Girls shine in rival meet

Carpenter also swam a fast anchor leg to help the Newport Harbor "B" team finish third in the 200 free relay. The event was won by the Sailors' "A" team of Christian, Robertson, Duckworth and Robles, meaning the Sailors outscored the Sea Kings, 10-4, in the event to draw closer.

Melstrom said he essentially threw the medley relay at the start of the meet, saving his top swimmers for the two freestyle relays. It paid off for the Sailors, who also saw Christian post a personal-best 1:57.27 in the 200 free. She was second in that race to her fellow sophomore from CdM, McCormick (1:56.12).

"I consider [the tie] a victory," Duckworth said. "I mean, Newport's kind of always the underdog in swimming. I can safely say that. So tying with a team like CdM is pretty big, especially considering how many more club swimmers they have."

CdM's Brynne Wong won the 100 fly in 1:00.92, and Barden won the 100 free in 54.04. The Sea Kings' medley relay team of Naruse, Saunders, Wong and Barden also touched first in 1:55.38.

On the boys' side, Newport Harbor posted a job opening for the vacant boys' water polo and boys' swimming coaching position Thursday. Interim coach Clay Jorth, himself a former Sailors standout, said he was undecided if he would apply for the job.

Jorth was named the interim swim coach after the firing of Jason Lynch on April 8. His Sailors were clearly overmatched by Corona del Mar, which staked its case for Orange County's top team after beating Capistrano Valley in a tri-meet Tuesday.

CdM Coach Barry O'Dea said his swimmers didn't compete in their usual events. The wins still piled up for CdM. Ari Marks won the 50 free (a personal-best and CIF automatic 21.61) and the 100 back (55.62). John Kim won the 100 fly (52.17) and the 100 breast (1:01.95).

Jared Namba, who broke his own school record in the 100 back (51.72) during Tuesday's meet, was another double-event winner Thursday for CdM. He took the 200 IM in 1:59.93 and the 100 free in 48.46 for the Sea Kings, who also won all three relays.

"The boys are doing really well," O'Dea said. "If I'm able to swim off-events and still get the kind of results we got today, we're doing OK … Tuesday was very intense. They got some mental break today, but at the same time it was Battle of the Bay and they competed very hard."