Sailors show pride

Rick Devereux

Dan Furman had one goal on Wednesday -- to advance to the CIF

Southern Section Division I finals Friday at Belmont Plaza.

The Newport Harbor High junior, who had the top seed time in the

50-yard freestyle at 20.90 seconds, qualified seventh Wednesday with

a time of 21.71.

With a day and a half to rest and concentrate, Furman sped through

the water in 21.18 to finish second in the final Friday.

“I wanted to get off to a good start,” Furman said. “The

difference [between Wednesday’s qualifying race and Friday’s final]

was I had a day to rest and [the finals] have such a better

atmosphere.”

Even if Furman matched his Sea View League winning time of 20.90,

he still would be behind Dos Pueblos’ Kevin Kuga, who is the CIF

champion in 20.78.

“That guy swam a great race,” Furman said. “I’m glad I went under

[All-American automatic time of] 21.29.”

Furman’s performance in the 50 inspired his teammates to faster

times in the 200 free relay, which finished fifth in 1:27.55.

“Furman really pumped us up with his time in the 50,” said Clay

Jorth, who swam the third leg in 22.51. “We just wanted to be really

competitive and show some Newport pride.”

Coach Jason Lynch said he wanted the relay team to revert back to

its league-runner up time of 1:27.70 and not Wednesday’s qualifying

time of 1:28.60.

“I can’t ask for much more than [1:27.55],” he said. “I told them

that it’s an honor to be here and that you should never pass up an

opportunity to be competitive.”

The team members, all juniors, have their sights set on the school

record of 1:26.00 next year.

“We’re going to nail it,” Telford Cottam said. “I felt I could

have gone faster [than my 21.81-second time], but I always feel I can

go faster.”

Furman swam the anchor in 20.90, the same time as his

league-winning 50 free.

“I wanted to swim a strong anchor leg,” he said. “I was happy to

get another 20 [second time] to round out the season.”

Kyle Sherman swam the lead-off leg in 22.33.

Kayley Oka finished fifth in the girls 100 butterfly in 57.83,

only the fifth time she has swam under 1:00.00.

“The first time I did it was in the Woodbridge meet two weeks

ago,” she said. She qualified sixth in 58.95 Wednesday, but Friday’s

final gave her a personal record. “I felt fast [in the final]. I felt

strong. I felt good the whole way.”

Oka was also the anchor in the 400 free relay, which finished

eighth in 3:39.38. It marked the final race as a Sailor for senior

Anne Belden, who swam the lead-off leg in 54.42.

“It’s kind of sad in a way because this is the last Newport

aquatic event I’m going to be in,” she said.

Belden, who will play water polo at UCLA next year, also finished

16th in the 100 freestyle in 56.31. She was in third place after the

first 50 yards in the consolation final, but a wardrobe malfunction

caused her to loose time in the final half of the race.

“My goggles fell off at the start,” she said. “I couldn’t see

anything, especially in this pool. I missed the wall on the flip turn

[at the 75-yard mark]. I completely stopped in the water. I thought

of the 400 relay as my real 100-yard free.”