Swimming triumphs over San Marino in league meet to remain undefeated

By Olivia Nouriani

Assoc. Opinion Editor

Photos by Raj Jain

Girls’ and boys’ varsity swimming took down the San Marino Titans on Thursday, March 16, with the boys seizing a 100-70 victory, and girls dominating 108-67.

The boys started strong, taking first, third and fifth in the 200 Medley Relay, gaining 10 points and leading 10-4. They maintained their intensity, taking first in almost every event. Senior captain Garrett Tse pushed the Tigers ahead with first in the 200 Individual Medley at 1:54.58 and coming in at 59.34 seconds to take first in the 100 Breaststroke. Sophomore Jacob Mullin followed his lead, swimming the 100 Freestyle in 48.72 seconds and the 100 Backstroke in 56.07 seconds, grabbing first in both. The boys swept in the 50 and 500 Free, crushing any hope for a comeback by the Titans. The win was an important one for the squad, as a loss to the Titans in the 2014 season cost the team the Rio Hondo title.

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“The boys took second last year after a loss to San Marino by six points,” Tse said. “We all trained hard and were able to take them down this season. Our determination and hard work paid off by far.”

The girls followed suit, steadily building their lead rather than coming out with a few powerful events. The squad swept, taking first in every event across the board, save the 200 Free Relay. Seniors Grace Wakabayashi and captains Sabrina Zavala and Kate Iio led the team, each doubling. Wakabayashi took first in the 200 Free at 1:58.92 to start the meet and stayed strong earning first with 25.75 seconds in the 50 Free. Zavala earned first in both the 200 IM and the 500 Free, and Iio came out hard in the 100 Free and Back, taking first in both.

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“The coaches have done a great job of reminding us just how important every swimmer is,” Zavala said. “We have so much depth and that’s definitely the reason we were able to win.”

The team is now preparing for their penultimate meet of the season on Thursday, March 23. The Tigers head to the Temple City pool and are looking for a win to maintain their undefeated record.

“We’re going to use this victory as encouragement to keep us training hard,” sophomore Perah Ralin said. “We will be working hard this week in anticipation for the last remaining hurdle keeping us from being Rio Hondo league champs.”

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