Senior Connor Budka, representing Northwood's Varsity Boys en route to second place in the 100 Breast (1:00.58) helping to fuel a tri-meet victory sweep.  Photos courtesy of Mitch Mallough.

March Madness appears to be upon us as the Northwood Timberwolves rolls into its own version.  In its last tri-meet competition there isn't any denying that the Timberwolves have only grown stronger since the beginning of preseason.  Northwood yielded solid victories against the Mission Viejo Diablos and San Clemente Tritons at the Northwood Aquatic Center on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.  

The T-Wolves brought their best times of the season out Tuesday, making a dominant presence known with stellar performances across both genders and divisions.  Northwood's boys squad stayed perfect taking down Mission Viejo,114-56, while also defeating San Clemente 105-65.  The boys overall entries swept first place in 3 of 8 events, while taking title wins in all three relays.

The Lady T-Wolves had an impressive showing overall as well topping 5 of 8 events for first place wins against Mission Viejo by a 111-59 score, while registering a win 92-78 with San Clemente.

“We're in a really good place right now, but we still have a way to go," said Head Coach Alex Nieto.  "I was able to identify the few things we really need to work on with the team, so we can do even better next time."

With their preseason competition of the year now in hindsight, the Timberwolves can turn their attention against arch rival University High School that will bring a start to their regular season.  That league showdown kicks off Wednesday, March 13th at the University High School Aquatic Center, and once that's in the books, the team can set its sights across six weeks of fierce regular season competition in the Pacific Coast League.  Breathe deep, T-Wolves, and keep rolling on!

200 FREE

Northwood's Open Girls Mia Tomovic Savinoc left nothing to chance, surging to first in the field with a 2:26.82 on a personal best.  Caitlin Novak clocked in for third (2:37.45), while San Clemente's Sydney Gehret finished second (2:32.95).  Open Boys saw Kendrick Pham powered in a top time in 2:06.59.  San Clemente's Ian McKernan touched for second in 2:09.50, while teammate Quinn Mantecon rounded third (2:14.56).  JV Girls freshman Ainsley Zapata managed to touch for third in 2:21.25.  San Clemente's Savannah Batchelor (2:16.04) and Kathleen Morrison (2:20.56 went 1-2.  JV Boys Kevin Hong turned at the first 100 in 57.12 seconds eventually winning the event with 1:57.77.  San Clemente's Finnegan Gallagher touched second in 2:00.51, while teammate Brendon Wisharf rounded third (2:02.53).  Varsity Lady T-Wolves Malak Hassouna was first out of the gates with a win in the 200 Free turning in a 2:04.50.  Carolyn Nguyen pulled in behind for second (2:04.68), and San Clemente's Alexandria Higginson registered third (2:04.78).  The Northwood Varsity Boys added a double win of excitement in the 200 Free with Felix Zhu off the block guns-hot taking victory in 1:46.56.  Colman Sun also contributed in scoring points by virtue of a second (1:49.13), while San Clemente's Hayden Kahn too third in 1:54.40.

100 IM

Northwood teammates Brynna Hsia (1:15.11), Shin Park (1:22.07), and Lilly Zhao didn't disappoint as they produced a triple win for the Open Girls.  Junior Austin Kenyon came through for the Open Boys to take the top time overall in 1:04.89.  San Clemente's Kael Tabor touched second in 1:06.20, while closing hard behind was Orlando Olague (1:07.43) for third.  

200 IM

JV Girls Lauren Nguyen pulled off a 35.62 backstroke split that led her through the last 150 yards of the race as the fastest performer in 2:41.84  San Clemente's Molly Moe checked in for second with 2:43.17, while Sarah Hsu sits third in 2:43.62.  On the JV Boys side Rocky Gao turned to the backstroke leg with under waters that kept him under longer than the rest of the field clocking in a best time of 2:12.24. Danny Kim (2:13.55) and Leo Giessman (2:14.55) swam a tight race for the triple sweep.  Lady T-Wolf Corina Lee stretched to the touch in 2:16.55 for the third.  Mission Viejo's Hanna Erickson registered the fastest time in 2:14.72, while San Clemente's Stella Copeland took second in 2:16.17.  In the Varsity Boys Jeremy Mah was out at the 100 with fly/back over in 58.30, which kept him in control for second in 2:04.17.  Mission Viejo's Alan Hoang raced touching first in 2:01.21, while Emiliano Olague rounded third in 2:04.21.

50 Free

Northwood Open Girls Daniella Ela took second in 32.14.  Mission Viejo's Heidi Franzini stopped the watch for the top time in 30.87, while teammate Ana Marin closed third (33.03).  The Open Boys put two in the top three with Aaron Kim (25.94) taking first, with Charles Shobe blazing second (26.44).  San Clemente's Corbin Ashe picked up third in 27.29.  JV Girls Kaitlyn Kong led the charge earning a top spot in the 50 Free with 28.53.  Mission Viejo's Emily Hendries stayed close (28.90, while junior Ariel Lee added third in 29.85.  Sophomore Ben Chen highlighted the JV Boys charting a time of 24.43 for third.  San Clemente's Caden Kim took the event in 23.82, while teammate Alex Groth closed out second in 24.05.  In the Varsity Girls 50 Free, Olivia Chen showed her sprint talent accomplishing a second in 25.75.  San Clemente's Katie Faris won the event in 24.88, while Mission Viejo's Brianna Daniel pulled in the second (25.95).  

50 Fly

Open Girls Brynna Hsia registered the fastest time for the Timerwolves with a 33.58.  Shin Park claimed second in 35.14, while Mission Viejo's Morgan Garcia was right behind for third with a 35.70.  Open Boys freshman Jacob Crossman (27.79) provided the win in 27.79.  San Clemente's Kael Tabor grabbed the second spot in 30.29, while Nathaniel Irwan rolled in for third (31.33).

100 Fly

Ainsley Zapata raced to a quick finish touching the wall with 1:10.04 for the JV Girls win.  San Clemente's Gillian Thompson tracked behind closing second in 1:14.03, and teammate Sydney Belden (1:16.79) prevailed with a third.  On the JV Boys side, Gautam Chaudhry clocked in for second (1:02.55). Finnegan Gallagher was in for first in 1:00.48, and Devin Norden rounded third (1:02.65) for San Clemente.   Teammates Carolyn Nguyen (1:01.57), Fiona Fan (1:05.08), and Helena Zhou (1:05.30) produced a great show of depth pushing one another for a Varsity Girls triple win.  The Varsity Boys got some butterfly points from junior Youssef Elseifi clinching first in 54.07.  San Clemente's Luke Christi finished second (56.21) , while his teammate Christian Hosea put in third (57.29).

100 Free

Open Girls Sophia Smith (1:08.14), Mia Tomovic Savinov (1:09.03), and Kylie Kenyon (1:10.28) worked their way to holding a triple win.  In the JV Boy's Oliver Allen (55:38) and Niko Honda (57.98) went 1-2.  San Clemente's Ian McKernan rounded third in 59.19.  Long-axis strokes and strong flutter kicks provided Lauren Kim in taking third (58.51).  San Clemente's Katie Faris (54.84), and teammate Aidan Flynn (57.32) for the 1-2.  Sophomore Colman Sun took the event for the Northwood Varsity Boys registering a 49.52.  Christopher Pukszta lead the way for second place with 50.32.  San Clemente's Everett Prussak rounded third (51.32). 

500 Free

In the JV Girls 500 Free, Charlotte Waddell (6:15.22) showed her distance talent touching in for second.  San Clemente's Kathleen Morrison locked down the top time in 6:15.22, while teammate Bree Kennedy rounded third (6:27.94).  Teammates Kevin Hong (5:16.55), Daivik Patel (5:32.51), and Grant Lai (5:39.23) gave another reason for the home crowd to celebrate with a triple win for the Northwood JV Boys.  Senior Amanda Hsieh finished nearly a full pool length ahead of the field in the 500 free with no one but the clock to pace her with 5:10.89, ahead of San Clemente's Stella Copeland (5:17.59).  Third place went to Mission Viejo's Hanna Erickson who checked in a 5:20.32.  Northwood sophomore Zachary Waddell moved into the top 3 for second with a 4:52.54, while Mission Viejo's Ryan Goh put in the fastest time (4:42.61).  Freshman Nolan Chomin was right behind for third with a 4:55.26.

50 Back

Lilly Zhao improved her personal best by .26 hundreds with her individual win in the Open Girls who swam 37.48.  San Clemente's Sydney Gehret pulled in for second (37.90), while Mission Viejo's Isabella Tener rounded third (38.33).  Northwood Open Boys went 21-2 in the 50 Back when Oliver Allen and Charles Yang touched in 29.64 and 30.69.  San Clemente's Cooper Flynn snagged third in 35.32.

100 Back

JV Girls put in a third place with Jasroop Miglani (1:18.00).  San Clemente's Molly Moe clocked a 1:15.44 to win the event while teammate Rory Chambers took second in 1:17.43.  Teammates Rocky Gao (1:02.04), Daivik Patel (1:03.46), and Justin Chung (1:04.09) showed top end backstroke speed blowing out the JV Boys 100 Back.  The Varsity Girls had stronghold on the 100 Back with Avery Liu holding pace throughout the race and winning in 1:05.23.  San Clemente's Grace Pelky (1:04.32) and Mission Viejo's Brianna Daniel (1:06.00) took 2-3, respectively.  Timberwolves senior David Xue was dialed in with a first place for the Varsity Boys finishing the event in 56.18.  Teammates Nolan Chomin (57.52) and Nick Huynh (1:00.06) recorded third in the remainder of the triple sweep.  

50 Breast

In the Open Girls Kylie Kenyon took a victory by winning the 50 Breast (38.81).  San Clemente's Taylor Lemons followed recording second in 42.30, while Anita Lamai picked up third in 42.81.  Open Boys Orlando Olague touched the wall for first in 3.  Xuchao Li saw his top-3 placement of the day with a second in 35.02.  San Clemente's Owen O'Neil produced a third in 35.18.  

100 Breast

And in the final individual event Northwood JV Girls put in a victory with Lauren Nguyen (1:20.33)  for the 100 Breast.  Tara Esfahani (1:24.10) landed a solid second, while San Clemente's Ashley Lord (1:24.84) rounded third.  The afternoon saw a 1-2 from the JV Boys in the 100 Breast that included Eric Zhu (1:05.63), and Grant Lai (1:10.22).  Caden Kim marked a third (1:11.22) for San Clemente.  Varsity freshman Corina Lee swam a fast 100 breaststroke turning in a top time of 1:10.01.  San Clemente's Daisy Frauenzimmer surfaced for second in 1:15.77, while teammate Kendall Patrick placed third with 1:17.79.  Another nice swim from the Varsity Boys getting a 1:00.58 breaststroke from Connor Budka  touching in second.  Mission Viejo's Matthew Sorenson took first (59.97), while San Clemente's James Gamette ended third with a 1:00.94.  

Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley -  1st place  2:18.74  Lilly Zhao (36.53), Brynna Hsia (37.09), Caitlin Novak (34.09), Daniella Ela (31.03)
                                      -  3rd place  2:36.55  Jana Hammoud (43.53), Anita Lamai (42.69), Shin Park (33.89), Mya Deguzman (36.44)
Open Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:57.07  Oliver Allen (29.44), Orlando Olague (33.56), Jacob Crossman (28.10), Aaron Kim (25.97                                               -  2nd place  2:03.00  Charles Yang (31.58), Xuchao Li (34.09), Nathaniel Irwan (31.38), Jake Compton (25.95)
                                      -  3rd place  2:03.52  Andrew Harper (32.71), Bob Li (28.95), Mengshu Zhang (32.34), Curtis Sung (29.52)
JV Girls 200 Medley -  1st place  2:11.04  Charlotte Waddell (34.71), Lauren Nguyen (36.27), Ainsley Zapata (31.19), Kaitlyn Kong (28.87)                                         -  3rd place  2:17.94  Jasroop Miglani (36.15), Tara Esfahani (37.46), Kacy Kesler (34.26), Grace Schweizer (30.07)
JV Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:51.47 Max Abravanel (26.47), Leo Giessman (32.92), Jack Liu (27.03), Adrian Fontao (23.05)
                                  -  2nd place  1:52.25  Danny Kim (28.89), Eric Zhu (30.22), Gautam Chaudhry (27.59), Ben Chen (25.55)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley  -  1st place  1:54.71  Avery Liu (29.98), Corina Lee (32.73), Carolyn Nguyen (27.50), Amanda Hsieh (24.50) 
Varsity Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:40.21  Nick Huynh (27.19), Conner Budka (27.44), Felix Zhu (24.10), David Xue (21.48)
                                        -  3rd place  1:43.75  Youssef Elseifi (26.71), Emiliano Olague (28.84), Enoch Lai (25.24), Jeremy Mah (22.96)
Open Girls 200 Free -  1st place  2:04.41  Sophia Smith (32.29), Brynna Hsia (30.11), Lilly Zhao (31.93), Mia Tomovic Savinov (30.08)
Open Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:48.28  Austin Kenyon (25.17), Aaron Kim (25.81), Niko Honda (25.66), Jacob Crossman (24.64)
                                  -  2nd place  1:46.09  Kendrick Pham (27.18), Charles Shobe (26.08), Jake Compton (26.59), Orlando Olague (26.24)
                                  -  3rd place  1:49.46  Nathaniel Irwan (26.70), Andrew Harper (27.55), Nolan Kim (27.41), Neil Chaudhry (27.80)
JV Girls 200 Free -  1st place  1:57.54  Grace Schweizer (30.85), Ariel Lee (29.71), Joyce Kim (29.31), Kaitlyn Kong (27.67)
                             -  3rd place  2:01.08  Sarah Hsu (29.21), Molly Mcllrath (31.82), Whitney Maynard (30.35), Tara Esfahani (29.70)
JV Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:38.03  Spencer Sellwood (26.09), Adrian Fontao (23.84), Ben Chen (24.19), Max Abravanel (23.91)
Varsity Girls 200 Free -  1st place  1:44.54  Amanda Hsieh (24.94), Fiona Fan (26.76), Lauren Kim (26.40), Malak Hassouna (26.44)
Varsity Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:31.80  Enoch Lai (23.29), Christopher Pukszta (23.49), David Xue (22.24), Felix Zhu (22.78)
                                    -  3rd place  1:35.81  Youssef Elseifi (23.17), Henry Chen (23.65), Thomas Kim (24.84), Zachary Waddell (24.15)
Open Girls 400 Free -  1st place  4:45.00  Sophia Smith (1:11.93), Mia Tomovic Savinov (1:08.81), Kylie Kenyon (1:11.75), Daniella Ela (1:12.51) 
Open Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:41.21  Oliver Allen (56.17), Jacob Crossman (56.35), Niko Honda (56.48), Austin Kenyon (54.21) 
                                  -  3rd place  4:13.92  Kendrick Pham (58.38), Bob Li (1:01.14), Charles Yang (59.43), Charles Shobe (1:14.97) 
JV Girls 400 Free -  2nd place  4:23.47  Ainsley Zapata (1:05.85), Kacy Kesler (1:06.38), Emilie Harper (1:05.50), Molly Mcllrath (1:05.74)
JV Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:36.58  Sean Doan (53.77), Justin Chung (53.38), Spencer Sellwood (56.34), Max Abravanel (53.09) 
                             -  3rd place  3:41.66  Danny Kim (56.41), Leo Giessman (55.84), Kevin Hong (n/a), Rocky Gao (n/a)
Varsity Girls 400 Free -  1st place  3:49.49  Amanda Hsieh (53.25), Lauren Kim (58.74), Malak Hassouna (59.26), Carolyn Nguyen (58.24)
Varsity Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:18.84  Colman Sun (50.16), Christopher Pukszta (50.68), David Xue (48.84), Felix Zhu (49.16)