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Top swimmers aiming to navigate CIF prelims
Swimming: Sacred Heart, Glendale and Crescenta Valley all hoping to get quality efforts today to advance into CIF Finals.
By Gabriel Rizk
GLENDALE — A total of 17 swimmers and nine relay teams with local ties will compete in the CIF Southern Section Division II swimming preliminaries at 10 a.m. today at Belmont Plaza pool in Long Beach.
The goal for these athletes is to advance to the championship heats of their respective events for Saturday’s Division II finals, where they will get the chance to compete for individual CIF titles and points to aid their teams’ pursuit of a division crown.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy came the closest to that pinnacle last year — finishing second behind Westlake in the Division II chase — and returns the most depth and talent of any of the area programs to this year’s meet.
“The girls are all hyped up and looking forward to some great swims,” said Tologs Coach Gary Appel, who has 11 CIF entrants, seven of which competed in last year’s swimming and diving finals. “Hopefully we can come out on top.”
The foundation of last year’s second-place finish was the success of Sacred Heart’s relay teams, and much will hinge on their performance this year.
In the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays — events in which the Tologs won Division II titles a year ago — Appel has been forced to make some changes.
Tricia Dobson, who swam the butterfly for last year’s medley relay, has been replaced in that event by Beth Strub because Dobson has missed much of the season due to injury.
Strub, Briana Swinney (backstroke), Andrea Kropp (breaststroke) and Alex Marquez (freestyle) are seeded sixth for the 200 medley relay with a qualifying time of 1:51.99.
On the 10th-seeded (3:44.19) 400-freestyle relay team, which also includes Swinney, Kropp and Marquez, Dobson has been replaced by Madeline Talt, who is making her CIF debut.
Dobson will swim on the 24th-seeded (1:45.34) 200-freestyle relay team along with Rachael McDonald, Shaylyn Stanley and Strub.
Sacred Heart’s strongest individual competitor and most likely to advance to the finals as a high seed is Kropp, who is the defending Division II champion in the 100 breaststroke.
Kropp, a sophomore, is seeded third (1:05.98) today in that event and fifth (2:07.12) in the 200 individual medley, where she placed third at last year’s finals.
Few made waves as big as Kropp at last year’s finals, but Crescenta Valley’s Yumi So was certainly on par.
The Falcons junior won the 100 butterfly in a Division II final-meet record time of 55.05 and is the top seed (55.29) in that event for today’s prelims.
“She’s already broken some of her own records at [the Pacific League] finals, so I have no doubt she’s gonna do that again [at CIF],” said Crescenta Valley girls’ Coach Robert Miller.
So is seeded No. 1 (57.28) today in the 100 backstroke, an event she did not swim at CIF last year, when Crescenta Valley finished fifth in Division II.
The Falcons girls’ 400-freestyle relay team of So, Michelle Du, Christine Cho and Keri Kunkel is seeded ninth with a qualifying time of 3:44.11.
On the boys’ side, Crescenta Valley is hoping Sharif Alaoui and Jason Kim can continue their strong swimming of late.
Alaoui is seeded in the top 10 in the 100 (sixth, 48.08) and 200 freestyle (10th, 1:45.49), while Kim qualified in the 100 backstroke (13th, 54.92) and the 100 breaststroke (16th, 1:01.49).
Of the Falcons’ three qualified relay teams, the 200-medley relay team of Alaoui, Andrew De Jong, Vinh Doan and Ted Gonder is seeded highest at fifth (1:39.69).
Glendale qualified a handful of girls for today’s races, including Katalina Sher, who swam in the consolation heats of the 200 and 500 freestyle at last year’s finals.
“Katalina can be top six in both the 200 and 500 and extend her season to the Masters Meet if she can match last year’s effort,” Nitros Coach Pat Lancaster said of his sophomore standout, who is seeded 19th (1:57.73) in the 200 and 11th (5:12.30) in the 500 freestyle.
Kyle Ferguson is the lone Nitros representative from the boys’ side and he enters today seeded 24th (54.49) in the 100 butterfly.
Andrew Muller, a Glendale resident who attends Loyola High, is slated to compete in the 200 freestyle, seeded third (1:44.03).
The goal for these athletes is to advance to the championship heats of their respective events for Saturday’s Division II finals, where they will get the chance to compete for individual CIF titles and points to aid their teams’ pursuit of a division crown.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy came the closest to that pinnacle last year — finishing second behind Westlake in the Division II chase — and returns the most depth and talent of any of the area programs to this year’s meet.
“The girls are all hyped up and looking forward to some great swims,” said Tologs Coach Gary Appel, who has 11 CIF entrants, seven of which competed in last year’s swimming and diving finals. “Hopefully we can come out on top.”
The foundation of last year’s second-place finish was the success of Sacred Heart’s relay teams, and much will hinge on their performance this year.
In the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays — events in which the Tologs won Division II titles a year ago — Appel has been forced to make some changes.
Tricia Dobson, who swam the butterfly for last year’s medley relay, has been replaced in that event by Beth Strub because Dobson has missed much of the season due to injury.
Strub, Briana Swinney (backstroke), Andrea Kropp (breaststroke) and Alex Marquez (freestyle) are seeded sixth for the 200 medley relay with a qualifying time of 1:51.99.
On the 10th-seeded (3:44.19) 400-freestyle relay team, which also includes Swinney, Kropp and Marquez, Dobson has been replaced by Madeline Talt, who is making her CIF debut.
Dobson will swim on the 24th-seeded (1:45.34) 200-freestyle relay team along with Rachael McDonald, Shaylyn Stanley and Strub.
Sacred Heart’s strongest individual competitor and most likely to advance to the finals as a high seed is Kropp, who is the defending Division II champion in the 100 breaststroke.
Kropp, a sophomore, is seeded third (1:05.98) today in that event and fifth (2:07.12) in the 200 individual medley, where she placed third at last year’s finals.
Few made waves as big as Kropp at last year’s finals, but Crescenta Valley’s Yumi So was certainly on par.
The Falcons junior won the 100 butterfly in a Division II final-meet record time of 55.05 and is the top seed (55.29) in that event for today’s prelims.
“She’s already broken some of her own records at [the Pacific League] finals, so I have no doubt she’s gonna do that again [at CIF],” said Crescenta Valley girls’ Coach Robert Miller.
So is seeded No. 1 (57.28) today in the 100 backstroke, an event she did not swim at CIF last year, when Crescenta Valley finished fifth in Division II.
The Falcons girls’ 400-freestyle relay team of So, Michelle Du, Christine Cho and Keri Kunkel is seeded ninth with a qualifying time of 3:44.11.
On the boys’ side, Crescenta Valley is hoping Sharif Alaoui and Jason Kim can continue their strong swimming of late.
Alaoui is seeded in the top 10 in the 100 (sixth, 48.08) and 200 freestyle (10th, 1:45.49), while Kim qualified in the 100 backstroke (13th, 54.92) and the 100 breaststroke (16th, 1:01.49).
Of the Falcons’ three qualified relay teams, the 200-medley relay team of Alaoui, Andrew De Jong, Vinh Doan and Ted Gonder is seeded highest at fifth (1:39.69).
Glendale qualified a handful of girls for today’s races, including Katalina Sher, who swam in the consolation heats of the 200 and 500 freestyle at last year’s finals.
“Katalina can be top six in both the 200 and 500 and extend her season to the Masters Meet if she can match last year’s effort,” Nitros Coach Pat Lancaster said of his sophomore standout, who is seeded 19th (1:57.73) in the 200 and 11th (5:12.30) in the 500 freestyle.
Kyle Ferguson is the lone Nitros representative from the boys’ side and he enters today seeded 24th (54.49) in the 100 butterfly.
Andrew Muller, a Glendale resident who attends Loyola High, is slated to compete in the 200 freestyle, seeded third (1:44.03).
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