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2007 Prep Swim/Dive
San Diego Section

Prep Previews/Reports

San Diego Section Finals
Kimmel races to four gold medals
iEastlake places third at Division I girls swim finals

Posted May 22, 2008
Eastlake High School swim coach Bryan Monzon knew his girls team was destined for something special when the Titans upended the defending San Diego Section Division I champion Torrey Pines Falcons in a non-league dual meet to open the season.

“After beating Torrey Pines, we’re looking at possibly winning a CIF title,” Monzon said at midseason as his team continued to gain momentum.

The 2008 high school swim and dive season came to a climactic end with last Saturday’s section finals at Coronado High School. Eastlake once again out-pointed Torrey Pines — 191 to 139 points —in a show of head-to-head talent but maybe lost an edge in depth to Rancho Bernardo (204 points) and Carlsbad (203 points) as the Titans matched last year’s team with a meteoric third-place finish.

Heading the cast in Eastlake’s all-star production was junior Jacquie Kimmel, who captured individual titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke events and swam legs on the Titans’ victorious 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.

Kimmel, who missed part of the season while recovering from an automobile accident that happened over spring break, successfully defended her CIF title in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.90 seconds. She out-touched San Pasqual freshman Chandra Lukes (24.09) and Carlsbad senior Amy Morales (24.48).

The Mesa League’s reigning Swimmer of the Year, the Titan standout captured the 100 backstroke — an event in which she finished fourth at last year’s division finals — in 57.59, shaving nearly two seconds off her prelim 59.23 clocking. She bested Morales (58.60) and Carlsbad junior Krista Johnson (1:00.17) to the touch pads this time.

Two more gold medals awaited Kimmel in the relay events. The Eastlake quartet comprised of senior Heather Voigt, sophomore Andrea Voigt, junior Taylor Stoddard and Kimmel timed 1:39.09 to repeat as champions in the 200 freestyle relay. The Titan foursome ripped through the water to best runner-up Torrey Pines (1:42.24) by three seconds.

Stoddard, freshman Justine Maher, Andrea Voigt and Kimmel combined for a winning time of 3:31.37 in the 400 freestyle relay — out-touching runner-up Carlsbad (3:32.98) in a thrill-packed finish.

Kimmel was not the sole star on the day for the Titans. Stoddard placed second in both the 100 freestyle (52.97) and 200 freestyle events (1:53.19) while Andrea Voigt was fourth in both the 100 freestyle (53.48) and 200 freestyle (1:55.64), Maher placed fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:00.56), Heather Voigt finished fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:18.66) and junior Rebecca Pollock (1:10.91) placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.91).

Maher finished seventh in the 50 freestyle (25.50), followed by Heather Voigt (10th, 25.87) and Otay Ranch junior Leslie Rodriguez (11th, 25.92). Eastlake freshman Simone Banks was ninth in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.61).

Monzon indicated his team excelled despite the obstacle of not having an on-campus pool. He said he was proud of the team’s ongoing dedication and hard work to achieve the success it achieved this season.

Division I girls
Bonita Vista sophomore Monique Beltran finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.16) and eighth in the 100 butterfly (1:01.83).

Otay Ranch placed 10th in the 400 freestyle relay, with the foursome of seniors Christina Eaton and Roxana Magee, sophomore Alex Sanchez and Rodriguez timing 3:56.53. The same quartet placed 11th in the 200 freestyle relay (1:47.68).

Division I boys
Otay Ranch’s Victor Robles — this season’s Mesa League Swimmer of the Year — placed second in the 500 freestyle (4:44.69) and fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:45.65).
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Eastlake junior Chris Schmuckal placed fifth in the 100 backstroke (56.88) and 11th in the 200 freestyle (1:49.50) while Titan sophomore Jason Demoss finished ninth in the 500 freestyle (4:53.84).
Otay Ranch freshman Mike Kowalski finished 12th in the 100 butterfly (56.94).

Eastlake finished ninth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:25.42) and 10th in the 200 medley relay (1:44.46). Junior Jon Garcia, senior Benny Garduno, junior Ismael Alvarez and Schmuckal teamed up in the freestyle relay while Schmuckal, Demoss, Garduno and Alvarez comprised the Titans’ medley unit.

Otay Ranch placed 12th in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:37.40, with Kowalski, senior Tris Hallum, freshman Juan Robles and junior Henry Flores each swimming legs.

Division II girls
Mater Dei sophomore Giselle Suarez placed 10th in the 200 IM (2:19.96).

Division II boys
Olympian junior Jose Zamora finished 11th in the 50 freestyle (56.45).

Diving/Division I finals
In the girls diving finals, held the preceding Friday at Mesa College, Chula Vista sophomore Shelby Dunaway (146.40 points) finished 10th in the field of 18 Division I entrants while Otay Ranch senior Korri Mitchell (136.85 points) placed 12th behind winner Haley Francois (221.85 points), a freshman from Rancho Bernardo.

In the boys diving finals, Hilltop’s Leo Diaz De Leon placed 14th.

Notables
Carlsbad (Division I) and Mt. Carmel (Division II) swam to section boys team titles.

Norsemen's Saunders takes Division II 50 free title
The Valhalla High School swim team finished the 2008 season on a cresting wave, particularly the Norsemen’s Grossmont South League champion boys squad.

Valhalla finished sixth in both the boys and girls team standings at Saturday’s San Diego Section Division II championship meet at Coronado High School. The school’s lone individual champion at this year’s meet was Matt Saunders in the boys 50-yard freestyle.

Saunders timed 21.24 seconds to out-touch La Jolla’s Tyler Woods (21.76) and Cathedral Catholic’s Matt Sitzer (21.80). Saunders bettered his prelim clocking of 21.41.

Valhalla finished third in the boys 200 freestyle relay (1:28.76) and third in the boys 400 freestyle relay (3:16.49).

Among other Grossmont Conference Division II finals entrants, Steele Canyon senior Cody Labor placed fourth in the boys 100 freestyle (47.94) and fourth in the boys 100 breaststroke (1:01.23) while junior teammate Scott Mai finished sixth in the boys 100 backstroke (57.88)..

Christian turned in an exceptionally strong showing for East County swimmers as junior Justin DiFederico captured individual titles in the Division II boys 100 butterfly (50.13) and 100 backstroke (51.76). Also for the Patriots, James White finished third in the boys 100 breaststroke (1:00.57) and fifth in the boys 200 freestyle (1:45.61) while sophomore teammate Brandon Meier placed fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:00.84) and sixth in the boys 100 breaststoke (1:02.42).

Valhalla (82 points) finished behind team champion Mt. Carmel (189 points), second place La Jolla (185 points), third place St. Augustine (162 points), fourth place Coronado (162 points) and fifth place Westview (105 points).

On the girls side at this year’s Division II finals, Valhalla finished third in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays while placing fourth in the 200 medley relay (1:55.02). The Norsemen timed 1:41.53 and 3:40.22, respectively, in the two freestyle relays.

Among individuals, West Hills junior Kelsey Hall finished second in the 500 freestyle (4:56.05) and third in the 200 freestyle (1:52.61).

Monte Vista freshman Haley Thiltgen finished fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:13.77) and fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.73) while classmate Riley Peterman placed fourth in the 100 butterfly (59.27) and fifth in the 100 backstroke (1:00.32).

Also for the Monarchs, freshman Frances Anderson was fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:19.43).

Valhalla’s Sarah Luibel placed fourth in the girls 100 backstroke (59.84) while senior teammate Hanna Basler finished sixth in the 100 freestyle (55.22).

El Capitan sophomore Sam Wilson (147.20 points) and West Hills senior Alexa Stecker (136.15 points) placed third and fifth, respectively, in the Division II girls dive card.

Valhalla (97 points) finished behind team champion Cathedral Catholic (187 points), runner-up Ramona (168 points), third place Mt. Carmel (157 points), fourth place Bishop’s (129 points) and fifth place Coronado (107 points).

Division I finals
Patrick Henry, buoyed by junior Brandon Lowe’s first-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:39.99) and second-place finish in the 100 freestyle (46.17), finished sixth in the boys team standings behind team champion Carlsbad (279.5 points), second place Poway (202.5 points), third place Rancho Bernardo (182 points), fourth place Torrey Pines (120 points) and fifth place Fallbrook (106 points).

Grossmont, keyed by the quartet of Wiley Hemphill, Timo Downing, Luke Adams and Elija Rush, placed third in the 200 medley relay (1:42.00). Hemphill later finished fourth in the 100 backstroke (55.50).

The Foothillers placed fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:17.96).

Granite Hills’ young diving contingent did extremely well, with freshman Kevin Dreeson placing second to Rancho Bernardo senior Corey Cowger and Mark Kohlenberg, also a freshman, finishing fourth. Grossmont sophomore Devon McPheeters placed fifth in the field.

Cowger totaled a meet-high 218.90 points, followed by Dreeson with 209.85 points. Kohlenberg totaled 200.10 points, followed by McPheeters with 198.65 points.

In the Division I girls finals, Granite Hills placed fifth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:44.94) and sixth in the 200 medley relay (1:59.22).

Among individuals, Patrick Henry’s Michaela McLean finished third in the 100 butterfly (59.97) while teammate Jasmine Fryear was sixth in the 200 IM (2:17.13).

Granite Hills’ highest place-finisher was freshman Shelly Wickerd with her fifth-place showing in the 500 freestyle (5:20.79).

Grossmont junior Tessa Megling (fourth, 183.25 points) and Helix senior Natalia Cano (fifth, 177.40) keyed the East County entrants in the Division I girls diving competition won by RB frosh Haley Francois (221.85 points).

Posted May 15, 2008
Fast times have dominated the season for the Grossmont South League champion Valhalla High School boys swim team, and coach Kelli Dole is looking for that to continue through this weekend’s San Diego Section Division I championship meet.

Valhalla secured this year’s Grossmont South League boys dual meet championship after recently defeating longtime league and Division I rival Granite Hills.

Norsemen leaders this season included team captain Thomas Faucher, sprinter Matt Saunders and John Harriman, who has dominated the distance events.

At this year's league finals May 9 at Monte Vista High School, Harriman captured the 200 freestyle (1:49.26) and 500 freestyle (4:58.41) while Saunders won the 50 freestyle (21.59) and 100 breaststroke (1:03.12) and Faucher emerged victorious in the 100 butterfly (56.25) prior to placing runner-up in the 100 freestyle (48.75).

Harriman entered this year's San Diego Section prelims undefeated in the 200 and 500 freestyle events while Faucher had been undefeated in both his specialty events heading into the league championship meet.

Saunders, who has set his sights on setting the school record in the 50 freestyle, ranked second in the section in the 50 freestyle and was a threat to capture the Division I title. He ranked third in the section in the 100 breaststroke.

The section finals are May 17 at Coronado High School.

“We are looking forward to a great showing at CIF,” said Dole, whose squad captured half of the events at this year's league finals.

The Valhalla girls team, which finished runner-up to Granite Hills in league dual meet competition, was led by senior captain Hanna Basler, the school record-holder in the 100 freestyle. She is supported by two strong freshmen — Morgan Small (200 freestyle) and Sarah Luibel (100 backstroke and 500 freestyle) — and sophomore Tess Stevenson, who rounds out the relays and adds presence in the individual medley and butterfly events.

“This young team is looking forward to scoring in all of the relays at CIF and Hanna will juggle her own individual events as well as prom,” Dole said. “This year’s team has been focused and dedicated to training and taking back our titles, which is no small feat with Granite Hills at nearly 800 students larger than Valhalla. I am proud of this group of students and how they have supported one another and filled the pool at practices.”

Metro Conference Report
Lancers aim to make a splash ... again

Posted April 10, 2008
With 117 swimmers on deck — not all at once, of course — a bit of chaos might ensue at times. But it’s a good kind of chaos for Hilltop swim coach John Salts.

The Lancers could be swimming toward dual boys and girls titles this season in South Bay League competition.

“Our boys are very strong this year,” said Salts of his defending championship team. “We have 35 guys and 117 overall. Our boys are focused this year because we have so many seniors on the team. They are determined to defend the banner and are still being pushed by how the water polo season ended.”

Last fall’s water polo season continues to haunt Hilltop. The Lancers had a crucial game cancelled against Mater Dei amid the countywide firestorm disaster. Had Hilltop defeated the Crusaders in the lost game, the teams would have shared the league water polo title. Instead, Mater Dei was awarded the title because of the cancelled game.

“They got the water polo banner but our guys want the swim banner,” Salts said.

Hilltop’s ample talent parade is led by seniors Lance Watkins (sprint freestyle and backstroke), Isaac Rodriguez-Wagner (sprint freestyle), Anthony Andriopulos (sprint freestyle and butterfly) and junior Justin Jimenez (returning individual medley champion). Roman Gonzalez is the team’s top returning distance swimmer while junior Sean Ellerbrock is the team’s fastest sprinter.

Impact newcomers include freshmen Oscar Vizcara (sprint freestyle, IM and breaststroke) and Alejo Cabral (distance freestyle, IM).

Guided by this talent overload, the Lancers have opened the season with blowout victories against Mater Dei (138-37) and Montgomery (140-34).

Hilltop’s girls team received a boost in its nine-point victory against a very impressive Montgomery team on April 3. Salts said the Aztecs look to contend for the title at the league finals in May.
“The Montgomery girls were awesome,” Salts said. “We had more swimmers in the end, which helped us win. The Montgomery-Mar Vista meet should be very interesting.”

Mar Vista, Hilltop and Montgomery finished as the top three teams at last year’s league finals but the order could be turned around this season.

Miranda Hess (distance freestyle, butterfly and IM), Lisa Backus (breaststroke) and Michelle Oliveria (backstroke) are the top returners. Among the crop of talented newcomers are a pair of freshmen: Era Perez Delatorre (50- and 100-yard freestyle) and Diana Carreon (50/100 freestyle).

Although this year’s Mater Dei team is smaller than in past years, the talent in the pool appears to have more than compensated for the lack of numbers.

Big things are expected from returning seniors Trini Muffley and Chardonnay Ray, as well as David LeDuc, Michael Porter and David Martinez on the boys side.

LeDuc is the defending South Bay League champion in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events and won both events in the Crusaders’ dual meet against Hilltop. Porter captured the 100-yard breaststroke event against Hilltop.

Freshman Gisselle Saurez made a noteworthy debut by capturing the 200 IM and 100 backstroke events against Hilltop.

The Crusaders are bolstered by a variety of incoming freshmen, as well as returning sophomores, juniors and seniors.

“With this leadership, and through hard work and training, Mater Dei hopes to open the doors to more wins and to be competitive in the CIF championship,” coach Kevin Smith said. “This season will be an exciting one.”