Sailors have a tough act to follow

Bryce Alderton

Encore anyone?

That might be easier said than done for the Newport Harbor High

boys swim team, according to second-year coach Jason Lynch, as the

Sailors prepare to defend their CIF Southern Section Division I title

beginning with a March 3 meet at San Clemente.

“What we’d like to do is win (the Sea View League), which we

weren’t able to do last year,” Lynch said. Irvine won the league

title last year.

But Newport saved its best for last, winning its first CIF

championship in boys swimming by two points over Mission Viejo, which

was disqualified in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Newport had to win the 400 free relay to take the championship and

it did, breaking a school record with a time of 3:07.11, on the

shoulders of now-departed Aaron Peirsol and Ryan Lean, along with

seniors Andrew Cole and Nathan Weiner. Weiner swam a personal-best

48.73 in his 100 split in the relay.

“We had some kids come through, besides the big three (Peirsol,

Lean and Cole) to (win the CIF Division I title),” Lynch said.

Lynch will rely on those same swimmers to replace Peirsol and

Lean, who are swimming collegiately at the University of Texas and UC

Berkeley, respectively.

Peirsol, a three-time world-record holder and Olympic silver

medalist, became No. 1 in the nation in the 200-meter backstroke last

month, an event in which he holds the world record, after clocking a

1:41.34 for the Longhorns.

Helping fill the big void left by Peirsol and Lean figures to be

Cole, who went undefeated in the 100-yard free and won the CIF title

in 46.15.

“He could repeat that,” Lynch said. Cole, a senior, also went

undefeated in the 200 free last season and won a CIF title by

two-hundredths of a second. Cole also gives Newport stability in the

backstroke

Weiner, also a senior, was on the 400 relay team last season and

also teamed with Cole on the 200 free relay.

Junior Michael Bury won the league title in the 100 butterfly last

season and contributed to the Sailors’ 200 free relay victory

(1:26.18) at CIF finals.

Senior Ross Sinclair is a distance specialist, according to Lynch

and a CIF qualifier in the 500 free last year. He could move into a

relay position as the year progresses, Lynch said.

Senior Brent Armstrong sprints and swam some medley relays last

season. Senior Jay Thompson specializes in the breaststroke and 200

individual medley and narrowly missed the CIF finals a year ago.

Juniors Andrew Belden and Bryan Auer solidify the Sailors at

distance and sprint freestyle, respectively, with added help expected

from freshman Clay Jorth and junior freestyler Sean McGhie, who could

also add depth in the relays. Also, versatile junior Morgan Laidlaw

gives Lynch depth in many areas.

“The water polo guys now have to replace spots left by (Peirsol

and Lean),” Lynch said. “The question marks are the two freestyle

relays (200 and 400).”

Harbor won both in the CIF finals last year and Lynch will use the

early part of the season to devise his relay arsenal.

The season is fast approaching, with San Clemente looming.

“San Clemente and Mission Viejo are the two top teams in CIF

(Division I) right now,” Lynch said.

The second-year coach is ready for the challenge the season will

bring.

“It’s a lot of fun to see kids work hard and improve at the end of

the year,” Lynch said. “If a team does well, that is icing on the

cake.”