Murrieta Mesa boys capture Division 2 title
MISSION VIEJO » The Murrieta Mesa boys swimming team opened the season with a dual meet against Roosevelt. The Rams came up short that afternoon, but that also was the moment a strategy started unfold.
Murrieta Mesa was expected to compete for the CIF-SS Division 2 championship this season, a year after sharing the runner-up spot. With Roosevelt emerging as a new contender this season, Murrieta Mesa coach Jenn Beech started to look at the different ways to approach the Division 2 championship meet this season.
Beech talked things over with her top swimmers, and they agreed on an unusual plan. Most of the elite swimmers swim in two individual events and two relays at the finals. Murrieta Mesa elected to take the alternate route and have Justin Schneider, Ty Schneider and Eryk Elizondo swim just one individual event and all three relays.
“I really believed our best chance to win the championship was to take all three of the relays,” Beech said. “We talked things over throughout the season and did some research looking at some of the other individuals and teams in our division. They agreed it was the best way, and they believe the team win is most important.”
And the strategy paid off for the Rams, as they prevailed in all three of the Division 2 relays Friday. Those victories were worth 120 points and Murrieta Mesa finished atop the boys standings at meet’s end.
Murrieta Mesa closed the meet with 175 points. Roosevelt finished tied for second with Sonora (139 points).
Murrieta Mesa got off to a strong start, as the Schneider brothers and Elizondo teamed up with Maximus Dillon to win the 200-yard medley relay in a school-record time of 1:32.38.
That quartet had more fireworks later on in the meet, as they set a new Division 2 meet record by winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:24.32, 0.11 seconds faster than the mark set by Los Osos in 2014. All four swimmers swam legs of 21.53 seconds or quicker, while Justin Schneider delivered a spectacular anchor split of 20.06.
And Murrieta Mesa made it 3 for 3 in the relays, when the Schneiders, Elizondo and Alexander Yang prevailed in the 400 freestyle with a time of 3:07.77. That victory clinched the program’s first section title.
Justin Schneider and Roosevelt’s Izaiah Trevino-Lozano had a spectacular showdown in the 100 freestyle. Trevino-Lozano had about a tenth-of-a-second lead at the halfway point and still led when he made the final turn. Schneider surged ahead and prevailed in a time of 45.19, .04 seconds ahead of Trevino-Lozano.
Ty Schneider and Elizondo held up their ends in the individual events they swam. Schneider finished fifth in the 200 IM (1:52.31). Elizondo placed eighth in the 50 freestyle (21.55). Yang swam in a pair of individual events and picked up 10 valuable points, finishing 13th in the 100 breaststroke and 11th in the individual medley.
Trevino-Lozano also finished second in the 200 freestyle (1:38.63) and finished up with 34 individual points. Michael DiBello finished second in the 100 backstroke (50.20) and seventh in the individual medley (1:53.18). Roosevelt’s three relay teams were sixth (medley), 11th (200 freestyle) and second (400 freestyle).
The Ayala girls team finished with 167 points to bring home the runner-up plaque in Division 2 this season.
The Bulldogs were led by a strong quartet of their own: Victoria Villareal, Charli Sunahara, Emily Wooden and Riley Ogilvie. Villareal placed fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:54.01) and fifth in the 100 backstroke (57.83). Sunahara placed fifth in the girls 100 butterfly (56.48) and also was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.68). Wooden placed seventh in the 100 butterfly (57.13), and Ogilvie was eighth in the 500 freestyle (5:09.76).
That quartet closed things in style, winning the 400 freestyle relay (3:32.27) to secure the runner-up plaque.
“The COVID year was pretty tough on everyone, so we were motivated this year,” Villareal said. “It all came down to the fact that we wanted this, and we went out there and did everything that we needed to do to win.”
Villareal, Sunahara and Wooden teamed with Sophia Pearson to finish third in the medley relay (1:47.22).
King’s Angelica Benitez had a strong all-around meet. She dropped nearly seven seconds off her prelims time and finished second in the Division 2 IM in 2:02.91.
Benitez added another second-place medal in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.22). She also teamed up with Jamie Cechini, Hedy Bian and Emily Ausmus for a fourthplace finish in the medley relay. Benitez teamed with Cechini, Ausmus and Vivianna Perez to finish third in the 400 freestyle relay (3:35.44).
King finished third in the Division 2 girls standings with 148.5 points.
Beaumont’s Cheyanne Summers placed second in the girls 100 backstroke (57.09) and fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:05.09).
Vista Murrieta’s Leilani Abalos finished fifth in the girls IM (2:07.57).
Wyatt Miner of Redlands finished second in the boys 500 freestyle (4:31.79) and third in the individual medley (1:50.33). Miner also teamed with Ethan De Vera, Fletcher Dementyev and Kevin Mora for a fourthplace finish in the medley relay (1:35.49).
Santiago’s Ryder Amancio finished fourth in the boys 50 freestyle (21.05).
Riverside Poly’s Kennedy McPhail was sixth in the girls 100 freestyle (52.44) and seventh in the 100 backstroke (58.34), and teammate Aleena Herrera was sixth in the 500 freestyle (5:06.33).
At the Division 1 meet, Diamond Bar’s Kai-Min Tsuei was second in the girls 100 backstroke (54.14) and seventh in the girls 50 freestyle (23.65). Teammate Kate Li was seventh in 100 freestyle (51.81).
Santiago’s Brinley Knoll finished fifth in the girls 100 breaststroke in 1:04.90.