Silver

BEIJING — A world-record swim stopped Aaron Peirsol in his bid to become the second man to sweep the backstroke events at consecutive Olympic Games on Friday morning in China. Peirsol, the former Newport Harbor High star, was forced to settle for the silver medal, as he finished second in the 200-meter backstroke behind fellow American Ryan Lochte, who touched the wall in 1 minute, 53.94 seconds and lowered the world record he had shared with the runner-up. Peirsol finished in 1:54.

Newport Harbor High graduate Aaron Peirsol captured his second medal at the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain on Wednesday, picking up a silver medal with a second-place finish as part of the 800-meter freestyle relay team. Peirsol, who won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke Tuesday, swam the third leg of the relay for the U.S. Though his time was the slowest among the four American swimmers, the U.S. held the lead through the first three legs of the race.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Aaron Peirsol, the reigning world-record holder in the 200-meter backstroke, grabbed the silver medal in the 100 back after his 51.71 clocking Thursday in the FINA Short Course World Championships in Moscow. Peirsol won the preliminary heat, clocking a 51.98, and took third in the semifinals after a 52.36 swim. Matt Welsh won the gold medal in the 100 back touching the wall in 51.26. Peirsol will compete in the 200 back Sunday. A story in Tuesday's edition was in error, stating he had finished third.

COLUMBIA, Miss. — The Orange County Water Polo Club’s 14-and-under team, including five Newport Beach residents, finished second at USA Water Polo’s 14th annual Speedo Cup national championship that concluded Nov. 11 at the University of Missouri. Newport Beach residents Charlie Howarth, Daniel Stevens, John Walters, James Walters and Ben Zepfel are all members of OCWPC’s under-14 boys’ team. OCWPC, representing the Southern Pacific Zone, advanced to the championship game of the Speedo Cup, the premier water polo tournament in the country for boys and girls 14 and under.

Courtney Conlogue, a Sage Hill School junior, captured a silver medal in the girls’ under-18 division at the International Surfing Assn. World Junior Championships in Salinas, Ecuador Sunday. Her second-place finish helped the U.S. junior national traveling surf team take fourth place for the second straight year. Newport Harbor junior Kaleigh Gilchrist and senior classmate Chase Wilson were also a part of the team. Colin Moran, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at TeWinkle Intermediate, was an alternate on the squad.

Jeff Powers offered it up as politely as his handshake Thursday afternoon at UC Irvine. Still shiny and new, the silver medal Powers and three former UCI products won in the Beijing Olympic Games as members of the United States men’s water polo team felt, when the latest of a string of interviewers held it, as substantial as the accomplishment itself. Powers, 28, a three-time first-team All-American at UCI from 2000 to 2002 and the Anteaters’ leading scorer in 1999 and 2000, was back at his alma mater to bask in his newfound and, some might say, surprising Olympic glory.

COSTA MESA - It was hard to find a weakness watching the College Park Elementary boys' third- and fourth-grade silver division team Saturday at the Daily Pilot Cup. College Park's opponent, Paularino, probably felt the same way. Eight different players scored for the Cougars, who earned a 9-1 triumph in the quarterfinal match at Jack Hammett Sports Complex. And that balance was exactly what College Park Coach Hernan Bottazzi liked to see. "We're not a one-star team," Bottazzi said.

Richard Dunn The void created by the U.S. Olympic boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games still lives for the men's eight-man sweeps of the U.S. rowing team that year. The same crew, which includes stroke Bruce Ibbetson, gets together every autumn for the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston as an annual reunion. "It truly is [a bond with the other crew members]," said Ibbetson, a Newport Heights resident. "It's a great group of guys. And no one can cut you. You're already in the history books.

COSTA MESA — Orange Coast College students talked their way into 27 gold, silver and bronze medals last week at a national speech competition. OCC's Speech, Debate and Theater Team competed in the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament against about 600 students from more than 75 community colleges April 12 to 16 in Greenwich, Conn. In addition to the 27 medals students took home, the team walked away with a gold medal in the debate sweepstakes category and silver medals in individual events sweepstakes and overall team sweepstakes categories.

Danette Goulet NEWPORT BEACH - While 17-year-old Aaron Peirsol swam his way to an Olympic silver medal Thursday, the world and his fellow classmates at Newport Harbor High School watched intensely. "It was really cool," said Peter Belden, who has known Aaron since they were in Junior Lifeguards together. "At first I thought he was the second in the United States -- I had no idea he was a medal contender." This may seem a surprising revelation for one of his close friends, but according to Peter's sister, Katherine -- another great friend of Aaron's -- Aaron did not talk about his swimming much with his high school friends.

They can say that they were part of the longest NCAA women's water polo championship game in history. More importantly for Newport Harbor High graduates Kaleigh Gilchrist and Nicolina McCall, as well as Newport Beach native Chelsea Silvers (Mater Dei), they can say they're national champions. USC freshman Anni Espar scored from long distance in the third sudden-death overtime period, lifting the Trojans to a 10-9 victory over Stanford in the NCAA title match Sunday at Harvard University.

The Corona del Mar Silver All-Stars won the AYSO boys' 10-and-under division and completed their season with a 3-1 victory over South Irvine on Feb. 9. South Irvine started strongly the first quarter, dominating play and keeping the ball in front of the CdM goal, but CdM defended well and both teams were scoreless going into the second quarter, when CdM's Ian Schoenbaum scored the first goal of the game. Just before the halftime whistle, South Irvine conceded a penalty, which Iain Kennedy converted to a goal with a well-placed penalty kick to extend CdM's lead.

Newport Harbor High senior Andrew Silvers has committed to play water polo at USC, he confirmed Saturday night. Silvers is an emerging center for the Sailors. He is second on Newport Harbor with six goals, including three in Saturday's 9-8 victory over Coronado. Last year, he was a second-team All-Sunset League selection after helping Newport Harbor win league and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. "I like the school and I know it's a good program," Silvers said of his reasons for choosing the Trojans.

It was a block party with a very special silver lining. An Olympic silver medal lining to be exact. On Monday evening, on a quiet cul de sac in Costa Mesa, neighbors, friends, admirers and fans of 2012 Olympic silver medalists April Ross-Keenan and Jen Kessy along with their coach Jeff Conover came together to celebrate victory, taking over the massive rear yard of hosts Gary and Sherry Rorden's home in good, old-fashioned, neighborhood...

I enjoy classic cinema, particularly Hollywood and British fare of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. The other night my wife, Hedy, and I settled down on the couch to watch the 1946 film "Gilda," starring one of the most iconic people of the silver screen: Rita Hayworth. Miss Hayworth has to rank as one of the most elegant and beautiful ladies ever to walk the face of the planet. Oh yeah, actor Glenn Ford and some other notables were also in the film. As the opening credits dissolved into the movie's first scene, Hedy turned to me. "Do you realize that every person in this film is dead?"

Like most Americans, Dan Glenn had a rooting interest on both sides of the net Wednesday. The Newport Harbor High girls' volleyball coach entering his 27th season said watching the live afternoon feed of the women's beach volleyball gold-medal match from the Olympics in London, in which former Sailors Misty May-Treanor and April Ross and their respective partners did battle, was a win-win situation. "[Tuesday's semifinals] was the big day," Glenn said of May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings defeating the No. 2-seeded Chinese duo, while Ross and Jennifer Kessy rallied to beat the top-seeded Brazilian tandem to set up the All-American final.

Rafer Johnson delivered a simple, yet powerful message Saturday morning in Newport Coast. He made a statement that could be applied to athletics as well as any other situation in life. "Be the best you can be," the former Olympic gold and silver medalist said to a small group at the home of Tim and Jennifer Buckley. Johnson, along with 1972 basketball Olympian Ed Ratleff, were there to represent and support a new charity organization called 3B Athletica, which raises money and assistance for Olympic athletes.

How do you improve on what is, arguably, the greatest of all musicals? In the case of "Les Miserables," now in residence at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the process is not so much improvement as enhancement. This touring 25th anniversary production of the landmark epic may challenge familiar assumptions (the circular, rotating stage is gone, for instance), but the additions — particularly the gigantic rear-screen projections that add cinematic depth — bring an overwhelming sense of immediacy to a show marked by some magnificent voices and visceral presentation.

COSTA MESA - The last time St. John the Baptist Catholic School won a Daily Pilot Cup title - in any division, grade level or gender - today's St. John's fifth- and sixth-grade girls team was either in kindergarten or preschool. But the girls came of age Sunday, in the silver division championship of the Daily Pilot Cup, beating Mariners Christian, 5-1, at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex. The Irish dominated the field, outscoring five opponents, 19-1. "We've been going after it for four years now," St. John head coach Chris Ware said.

COSTA MESA - The College Park Elementary boys' third- and fourth-grade silver division team came out scoring with ease from the start of the whistle. A hat trick from forward John Paul Bottazzi helped College Park defeat Mariners Christian, 8-0, in the championship game at the Daily Pilot Cup Sunday afternoon at Jack Hammett Sports Complex. "Once I knew I had two goals I wanted another one and when I got it I was happy," Bottazzi said of his hat trick. The Cougars came out aggressive, and it showed.