ESCARCEGA ON PREPS: FLINTRIDGE PREP GIRLS AND ST. FRANCIS BOYS SWIM TEAM MAKE SCHOOL HISTORY
Flintridge Prep girls swimming team wins its first-ever CIF Southern Section title; St. Francis finishes second in boys D-3 by one point.
Flintridge Prep girls swimming team photo after capturing the CIF Southern Section Div. 3 team championship. (Escarcega)
MISSION VIEJO – High School coaches will do anything to get their kids motivated to win a CIF Southern Section championship event.
They’ll show a film like “Hoosier”, “Rudy,” or the new highly acclaimed film called “The American Underdog.” They’ll buy a book from noted sports performance experts such as Jon Gordon, Dr. Kevin Elko, or Tim Kight. They’ll show a team highlight film from local pro teams such as last season’s Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl video.
However, Flintridge Prep longtime swimming coach Ingrid Herskind decided to keep it simple as she navigated her Wolves’ girls swimming team to the program’s first-ever sectional championship.
Just go have fun.
“We worked out the math after the prelims and knew that we have a pretty good chance to win it,” said Herskind. “Before we hit the pool (Saturday), we told the girls to go out there and have fun. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
There is so much simplicity within that mindset, but there is complexity to it as well. The big factor in securing a sectional title is to come away with wins, especially in the very important relay races. Guess what?... The Wolves did a lot of winning on Saturday to come away with the Division 3 gold-plated championship plaque at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex in Mission Viejo.
In the relay races, the Wolves won 200 (1:38.27) and 400 freestyle (3:33.73) while establishing new school records. The record books will note that the swimmers that were part of those winning teams included Addie Gish, Sarah Itrube, Megan Lee, and Natalie Walklett. Here is another fact that raised eyebrows around the coaches' table on Saturday – all four of those swimmers are freshmen.
“All we told the girls was to swim what you are capable of swimming,” Herskind said. “We knew that we had to have lights-out performances, and that’s exactly what happened.”
The Wolves had several swimmers win individual championships. They included Walklett capturing the 200 free (1:50.01) and Gish in the 100 backstroke (55.89). Mix in fourth place efforts from Lee in the 200 Individual Medley (2:12.44) and it all equaled to 190 team points, nine more than Cerritos, and a spot in the school’s ever-growing record book.
Not bad for a team that competes in the Prep League.
“We never wanted to put a lot of pressure on these girls,” Herskind said. “High school teams are so different that when they are swimming in club teams. I kind of had an idea that this going to happen today because the girls looked so loose when they were warming up. It made it fun for me to keep track of all the action.”
Herskind was right about that. With all the coaches staring that their clipboards and stopwatches, it was Herskind who was throwing her arms up in the air and smiling from ear to ear after each swimmer performed. It didn’t matter if it was in a consolation final or a championship final, Herskind was having the time of her life on Saturday.
“It was a magical day,” Herskind said. “I couldn’t be prouder of these girls.”
While the Wolves stole all the headlines at the end of the day, the St. Francis boys swimming team did its best to keep pace with their neighbors from across the street. The Golden Knights had only seven swimmers available for use on Saturday, but while they were low on numbers, they showed their prowess consistently throughout the day.
Using the same methodology that Herskind used with her team, St. Francis won several relay races, placed in many individual events, and finished in second place in the team standings (173) one point ahead of Santa Monica.
The team of Kevin Olmedo, Nicholas Lee, Jack Murphy, and Nathan Kim won the 200 free (1:26.27) and 400 free (3:11.42), marking the first time that a St. Francis relay team has ever won a sectional relay title. Kim (1:40.50), a sophomore, lost an intense battle to Hoover’s Massimo Reyna (1:40.48) in the 200 free final and took second in the 100 free (45.55) losing to repeat CIF champion Ike Harms of Canyon High of Canyon Country (45.26).
“There is no doubt that competing in the Mission League got us ready for this meet (Saturday),” said St. Francis coach Brady Lowdermilk. “These are some tough guys that and they competed extremely well. This is a fun group of guys to work with.”
The St. Francis boys swimming team and coach Brady Lowdermilk after winning the 400 yard freestyle relay on Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Championships in Mission Viejo. (Escarcega)
One other obvious fact that many will overlook is the influence that the Rose Bowl Aquatics Club program has on both St. Francis and Flintridge Prep's programs. All those talented swimmers that performed at a high level have called Rose Bowl Aquatics their home during the off-season and both coaches are acutely aware of the influence they’ve had on their swim programs.
“There is no doubt that (Rose Bowl Aquatics) played a big role on how the both of us did (on Saturday),” Lowdermilk said. “It is a tremendous program and it will always be that way. I know that they just lost one of the main coaches, but they’ll be just fine.”
It was a solid day for area swimmers in the Div. 3 final. Rowland’s Eric Yeh, a senior, was impressive in winning the 100 backstroke (50.61) and finishing second in the 100 butterfly (49.80). Junior Sophie He finished second in the girls 100 backstroke (1:07.81). Glendora’s Anthony Ramirez took the bronze medal in the boys 500 (4:39.31).
Rowland Eric Yeh after winning the Div. 3 100 free on Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Div. 3 Finals. (Escarcega)
Temple City had several impressive performances, which included Alex Tiang finishing third in the 100 backstroke (52.34) and checking in fifth in the 200 individual medley (1:57.06). The Rams’ 200 medley relay team of Jiang, Kai Chen, Jayden Kadiman, and Dennis Lee captured third place.
Charter Oak junior Kathyrn Simpson was second-best in the 100 free final (52.40) and took third place in the 200 free (1:52.48). South Pasadena’s talented freshmen Samantha Wong took fourth place in the 500 free final (5:07.87).
In Division 4, Ella Lesnever of Blair High School was sharp throughout the afternoon as she captured the 50 free (24.52 seconds) and finished second in the 100 free (53.43). El Rancho’s Lorelei Rojo took the bronze medal in the 100 butterfly (1:01.52).
Pasadena area swimmers also shined bright on Friday in the Division 2 finals. Arcadia’s Emily Xu won a pitched battle over Crescenta Valley’s Jungmin Yoon to win the 200 free (1:51.22) and won the gold medal in the 100 free (50.91). Mayfield’s Taylor Carey took third place in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.48).
Sonora’s Matthew Chai was a double gold medalist in winning the 200 (1:37.42) and the 500 (4:15.91) free and was part of the 200 free relay team that captured second place (1:26.58). Teammate Joseph Kling also won the gold medal in the 100 backstroke (48.99).
Walnut, usually one of the main contenders to win a sectional title, didn’t make as much of an impact at this year’s sectional finals with Sabrina Bennani taking third in the 200 Individual Medley (2:05.22). San Marino’s Daniel Li took the silver medal in the boys breaststroke (54.58) and Keppel’s 200 medley relay team also took second place (1:34.70).
In Division 1, La Canada’s Pierce O’Grady took second place in the 500 free while stopping the timer in 4:29.29. Diamond Bar’s Kai Min Tsuei also took second in the 100 backstroke (54.14).
But the main storyline of the weekend was the performance by the Flintridge Prep girls squad. When the meet was over, Herskind and the rest of the coaching staff and swimmers took the traditional dive into the pool to celebrate a championship. She can thank a talented group of freshman swimmers that finished the first chapter of a storybook that holds no boundaries.
If Herskind needs any pointers on how to sustain its success for the long term, all they have to do is spend some time with the school's extraordinarily talented girls basketball coaching duo of Kevin and Jayme Kiyomura inside the school gymnasium.
They know a thing or two about sustained excellence – just check the record books.