Newport Harbor boys’ swim qualifies top four in freestyle relays at state

FRESNO — The Newport Harbor boys’ swim team qualified third in the 400-yard freestyle relay, and fourth in the 200 free relay, at the CIF State Swimming Championships preliminaries on Friday at Clovis West High.

Reece Hemmens, Max Sandberg, Jason Grew and Nick Halphide touched in 3 minutes, 5.64 seconds in the 400 free relay, matching their seed time and qualifying third for Saturday. Campolindo of the North Coast Section qualified first in 3:04.77.

The same Newport Harbor quartet touched in 1:24.38 to qualify fourth in the 200 free relay. The top qualifier in that event was Oak Ridge, in 1:23.34.

Hemmens qualified for the consolation finals in the 50 freestyle (14th, 21.11) and 100 free (14th, 46.33). Halphide will join Hemmens in the 100 free consolation final, after qualifying ninth in the 100 free, in 45.99.

The other local competing at state is Laguna Beach junior Kasey Karkoska. She will compete in the consolation final of the 100 backstroke, after qualifying 14th in 56.06.

Karkoska did not make it back to Saturday in the 100 butterfly after placing 20th at prelims in 55.76.

The CIF State Championships conclude Saturday with finals beginning at 2:30 p.m.

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