SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Swimming

Baron swimmers still set Metro standard

By Phillip Brents
Posted May 7, 2004

The Bonita Vista High School swim team plays it like it says. All one has to do is read it on this year’s theme T-shirts: “We are what we repeatedly do.”
What the Barons have repeatedly done is win championships. Bonita Vista swept last year’s Metro Conference boys and girls team championship titles and captured Mesa League titles in both boys and girls competition with a sweep of Eastlake April 29 at Southwestern College.

The Barons will get a chance to defend their conference championships this Saturday, May 15, at the Loma Verde pool in Chula Vista. Finals competition starts at 9 a.m.

“Once again, we’re solid. We have depth and the kids are motivated. We’re focusing on finishing,” Bonita Vista coach Steve Wiggs said.

The Barons defeated Eastlake 123-60 in boys competition and 130-58 in girls competition. Bonita Vista captured first-place finishes in 10 of 12 events in the boys meet and in nine of 12 events in the girls meet.

Tony Arroyo (500-yard freestyle), Carlos Escaba (100-yard backstroke) and Niko Marshall (100-yard breaststroke) all swam to lifetime-best marks to lead the Bonita Vista boys team. The Barons won all but two events (and tied another) as sophomore Chris Sanchez doubled in winning the boys 100- and 200-yard freestyle.

In a hotly-contested finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, it was ruled a tie between anchors Sam Gottlieb of Eastlake and Dennis Schulz of Bonita Vista.
The Baron boys squad may not be quite as deep as the BV girls team but does appear top heavy with talent.

Sanchez captured last year’s conference title in the 200 freestyle as a freshman while Lopez, now a senior, claimed the top time in the 100 freestyle. Arroyo placed second in both the 100 and 200 free as a sophomore last year.

Escaba and Marshall were second and third in last year’s 500 free finals as freshmen.

Junior Marc Lewis is the Barons’ other significant role player this season. In the meet against Eastlake, he placed fourth in both the 200 IM and 100 free.
For the BV girls, junior Alvizia Alexander (200 IM, 100 butterfly) and freshman Sasha Beltran (50 and 100 free) both doubled in winning their individual events in the meet against the Titans.

Alexander is the defending Metro champion in both events while junior Katie Leahy (200 free, 100 backstroke) is the Barons’ other two-stroke individual conference champion. Jeanette Islas swam legs on last year’s Metro champion 200 and 400 free relay teams (the BV 200 free relay unit set a school record at last year’s finals).

Brittany Estrada is another championship contender. She topped the 500 free in the field against the Titans.

Bonita Vista nearly doubled the team score on runner-up Mar Vista at last year’s Metro championships.

“Our depth is our strength. We can go three deep and the difference between first and third is only a couple seconds,” Wiggs said.

The Barons finished ninth both boys and girls competition at last year’s San Diego Section championship meet. This year’s CIF finals are scheduled Saturday, May 22, at Mt. Carmel High School. The Division I finals are scheduled at 9 a.m., followed by the Division II meet at 3:30 p.m.

Once again, Bonita Vista should be contending for a top 10 team finish. Individually, Sanchez, Arroyo and Lopez should be contending for top individual honors. Sanchez finished fourth in the backstroke finals (55.87) and sixth in the 200 freestyle finals (1:49.76).

“We have a few top swimmers and our depth carries us. I think we could probably hold up against quite a few teams in San Diego County because of our depth,” Wiggs said.

Bonita Vista’s Beto Vasquez also posted three personal best times in the meet (200 free, 400 free relay split and 100 breaststroke).

Eastlake Titans swimming upstream
The Eastlake High girls swim squad placed third in last year’s Metro Conference championship meet team standings behind champion Bonita Vista and runner-up Mar Vista while the Titans boys team finished fourth in the boys team standings behind champion Bonita Vista, runner-up Mar Vista and third-place Hilltop.
The Titans progress under second-year coach Bryan Monzon will be measured at this year’s conference finals meet. “We want to move up another place at the Metro finals,” Monzon said. “The team’s only gotten better with each year. We getting new freshmen every year.”

Eastlake’s Dani Kimmel was the Metro Conference Girls Swimmer of the Year in 2003 as a freshman. She won both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke events (while wearing a cast on her arm) before going on to place second in the breaststroke at the San Diego Section Division I championship meet with a consideration All-American time.

However, Kimmel has been sidelined much of the season after breaking two fingers. Monzon said she should be ready for a return to competition before the end of the season.

In the meantime, the Titan girls team has received standout swims from sophomore Andrea Williamson in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and freshman Taylor Erickson in the 200 and 500 freestyle distances. Both Erickson (200 free) and Williamson (breaststroke) were the only Eastlake swimmers to win an individual stroke event in the dual meet against Bonita Vista.

Williamson placed third in the breaststroke and fourth in the 200 IM at last year’s conference finals.

“We’ll have a couple good relays if Dani gets back,” Monzon said.

While Kimmel helped steal the team’s spotlight last season, another freshman — Marc Uy — could be in line to earn similar honors this season. A top age-group swimmer with South Bay Aquatics, Uy tested the waters during the fall boys water polo season but appears to be in more of his element with the spring swim season. His specialty events are the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. He set a lifetime best in winning the 200 IM in the meet against the Barons, timing 2:07.47.

Monzon said Uy could find himself in the CIF finals before the season is finished.

The boys team, in general, looks to have depth as its strong point. Top returners include sophomores Tom Dziadkowiec (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly) and Sam Gottlieb (50 and 100 freestyle) and junior James Hiney (200 and 500 freestyle).

Dziadkowiec finished third in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly at last year’s Metro finals. Hiney was sixth in last year’s 500 free finals while Gottlieb was seventh in the 100 breaststroke. Richard Higginbotham, another returner, was eighth in the 100 backstroke.

Impact newcomers, besides Uy, include freshmen Jeff Demoss (200 free-style, 100 backstroke), Gavin Fluhart (50 and 100 freestyle) and junior Juan Ibanez (200 IM and 100 butterfly). Demoss was undefeated in his individual events through midseason.

Monzon called his team’s performance against Bonita Vista “a great effort just before Metros.”

“There were a lot of personal records on both sides,” he said.

Dziadkowiec (100 butterfly, 1:00.88), Demoss (200 free, 2:00.54) and Erickson (200 free, 2:08.04) all set season bests. Newcomer Robin Sese also set what Monzon called a “good time” in placing third in the girls 100 breaststroke (1:22.50).

Mar Vista Mariners
The Mariners are four-time defending South Bay League champions and look to narrow the gap between themselves and perennial Mesa League power Bonita Vista in the team standings at this year's conference meet. Mar Vista's boys team finished a close second to the Barons at last year's finals, trailing by just 38 points. Bonita Vista out-pointed the Mariners by 267 points to win the girls conference title.

Leading the MV girls squad (a loss only to Bonita Vista this season) are junior Jennifer Parra and sophomore Merideth Moses, both returning CIF qualifiers. At last year's Metro meet Parra placed second in the 200 free and third in the 50 free while Moses was third in the backstroke and fifth in the 200 IM.

The Mariners' strength this season is depth. In the South Bay League championship meet, Vivid Love and Vanessa Valadez finished first and second in the girls 500 free.

Leading the MV boys team (losses to Bonita Vista and Eastlake) are juniors Julian Czerwiec and Scott Knox and sophomore Don Sales.

Czerwiec finished third in the 100 backstroke and seventh in 200 free at last season's conference meet as a sophomore but should move up considerably this year. He won both events in the South Bay League championship dual against Hilltop, timing 2:04.93 in the freestyle event and 1:06.74 in the backstroke. The 200 free time eclipsed last year's finals time by more than three seconds.

Hilltop Lancers
Hilltop High's boys team finished third at last year's Metro meet while the Lancer girls were fourth. This season, both teams will be looking to maintain their positions, if not move up.

Hilltop's girls team gave a strong effort against Mar Vista in this year's South Bay League championship meet, falling short 99-87. In that meet, Jessica Street doubled in winning the 50 free and 100 breaststroke.

Andrea Meier (200 freestyle, 100 backstroke), Julia Relph (200 IM, 100 butterfly) and Valerie Jaggers (50 free, breaststroke) rank among the team's better swimmers.

The Lancers boys team (losses to Bonita Vista, Eastlake and Mar Vista) is led by sprinters Tyler Hunsiker, Nicko Fix and Garrett Boyle. Helping provide last year's highlights, along with championship diver Kyle Kovar, was Nick Davidson (second in the butterfly, third in the 100 free).

Marian Catholic Crusaders
The not-too-distant future looks bright for the Crusaders, who expect to boast an Olympic-size pool when their new campus is finished in Otay Ranch. Fueled by that dream, a new era in Crusader swimming appears to have started if the enthusiasm and increase in participation numbers this season are any indicators.

Jesus Ibarra (100 butterfly and backstroke) and Francis Calma (200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke) both doubled in their events against Hilltop while Marlon Lopez (200 IM) also emerged as an event winner.

Ibarra was fifth at last year's Metro finals in the butterfly while Lopez was eighth in the 200 IM.

On the girls side, Laurie Leduc won last year's consolation title in the girls 50 free (27.69) while placing sixth in the championship 100 free finals (1:00.84).

Otay Ranch Mustangs

Eylse Dayrit is the first CIF qualifier in school history (27.45 in the 50 free). She is joined by other top swimmers on the girls team: Rachel Medina (200 IM and breaststroke), Claudette Dagadoy (200 and 500 free) and Christina Allison (50 and 100 free).

The Mustangs swept Montgomery in dual competition May 7 to close out the regular season. Otay Ranch prevailed 66-39 in the girls meet to finish 6-4 overall, 3-2 in league; the Mustang boys edged the Aztecs by a 44-42 score to finish 5-5 overall, 2-3 in league.

Otay Ranch qualified its 200 medley relay team for Saturday’s conference finals. Comprising the team are Kevin Cerwin, Chris Baeza, Bert Leon-Guerrero and Bryan Kelly. Leon-Guerrero also qualified in two individual events -- the 200 IM and butterfly – while Kelly qualified in the 50 free.

The challenge for coaches Ernie and Ricky Medina has been to whip the team of freshmen and sophomores into a competitive unit. “For the first three weeks, we gave swimming lessons,” Ernie Medina said. “We have 33 swimmers, 30 are freshmen. We are the youngest swim team in the county – and one with a winning record.”

Montgomery Aztecs
The Aztecs have CIF hopefuls in Juan Pablo Carrillo (100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke) and Roberto Balestreri (100 free). The school's boys 200 medley relay team is also hopeful to qualify for the CIF prelims. Carrillo was fifth at last year's Metro finals in the breaststroke but ranks among this year's top returners in the event.

Sweetwater Red Devils
Irma and David Acevedo are looking to carry on a family tradition at the National City school first started by older brother Victor. Irma Acevedo is the Red Devils' leader in the 200 IM and 500 free while David is also an accomplished distance swimmer. However, a district dance concert conflict may force Irma to miss this year's finals.
Joining David Acevedo as other top prospects on the boys team are Fernando Gonzalez and Jesus Hernandez.

Chula Vista Spartans
Robert Acuna is the team's specialist in the 200 freestyle and butterfly events while Jose Virgen competes in the backstroke and 100 free.

Castle Park Trojans
The Trojan girls team — led by Soledad Martin (500 free) and Jessica Lopez (200 free) in individual events - set a school record this season in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:51. Comprising that record-setting unit was Martin, joined by teammates Brittany Winkowski, Denise Diaz and Kayle Blocker.
The Castle Park boys are paced by distance swimmer Esteban Chavez (200 and 500 free).

Southwest Raiders
The Raiders' top returner is D.J. Figueroa, who placed third in last year's breaststroke finals.