Northwood's Hwa Min Sim, above, locked in a 52.09 100 butterfly title to help secure the Timberwolves victory over the Corona del Mar Sea Kings.  Photo courtesy of Mitch Mallough.  

The Northwood Timberwolves continued its torrid start to the swim season with wins over Corona del Mar at the Marion Bergeson Aquatic Center on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.  Going above and beyond all expectations, Northwood not only notched wins, but did so with some of their best swimming of the season yet.  

Northwood boys brought a fierce front to the pool and swept the board winning against the Sea Kings with another league season-high score of 100-70.  The Timberwolves appeared to never let their guard down with arguably the toughest set of competition they have faced so far this season, despite the lopsided result.  During the meet, the boys recorded 9 swims that reached the CIF-bonus qualifying standard, and 1 CIF-auto for the Southern Section CIF Championships in May.  

The Lady T-Wolves showing off a vast array of swimming skills won by a more narrow margin 89-81 over the Sea Queens.  In what was a much tighter meet for the varsity girls than anyone could have predicted, both 400 Free relay squads capitalized on the closing event piecing together the needed 10 points for the win.

 “Our entire team across both genders and divisions scored title wins in all four of our classes, from our freshmen to our seniors," said Asst. Head Coach Cameron Nelson.  "It was just a really good meet from us, start to finish."

“The focus has been really high and the competitive edge that we've been bringing to practice will translate out in these meets," said Team Captain Hunter Hitchens.  "Today was a huge confidence booster and a step in the right direction to prepare us for the rest of our league season."

While the Timberwolves will undoubtedly have their eyes set on the Pacific Coast League Championships next month, they still have two dual matches to finish out the regular season with Beckman's Patriots and Irvine Vaqueros.  The Vaqueros will be the last team able to prevent Northwood's boys from finishing with a perfect Pacific Coast League record.

Setting so many season scoring highs during the regular season is reason enough for excitement, with the start of post-season just around the corner Northwood's performance seems to be rising.

200 FREE

Norhwood's Open Girls Grace Schweizer , Yuna Cook and Virginia Crook fired off a triple win going 2:32.52, 2:33.46 and 2:45.20. Open Boys Grant Walker turned in a third with 2:21.01.  Corona del Mar's Harry Rinker (2:11.23) and Aiden Gamez (2:01.76) went 1-2 in the event.  On the JV Boys side, Rocky Gao (1:58.98) and Spencer Sellwood (1:58.24) took control of the race early on with a 1-2 for the Timberwolves.  Corona del Mar's Brannon Syler touched in a 2:02.18 for third.  Lady T-Wolves Amanda Hsieh led by about two body lengths turning a 55.90 after the first 100, then found the adrenaline throwing down a very impressive 1:55.69 for the win.  Teammates Malak Hassouna (2:04.15) and Victoria Nguyen (2:06.15) went 2-3.  Coming up big with a win was senior Hunter Hitchens who ruled the Varsity Boys 200 Free posting up a time of 1:45.84.  Second place went to sophomore Felix Zhu with 1:49.38, while Corona del Mar's Robert Genc losed out third in 1:51.41.

100 IM

Northwood's Open Girls swept the 100 IM providing some momentum with Kylie Kenyon (1:19.31), Lilly Zhao (1:19.31), and Sophie Smith (1:22.12).  Open Boys action saw Jacob Compton hit the wall in the 100 IM touching in a time of 1:16.46 for second.  Corona del Mar's Ethan Chao won the event in 1:11.78, while Christopher Sonntag rounded third (1:16.70).

200 IM

JV Girls Charlotte Waddell went 2:48.50 for third, while Corona del Mar's Katherine Rodman (2:36.29) and Maya Avital (2:42.10) placed first and second.  In the JV Boys, Kenneth Duong had the fastest time of 2:14.24 by a couple body lengths over teammate Arthur Liu (2:20.18).  Orlando Olague pulled into third with 2:20.88.  Lady T-Wolves senior Nancy Zhu got out to an early lead and continued to build, so that she was virtually alone over the second half of the race winning in 2:17.12.  Corona del Mar's Leora Rose was next in line with 2:18.76, while senior Jenna Morley rounded out the top three touching in 2:25.47.  Right in the thick of the battle senior Gabe Munoz finished with the fastest time in the 200 IM posting up a 1:55.88.  Corona del Mar's Ryan Schildwachter (2:00.65) and Akira Morita (2:01.64) went 2-3..

50 Free

The Open Girls showed real depth with sweeping the top three with Grace Schweizer (30.73), Grace Hagedom (31.49), and Mya Deguzman (40.64).  Northwood provided a 2-3 with two freshman in the Open Boys led by William Fei putting up a 26.78 with Nolan Kim adding a third in 28.84. JV Girls Marley King posted second in the 50 Free (28.71) only a hand away from Corona del Mar's Katherine Snyder who went 28.64 for the win.  Nicole Faggella rounded third in 29.37.  Varsity Lady T-Wolf Olivia Chen added a second place showing with 25.82, while Corona del Mar's Sophie Wallace (25.78) and Chloe Harbilas (26.24) were first and third.  The Varsity Boys 50 Free saw the top three contenders under 23 seconds.  Senior Collin Press hit the wall for first in a time of 22.30, while Corona del Mar's Davis Wong (22.83) and Liam Mickelsen (22.84) went 2-3.

50 Fly

All three Northwood Open Girls came out on top for a triple win in the 50 Free.  Sylvia Ryu (39.07), Danah Hammoud (39.73) and Lilly Zhao (39.96) delivered a strong showing for Northwood.  Nolan Kim charted a time of 32.63 for third in the Open Boys 50 Fly.  Corona del Mar's Ryan Chinnici claimed first in 30.58, while teammate Henry Pierzak placed second (32.59)..

100 Fly

JV Girls Jasroop Miglani raced to a second finish in the 100 Fly with 1:15.28, staying close was Tara Tran for third in 1:16.32.  Corona del Mar's Nicole Faggella took the top spot in 1:14.08.  Freshman Enoch Li highlighted the JV Boys, blasting a 58.28 to pick up the win over teammate Jack Liu (59.29).  Corona del Mar's Rithik Goel closed out third in 59.79.  That followed with a third placement on the Varsity Girls side from Josephine Manuel touching in at 1:01.46.  Corona del Mar's Karsyn Cook cruised to a 59.59 taking the event, while Grace Myers finished second with 1:01.25.  Varsity senior Hwa Min Sim took the top spot with a fast 100 Fly to win a 52.09 punch to the wall.  Touching just behind him was Corona del Mar's Tanner Pulice with 52.75 for second.  Senior Henry Wu picked up third place in 53.26.

100 Free

Northwood's Open Girls blasted a commanding sweep in the 100 Free event with Grace Hagedom finishing well ahead in 1:11.24.  Second went to Yuna Cook in 1:14.91, the third fastest swim was locked down by Sydney Duong with 1:20.67.  In the Open Boys race, Northwood put two in the top three with William Fei (1:03.80) taking second, and Andrew Kim who held on to a third in a time of 1:04.21.  Corona del Mar's Luca Constantino went 59.07 for the win.  On the JV Girls side, senior Maika Marin closed out her individual event posting a second place in 1:02.87.  Sophomore Marley King followed third in 1:04.37.  Corona del Mar's Sophia Rodman won the event in 1:02.80.  The JV Boys went lights out showing real depth with two finishing in the top three in this race with Henry Chen (53.30) taking victory, and Nicholas Miceli in for third (55.61).  Corona del Mar's Hayes Wueste split the two for second in 53.89.  The Varsity Girls was a tight race throughout, with Amanda Hsieh putting in a strong 53.91 for first.  Corona del Mar's Sophie Wallace took second in 55.99, while Nancy Zhu (57.01) was third.  Timberwolves senior Hunter Hitchens ended the evening on a high note as he blew out the Varsity Boys 100 Free in 48.62.  Hitchens produced the only sub-24 second turn in 23.80, which extended his lead to two body lengths over Corona del Mar's Davis Wong (49.63).  Third place went to Henry Wilde who check in at 50.41.

500 Free

JV Girls Jenny Han concluded her individuals with a third place for the Timberwolves in 6:15.89.  Corona del Mar's Kaitlyn Greenwald (6:06.06) and Ella Musselman (6:15.09) went 1-2.  Freshman Enoch Li continued his excellent meet for the Northwood JV Boys as he wins the 500 Free with 5:07.00.  Li was followed by Corona del Mar's Rithik Goel who posted a 5:32.33 and Grant Lai who recorded a 5:37.95 for third.  It was a positive end to the meet for Varsity Girls Victoria Nguyen (5:33.79) and Malak Hassouna (5:43.15), who not only placed 2-3 for Northwood, but both produced two top-3 individual swims.  Varsity senior Shawn Lou wasted no time in this race, getting out very quick over the field at the 200 in 57.93, and finishing up at 4:42.95.  Felix Zhu picked up a second place finish of 4:52.71, while Corona del Mar's Akira Morita rounded third in 4:55.47.

50 Back

Northwood's Open Girls shaped up with some speed and depth sweeping the 50 Back. They lead a field that includes Kacy Kesler (38.13), Danah Hammoud (38.55), and Rachel Cozma (43.18).  On the Open Boys side, Grant Walker (34.36) took second in the event.  Corona del Mar's Beau Akhavain topped the 50 Back in 34.09, while his teammate Luca O'Brien finished third in 37.39.

100 Back

The third place individual win in the JV Girls came from Northwood's Jasroop Miglani who swam a 17.12.  Corona del Mar's Katherine Rodman (1:10.19) and Sophia Rodman (1:16.26) went 1-2.  Sophomore Rocky Gao was dominant in the JV Boys 100 Back, crushing the field in 1:02.86.  The battle for second went to Max Abravanel (1:02.90), while Corona del Mar's Grayson Wueste rounded third in 1:03.71.  The Lady T-Wolves featured great depth with Josephine Manuel (1:03.58) roaring by Corona del Mar's Leora Rose (1:03.92).  Parker Hoffman rounded third in 1:07.57.  After coming away with a big win in the 200 IM, Northwood's Gabe Munoz doubled in the Varsity 100 Back winning by .25 hundredths in 53.79. Tanner Pulice (54.04) took second for Corona del Mar, while his teammate Henry Wilde rounded third in 56.93.

50 Breast

Northwood teammates Kylie Kenyon, Sophia Smith and Grace Paladichuk didn't disappoint as they produced a triple win for the Open Girls.   Kenyon put up a 38.76 to lead the group.  Smith, who occupied the outside lane one finished second in 44.15, while Paladichuk touched the wall for third in 45.01.  Northwood Open Boys Andrew Kim clocked a 37.21 to win the event while teammate Henry Hwang took second in 37.72.  Corona del Mar's Drew Weissman was third in 37.96.

100 Breast

Northwood's JV Girls Maika Marin jumped out to an early lead and never relented at the 50 turn (38.07), then stretched out for the touch winning in 1:18.45.  Corona del Mar's Ciara Greenman touched second in 1:19.68, while Britney Cao took third in 1:22/69.  The afternoon saw another 1-2 placement from Northwood JV Boys in the 100 Breast that included Benjamin Liu (1:05.96), and Arthur Liu (1:09.16).  Corona del Mar's Kyle Jolas rounded third in 1:09.45.  The Varsity Girls 100 Breast finally came down to Lady T-Wolves Jenna Morley (1:12.64), who capped off a second finish within the top-3.  Corona del Mar's Michelle Tekawy won the event in 1:08.24, while Maya Bushwald placed third (1:14.66).  Varsity Boys were able to close out their individual events with a second place from Henry Wu (59.11).  Corona del Mar's Ryan Schildwachter took the top time in 57.96 with teammate Robert Genc picked up third in 1:01.73..

Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley -  1st place  2:24.48  Kacy Kesier (36.49), Kylie Kenyon (38.52), Lilly Zhao (48.92, Yuna Cook (20.55)
                                    -  2nd place  2:36.98  Virginia Crook (47.42), Sophia Smith (35.93), Dana Hammoud (39.62), Sydney Duong (34.01)
                                    -  3rd place  2:49.36  Rachel Cozma (51.64), Ana Ma (35.69), Paria Assemi (51.72), Mya Deguzman (30.31)
Open Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  2:06.69  Andrew Kim (32.64), Nolan Kim (36.79), Grant Walker (29.18), Matthew Halle (28.08)
                                      -  2nd place  2:16.90  William Fei (37.69), Ryan Wu (42.86), Jake Jacoby (30.98), William Wraith (25.37)
JV Girls 200 Medley -  2nd place  2:13.91  Katherine Rodman (n/a), Kaitlyn Greenwald (n/a), Nicole Faggella (25.33), Sophia Rodman (28.52)
                                -  3rd place  2:14.81  Emilie Harper (35.45), Paige Mortenson (37.77), Tara Tran (32.79), Rachel Kang (28.80)
JV Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:49.70  Matthew O'Neill (30.02), Benjamin Liu (29.38), Jack Liu (25.83), Kenneth Duong (24.47)
                                 -  2nd place  1:51.08  Max Abravanel (29.06), Henry Chen (29.69), Enoch Li (25.79), Calvin Lin (26.54)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley  -  2nd place  1:54.51  Nancy Zhu (29.98), Olivia Chen (31.87), Josephine Manuel (27.77), Amanda Hsieh (24.89)
Varsity Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:36.83  Gabe Munoz (25.33), Henry Wu (27.73), Hwa Min Sim (22.26), Shawn Lou (21.51)
Open Girls 200 Free -  1st place  2:09.85  Yuna Cook (33.47, Grace Hagedorn (32/18), Kylie Kenyon (34.36), Grace Schweizer (29.85)