Boys and girls swimming: Bay-sic Instinct

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - Newport Harbor High girls swim coach Ken Lamont,

who also works with the Irvine Novaquatics club program, has used Corona

del Mar senior and Nova swimmer Lauren Powers to relay good-natured barbs

to CdM girls coach Doug Volding for several weeks.

Monday at 3:15 p.m., when the boys and girls teams from the two Back Bay,

and now nonleague, rivals collide at CdM, Lamont believes the talented

Tars will deliver a resounding message of their own.

“Corona beat us last year (90-80) and while I was congratulating Doug

after that meet, I said something to the effect that Newport would be a

much different team in the year 2000,” Lamont said. “When I saw Doug

again at the CIF Relays this year, he told me ‘Boy, when you told me

you’d have a different team, you weren’t kidding.’ ”

Lamont’s Sailors, including freshmen newcomers Nicole Mackey and Hayley

Peirsol, as well as sophomore transfer Carly Geehr, have added some

serious talent to veterans like senior Amy Murphy and junior Jennifer

Arrow.

The Harbor girls, ranked No. 3 in Orange County, are favored to handle

the Powers-led Sea Kings (5-1).

The boys meet, pitting No. 3-ranked Newport against No. 7-ranked CdM,

figures to be much closer and CdM Coach Jon Moore has already put his

assessment on the record.

“(The Sailors) are good squad and they have some studs over there,” Moore

told the Daily Pilot after last week’s convincing 104-66 Pacific Coast

League triumph over University. “But we can take them.”

The severe challenge posed by the CdM boys, figures to ensure the

participation of Newport sophomore and Olympic hopeful Aaron Peirsol.

Peirsol, Harbor’s first CIF Southern Section individual champion since

1981 after winning the Division I 100-yard backstroke as a freshman, has

posted the fastest times in the county in the 200 individual medley

(1:53.71) and the backstroke (50.91) this season. His 100 butterfly

clocking of 50.97 is second best in the county.

Harbor sophomore Ryan Lean, the Sea View League 500 freestyle champion as

a freshman, has the county’s fourth fastest time in 500 free (4:41.83)

and sixth best in the 200 free (1:47.15).

Newport junior Peter Belden has the county’s fourth-best time in the 50

free (22.25).

Coach Brian Kreutzkamp’s Harbor boys also have county standards in the

200 and 400 free relays (1:29.14 and 3:16.21, respectively).

The CdM boys are paced by seniors John Graass, Garrett Gentry and Morgan

Johnston, as well as junior Chriss Street and sophomore Sherwin Kim.

Newport won last year’s boys meet, 98-72.

The timing of the meet, the first day back from Easter vacation, adds

further intrigue, according to Lamont.

“One of the toughest things for us will be getting the kids out of

vacation mode, into swimming mode,” Lamont said. “We worked out

Monday-Thursday last week, but three days off is a long time.”

Lamont said the timing of the meet may also render some club swimmers

unavailable, but he expects Mackey and Geehr, as well as Aaron Peirsol,

to compete.

“It was a little disappointing when CdM was taken out of our league

(leaving the Sea View for the PCL),” Lamont said. “But, for obvious

reasons, both schools agreed it was important to keep the rivalry going.”

Mackey has the fastest time in the county in the 200 IM (2:03.61), ranks

No. 2 in the 100 backstroke (57.91) and the 500 free (5:03.30) and No. 3

in the 200 free (1:51.90).

Murphy has the county’s best time in the 200 free (1:48.77).

Geehr ranks third in the county in the breaststroke (1:05.53), fourth in

the 200 free (1:52.65) and fifth in the backstroke (59.54), while Hayley

Peirsol is fourth in the 500 free (5:04.56), fifth in the 200 free

(1:54.56) and fifth in the IM (2:11.59).

Arrow’s season best in the breaststroke (1:07.55) is fifth fastest in the

county.

In addition to Powers, CdM girls standouts include seniors Jessica

Luchesi, Melinda Tucker and Molly Strack, as well as sophomore Jessica

Fries and freshmen Jackie McCoy and Christina Hewko.