against the Mission Viejo Diablos and San Clemente Tritons at the Northwood Aquatic Center on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.

Northwood's boys squad stayed perfect taking down Mission Viejo,122-48, while also defeating San Clemente 102-68.  The boys overall entries swept first place in 15 of 64 events, while taking title wins in all three relays.

The Lady T-Wolves had an impressive showing overall as well topping 10 of 64 events for first place wins against Mission Viejo by a 97-73 score, while registering a win 106-64 with San Clemente.

“You always want progress, so looking at that progress we're really excited as a team about today's results," said Head Coach Alex Nieto.  "I think you take the first tri-meet and look at what's good right now, what we need to do better at, continue to take that into training and build off that and build upon it moving forward."

On Saturday, March 23rd-24th, the Timberwolves Frosh-Soph will have a chance to compete as well in  giving them a championship atmosphere at the Brea-Olinda High School Aquatic Center.  This invitational meet gives a great showing from the Frosh-Soph team, and their ability to showcase their talents against area high schools.

Moving forward for the Timberwolves, the league showdown kicks off Wednesday, March 21st against Woodbridge High School, and extending across six weeks of fierce regular season competition in Southern California's Southern Section juggernaut, the Pacific Coast League. 

200 FREE

Northwood's Open Boys saw a tight battle between Dylan Green (2:08.82) and San Clemente's Jacob Gerhard (2:08.14).  Gerhard turned at the first 100 in 41 seconds ahead eventually winning the event in the 1-2 finish.  San Clemente's Cole Sisho raced for third in 2:13.22.  JV Boys helped lead the charge in the 200 Free with Kenneth Duong surging to the wall first in 1:56.49.  San Clemente's Trevor Benge took second in 1:56.49, while Sean Doan held onto third (2:02.28).  Varsity Lady T-Wolves Amanda Hsieh was first out of the gates with a win in the 200 Free turning in a 1:57.32.  San Clemente's Stella Copeland was just behind in 2:01.73, while Olivia Chen pulled in for third (2:03.59).  The Northwood Varsity Boys added a double win of excitement in the 200 Free with Hunter Hitchens off the block guns-hot taking victory in 1:44.47.  Felix Zhu swam a tight battle with San Clemente's Spencer Burress turning at the 100 mark ahead by a .21 hundreds lead, but Zhu separated on the back half touching for second in (1:47.60) to (1:49.15).

100 IM

Sophomore Grant Lai came through for the Open Boys to take the top time overall in 1:07.74.  Closing hard behind was teammates Austin Wang (1:09.96) and Nathaniel Irwan (1:13.22) completing the triple win.  

200 IM

JV Girls Charlotte Waddell pulled off a 34.40 backstroke split that led her through the last 150 yards of the race as the fastest performer in 2:40.13.  San Clemente's Dawn Schneringer checked in for second with 2:40.41, while Mission Viejo sits third in 2:44.09.  .  On the JV Boys side Arthur Liu turned to the backstroke leg with under waters that kept him under longer than the rest of the field clocking in a best time of 2:20.89.  Orlando Olague (2:23.31) and San Clemente's Josh Nelson (2:23.46) swam a tight race but Olague's back half helped gain over Nelson in the final 100.  Lady T-Wolf Yulia Gonik stretched to the touch in 2:14.02 for the second.  Mission Viejo's Hanna Erickson registered the fastest time in 2:12.54, while San Clemente's Daisy Frauenzimmer took third in 2:22.57.  In the Varsity Boys Gabe Munoz was out like a rocket turning at the 100 with fly/back over in 55.42, which kept him in control of the race touching first in 1:56.28. San Clemente's Weston Rowan finished second in 1:57.62, Mission Viejo's Alan Hoang rounded third (2:07.03).  

50 Free

The Northwood Open Girls showed real depth with two finishing in the top three with Kylie Kenyon taking the second in 31.16, and Yuna Cook stopping the watch for third in 31.80.  San Clemente's Megan Moe touched first in 30.41. The Open Boys put one in the top three with Shubham Kulkami (27.40) taking first, with San Clemente's Matthew Bystry (26.24) and Cole McAteer (27.28) touching the wall for 1-2.  JV Girls Maika Marin led the charge earning a top spot in the 50 Free with 29.31.  Mission Viejo's Cherish Ewell and Kristin Grounds stayed close (29.48) and (29.61) for the 2-3.   Senior Calvin Lin highlighted the JV Boys charting a time of 24.48 for second.  San Clemente's Alec Groth took the event in 24.41, while Mission Viejo's Keegan Baumann closed out third in 25.73.  In the Varsity Girls 50 Free, Nancy Zhu showed her top top end talent accomplishing a third in 26.53.  San Clemente's Katie Faris won the event in 25.74, while Mission Viejo's Jacqueline Setlich pulled in the second (26.23).  A fast 50 freestyle field saw Timberwolves Hwa Min Sim nailing down a 22.08 for second and Shawn Lou touching for third in 22.12.  San Clemente's Boston Williams touched in first with 21.97.

50 Fly

Two Open Boys freshman Mengshu Zhang (29.58) and Cameron An (29.66) picked up a 1-2 in the 50 Fly both for personal bests.  San Clemente's Clark Hill clocked in for the win in 27.98.

100 Fly

Alec Overbaugh raced to a quick finish touching the wall with 1:00.32 for the JV Boys win.  San Clemente's Spencer Currie tracked very close behind closing second in 1:00.77, and teammate Jake Carrera (1:00.91) prevailed with a third.  Varsity Girls Josephine Manuel finished second in the 100 Fly with 1:02.39.  Her teammate Fiona Fan closed out third in 1:0.39, and Hanna Erickson took first in 58.03. The Varsity Boys got some butterfly points from senior Gabe Munoz clinching first in 52.38.  San Clemente's Boston Williams finished second (53.82) , while his teammate Luke Christi put in third (56.83).

100 Free

Open Girls Grace Hagedorn worked her way to holding on to a third in a time of 1:09.59.  San Clemente's Paula Martin Alvarez (1:07.58) and Macie Schniepp (1:08.72) went 1-2.  In the JV Boys Adrian Fontao and Max Abravanel challenged each other in the first 50 yards out only five one-hundreds of a second separated them.  Fontao pulled away in the second half of the race stopping the clock 54.45 to Abravanel's 55.53.  San Clemente's Josh Nelson held off the rest of the field touching in at 56.46 for third.  The afternoon saw a tight field of Varsity Girls in the 100 Free that included Nancy Zhu (56.79) joined by teammate Oliva Chen (56.98) for the 2-3.  Mission Viejo's Jacqueline Setlich took the event in 56.58.  Northwood Varsity Boys registered two in the top-3 with David Xue leading the way for second place with 50.41.  Only .06 hundreds behind was Collin Press rounding third in 50.47.

500 Free

In the JV Girls 500 Free, Jenny Han (6:21.72) showed her distance talent touching in for third.  San Clemente's Mia Spang (5:54.61) and Molly Moe (6:11.52) turned in a 1-2 in the event.  The JV Boys led the charge with Kenneth Duong (5:16.93) giving the Timberwolves a third place.  San Clemente's Spencer Snow won the event in 5:15.75, while Everett Prussak was second in 5:15.85.

Among other notable performances on the Varsity Girls side included Malak Hassouna who touched the wall in 5:39.19 for second.  Megan Westerland delivered the win for Mission Viejo in 5:36.76, while San Clemente's Brooklyn Aguilera went 5:56.97 rounding third. 

50 Back

Northwood Open Boys went 2-3 in the 50 Back when Austin Kenyon and Kendrick Pham touched in 31.55 and 31.84, respectively.  San Clemente's Clark Hill won the event in 31.52.  

100 Back

JV Boys put in a second place with Max Abravanel (1:04.60).  San Clemente's Hayden Scott clocked a 1:04.14 to win the event while teammate Dillion Langer took third in 1:04.85.  The Varsity Girls had stronghold on the 100 Back with Josephine Manuel holding pace throughout the race and winning in 1:05.31.  San Clemente's Grace Pelky (1:06.25) and Mission Viejo's Kaylyn Garcia (1:07.50) took 2-3, respectively.  Timberwolves senior Hwa Min Sim was dialed in with second place for the Varsity Boys finishing the event in 53.30.  Teammate Jeremy Mah recorded third in 58.96 for a season best.  San Clemente's Weston Rowan took control of the race winning in 53.19.

50 Breast

In the Open Girls Kylie Kenyon took a victory by winning the 50 Breast (30/10).  Mission Viejo's Madeline Schwarz followed recording second in 42.89 over San Clemente's Isabella Salvagio (43.12).  Open Boys Jinwoo Park touched the wall for second in 34.09.  Earnest Wang saw his top-3 win of the day with a third in 39.31.  San Clemente's Griffin Donnelly produced the top time in 33.72.  

100 Breast

And in the final individual event Northwood JV Girls put in a victory with Maika Marin (1:21.62)  for the 100 Breast.  San Clemente's Ashley Lord (1:24.02) and Maddie Gabira (1:26.44) went 2-3.  The afternoon saw a triple sweep from the JV Boys in the 100 Breast that included Henry Chen (1:03.93), Ed Suh (1:09.69), and Benamin Liu (1:09.71).  Varsity senior Yulia Gonik swam a fast 100 breaststroke turning in a top time of 1:08.25.  San Clemente's Alexandria Blackwill surfaced for second in 1:14.51, while Stella Copeland placed third with 1:14.51.  Another nice swim from the Varsity Boys getting a 59.94 breaststroke from Henry Wu, along with Colman Sun with 1:02.86.  San Clemente's James Gamette ended with a 1:03.65.

Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley -  3rd place  2:43.00  Kacy Kesler (n/a), Kylie Kenyon (n/a), Danah Hammoud (n/a), Yuna Cook (n/a)
Open Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  2:35.00  Austin Kenyon (n/a), Grant Lai (n/a), Cameron An (n/a), Shubham Kulkarni (n/a)
JV Girls 200 Medley -  1st place  2:15.00  Sophia Abraham (n/a), Sophia Smith (n/a), Paige Mortenson (n/a), Lauren Thorpe (n/a)
                                -  2nd place  2:16.86  Alejandro Aramayo (n/a), Marin Maika (n/a), Tara Tram (n/a), Rachel Kang (n/a) 
JV Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:49.92 Max Abravanel (n/a), Henry Chen (n/a),Jack Liu (n/a), Calvin Lin (n/a)
                                 -  3rd place  1:51.00  Matthew O'Neill (n/a), Benjamin Liu (n/a), Arthur Liu (n/a), Niko Honda (n/a)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley  -  2nd place  1:58.00  Miglani Jasroop (n/a) Britney Cao (n/a), Jacquelin Chen (n/a), Marley King (n/a) 
                                       -  3rd place  1:58.28  Nancy Zhu (n/a), Julia Gonik (n/a), Josephine Manuel (n/a), Amanda Hsieh (n/a)
Varsity Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:37.08  Shawn Lou (n/a), Henry Wu (n/a), Hwa Min Sim (n/a), Collin Press (n/a)
Open Girls 200 Free -  2nd place  2:09.62  Paula Martin Alvarez (30.82), Kaya Moran (33.56), Jadyn Blake (33.44), Alyssa Tamayo (29.00)
                                -  3rd place  2:10.35  Kacy Kesler (32.73), Yuna Cook (36.18), Kylie Kenyon (28.04), Grace Hagedorn (33.40)
Open Boys 200 Free -  2nd place  1:48.21  Dylan Green (27.83), Andrew Kim (27.50), Shubham Kulkami (27.23), Jason Yang (25.65)
JV Girls 200 Free -  3rd place  2:00.82  Joyce Kim (29.76), Cindy Le (30.44), Paige Mortenson (29.83), Charlotte Waddell (30.79)
JV Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:37.41  Calvin Lin (24.13), Alec Overbaugh (24.48), Ed Suh (24.93), Adrian Fontao (23.87)
Varsity Girls 200 Free -  1st place  1:43.89  Amanda Hsieh (25.35), Josephine Manuel (26.54), Olivia Chen (25.43), Julia Gonik (26/57)
Varsity Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:29.37  Hunter Hitchens (21.97), Gabe Munoz (22.10), Hwa Min Sim (23.16), Collin Press (22.14)
                                   -  3rd place  1:33.76  Felix Zhu (23.12), Emiliano Olague (23.74), Justin Pyne (24.30), David Xue (22.60)
Open Boys 400 Free -  3rd place  3:59.51  Jaewoo Yoo (1:02.12), Kendrick Pham (58.04), Noah Wilmot (59.61), Dylan Green (59.74) 
JV Girls 400 Free -  3rd place  4:29.69  Whitney Maynard (1:09.64), Jenny Han (no data), Kate Jensen (1:07.21), Maika Marin (1:04.41)
JV Boys 400 Free -  2nd place  3:38.70  Adrian Fontao (54.40), Spencer Sellwood (54.41), Kenneth Duong (53.05), Max Abravanel (55.26) 
                             -  3rd place  3:45.17  Henry Chen (52.97), Justin Chung (57.17), Benjamin Chun (55.23), Arthur Liu (59.80)
Varsity Girls 400 Free -  1st place  3:45.43  Malak Hassouna (57.88), Olivia Chen (56.90), Nancy Zhu (56.70), Amanda Hsieh (53.95)
Varsity Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:14.34  Shawn Lou (n/a), Henry Wu (n/a), Gabe Munoz (n/a), Hunter Hitchens (n/a)
                                   -  3rd place  3:23.00  David Xue (51.05), David Xue (51.46), Sean Doan (52.96), Felix Zhu (47.53