Breakers up to the challenge at OCL swim finals

There was a lot of familiarity at the Orange Coast League swim finals Thursday at Costa Mesa High, yet there also was suspense.

It had been nine years since the Costa Mesa High boys’ swim team had won the Orange Coast League. Laguna Beach’s boys have dominated the league ever since, as they have in water polo.

The Mustangs pushed the Breakers on Thursday. Entering the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Laguna Beach held just a five-point lead.

But the Breakers finished first place and fourth in that last relay, compared to Costa Mesa’s third and fifth. That was good enough for Laguna to keep its league title streak alive, with 383 points compared to Costa Mesa’s 366. Estancia finished in third place as a team.

The familiarity continued in Laguna Beach’s girls dominating yet again, winning their 10^th straight league championship. Costa Mesa was third, and Estancia fourth.

Laguna Beach’s boys did not win an individual event, but had the depth to keep their streak alive.

Laguna senior Judge Washer, junior Riley Bumgardner, freshman Nathan Solomon and senior Camden Benson dropped an impressive 15 seconds to win that last relay. The “B” relay of Lucas Austin, Will Clark, Zach Cord and Jojo Suh finished fourth.

Second-place individual finishers for Laguna Beach included freshman Caden Capobianco in the 200-yard individual medley (2:12.72) and Benson in the 100 free (49.49).

Costa Mesa’s boys beat Laguna in the teams’ league dual meet this season, but the Breakers stepped up at league finals. They also had to overcome adversity after losing one of their top swimmers, senior Billy Renner (shoulder), during the Costa Mesa dual meet.

“[My teammates] were really positive throughout the entire meet, almost when we were sort of on the verge of losing,” said Solomon, a club swimmer for Novaquatics. “We might win, just give it your best. And also, the adrenaline also helped.”

Laguna Beach Coach Kari Damato, who has been coaching for the Breakers since 2009, saw the boys win another league title during that span.

“They wanted it,” she said. “They’re gamers. We know going into it that it was going to be close. I don’t want to say this, but I didn’t think we were really going to win, because they had so many one-two [finishes], even though we had four-five or whatever. But we swam really well [at preliminaries] on Tuesday, and a lot of people made it into finals.”

Costa Mesa also had plenty of highlights. Senior Jacob Petersen won the 100 free in 48.89 seconds, and he was second in the 50 free in 22.51. Augie Cunningham also earned a pair of top-two finishes, winning the 500 free (4.54.02) and placing second in the 200 free in 1:50.24.

Misael Andino won the 200 individual medley in 2:04.32 for Costa Mesa, which also won two relays. That included the group of Andino, freshman Aidan Blair, Nick Ly and Petersen setting the school record in the 200 free relay (1:28.14), a CIF Southern Section Division 2 automatic cut.

“Honestly, it felt amazing,” Petersen said. “I feel like that is worth more than a league title, just because we’ve been pushing for that record for a long time. Also, we’re going to CIF. I haven’t gone to CIF since my freshman year. I think that’s more exciting to me than everything else.”

Blair, who won the 100 breaststroke (1:00.73) and was second in the 100 fly, set the Mesa school records in both events at the league preliminaries on Tuesday. He broke records that had stood since 1972 and 1985, respectively.

Cobi White of Estancia was a double-event winner on the boys’ side. He repeated as the boys’ 50 free champion, touching in 21.73 seconds, and also won the backstroke in 56.34 seconds.

On the girls’ side, Laguna Beach won every single race for the second straight year, but their dominance ran even further. They swept the top four spots in many individual events, and their ‘A’ and ‘B’ relays

Kasey Karkoska, a junior, led the way for the league champion Breakers. She set meet records in winning the 200 IM in 2:06.29, and the 100 free in 51.87. The latter time was also a school record, breaking Andrea Reigel’s mark from 2009. Karkoska pumped her fist after touching the wall.

“I was pretty happy with that, in that my club best time is a 51.74,” said Karkoska, who swims club for Novaquatics. “That’s the closest I’ve gotten in a good three months, so I’m really happy … I’m swimming fly and back at CIF, and my fly and back splits [in the IM] were pretty good. That gives me confidence.”

Ella Judd of the Breakers, a freshman, is another talented club swimmer. She touched first in the 200 free in 1:54.60, another meet record, as well as the 100 fly in 57.46. Both were her best times, said Judd, who is leaning toward swimming the 200 and 500 freestyle events at CIF.

The club swimmers enjoy the dynamic of the swim team, which also features talented water polo players like Bella Baldridge, Sophia Lucas and Isabel Riches who helped Laguna win the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title last winter.

“I think it’s really good,” Karkoska said. “CIF is a lot harder for us in D2, we don’t have as many people make it. This is our big meet, and it’s really good to see everyone going fast. For a lot of them, this is their last meet of the year, and everyone’s been dropping time.

“Club swimming is a lot more individual. Most of this team is water polo players, and they’re all super-close. You’re kind of part of a different family of people, and everyone’s really supportive. It’s really fun.”

Kyla Whitelock won the 50 free for the Breakers in 24.92, and she was second in the 100 free in 54.37. Other individual event winners included sophomore Claire Kelly in the 500 free (5:14.97), Baldridge in the backstroke (1:01.41) and senior Olivia Vera in the breaststroke (1:13.14).

Next up for those swimmers who qualify is the CIF Southern Section Division 2 meet. Preliminaries are May 12 at 9 a.m. at Riverside City College, with finals on May 13 at 11 a.m.

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