Newport Hills wins SCSC finals crown

For the third year in a row, the Newport Hills Killer Whales captured the South Coast Swim Conference Championships, and put the additional asterisk on a season that included the fifth undefeated season in a row in league competition, as well as the third consecutive relays meet crown.

The SCSC held its finals July 30 at Corona del Mar High, with all six teams from the conference participating – the Greenbrook Gators and Green Valley Dolphins from Fountain Valley, the Lake Forest II Dolphins, the Pacific Sands Penguins from Huntington Beach and the Harbor View Dolphins and Newport Hills Killer Whales from Corona del Mar.

Killer Whale Head Coach Michelle Sperling reiterated that it takes great team depth to win a finals meet that includes six teams, and the numbers certainly support her point. Of the 24 relay events, the Killer Whales earned eight first-place wins and seven second-place finishes.

In the individual events, Newport Hills swimmers earned 20 individual first-place wins, 17 second-place finishes, 13 third-place swims and 13 fourth-place efforts.

In age-group division scores, the Killer Whales garnered the most points among the six teams in the under-6 girls, the under-6 boys, the 9-10 girls, the 9-10 boys and the 11-12 boys.

The 161 points earned by the 9-10 girls and the 151 points put up by the 9-10 boys, were both the highest point totals of any of the individual winning age groups.

Newport Hills had two swimmers that grabbed the first-place blue ribbon in three individual events.

In the 15-18 girls, Audrey Light won the 100-yard freestyle, the 50 breaststroke and the 100 individual medley, and in the 13-14 boys, Danny Robertson took first place in the 100 free, the 50 breaststroke and the 100 IM.

Two-time individual event winners for Newport Hills were Chloe Harbilas (50 free and 50 backstroke) in the 9-10 girls, Madeline Musselman (50 free and 50 butterfly) in the 11-12 girls and Speedy Laster (25 back and 50 free) in the 7-8 boys.

Individual event winners for the Killer Whales were Olivia Krotts (25 back) in the under-6 girls, Tommy Bethel (25 fly) in the 7-8 boys, Hana Cloherty (25 fly) in the 9-10 girls, Kaveh Moaddeli (50 free) and Connor McManigal (100 IM) in the 9-10 boys, Lauren Openshaw (50 breaststroke) in the 11-12 girls, Rourke Funke (50 breaststroke) in the 11-12 boys and Brianna Daboub (50 back) in the 13-14 girls.

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HVST takes home age-group trophies