Facing off against Fountain Valley and L.B. Wilson High Schools, the Timberwolves were a motivated force displaying a deep roster across all divisions at Tuesday's Triangular.  Photo courtesy of Mitch Mallough.

The Ides of March are upon us, which means you can feel the magic of Madness at work again for the Northwood Timberwolves swim team.  Thus far in the non-league season, Northwood has been firing on all cylinders, with every swimmer elevating competition and creating even greater excitement.  Northwood came into Tuesday's meet determined to continue their dominance, and "Defend the Den" on March 3, 2020 at the Northwood High School Aquatic Center.

Northwood's boys squad stayed perfect taking down Fountain Valley, 126-43, while also defeating Long Beach Wilson 111-59.  The boys overall entries swept first place in 4 individual events, while taking title wins in all three relays.

The Lady T-Wolves brought the speed and came away defeating the Lady Bruins by a score of 86.00-84.00, while conceding to the Lady Barons in a tightly contested dual by 2-points 84.50-86.50.  Northwood's girls individual entries placed in the Top-3 11 of 11 events.  Although the final score against Fountain Valley was close, it does reflect the maturing depth, speed, talent, and strength that Northwood's girls have been building on so far over the course of preseason.

Northwood's preseason competition is traditionally an important benchmark opportunity to gauge other strong swimmer's status with their training, response to off-events, and how they compete together as a group has always been a confidence booster moving forward.

“Our preseason is just focusing on the details and getting everyone excited to get up and race and be ready to go.  It's more of the detail work.  High intensity and coming together as a team," said Head Coach Alex Nieto.  "It's great to come out here at Northwood and have all the families support us, it's so important."

The Timberwolves will be preparing for a fiercely contested Capo Valley Relay meet - Thurs., Mar. 5th - 7th, 2020.  Northwood's chemistry and cohesion will be put to the test, as they showdown with twenty four Orange County private and public high schools at the Capistrano Valley HS Pool.

200 FREE

Freshman Ella-Blue Wilmot leveraged a quick front half to earn a respectable third for the Open Girls 200 Free (2:28.71).  Ashlyn Corbo took the win for Fountain Valley in 2:26.71, followed by L.B. Wilson's Shannon Duggan (2:27.76).  The talent pool in Northwood's Open Boys is depp, and it showed with Yuze Li (2:07.54) for second, and teammate Oliver Zeng in third (2:08.73).   For the JV Boys sophomore Kevin Hong sealed a first place with 1:51.60, while Anthony Foo stacked second (1:55.13).  L.B. Wilson's Cameron Torres rounded third (1:57.53).  Carolyn Nguyen picked up 2nd place for Northwood's Varsity Girls with her time of 2:01.56.  L.B. Wilson's Lilly Simmons posted the fastest time in the division at 2:00.99, while Fountain Valley's Jovanna Hester closed out third in 2:03.88.  Varsity Boys Felix Zhu sealed the win dominating 1:45.61, over teammate Colman Sun 1:48.56 staking Northwood with a 1-2 placing.  L.B. Wilson's Mazen Abouelela rounded third in 1:50.46.

100 IM

Northwood Open Girls Sophia Smith locked down the first place victory in 1:17.51, while Sima Yildiz touched for second in 1:19.63.  Fountain Valley's My Tien Phan in for third 1:19.68.  Northwood JV Boys Michael Li and Orlando Olague sent 203 going 1:03.82 to 1:04.15.  L.B. Wilson's Alexander Montoya won the event in 1:03.83.

200 IM

JV Boys junior Henry Chen led the charge earning a top spot in the 200 IM with 2:05.52, while Yagiz Guner finished second in 2:12.80.  L.B. Wilson's Cooper Zuanich rounded third in 2:12.86.  Varsity Girls Kim Huynh got out to an early lead and continued to build, so that she was virtually alone over the second half of the race winning in 2:17.58.  Freshman Taylor Inouye marked second in 2:18.78, while Fountain Valley's Emme Nguyen touched in for third at 2:20.82.  Varsity Boys Christopher Leung touched the first wall out in 24.34, with Fountain Valley's Ivan Nghi, and Jeremy Mah third.  With the breaststroke leg to sort the field, Leung still held onto first coming into the final wall at 1:55.05 over Nghi (1:57.33) and Mah (2:05.01).

50 Free

Freshman Yuna Cook powered in a 30.68 for second in the Open Girls 50 Free.  L.B. Wilson's Shannon Duggan delivered the top time in 30.53, while teammate Amara Weinstein rounded third (32.06).  Timberwolves Jake Compton (25.40) and Brandon Cho (26.11) went 2-3 in showing their top-end sprint talent scoring for the Open Boys.  JV Girls Kaitlyn Kong tracked down second with a 28.07, while teammate Marley King touched the wall out in third (28.44). Fountain Valley's Rylie Fox took the top time in 27.14.  The JV Boys put in a second for Northwood with Aaron Kim touching in a 24.94.  L.B. Wilson's Nicholas Kefalas posted second (24.86), while Fountain Valley's Alexander Smilor round third (25.13).  Varsity Girls senior Malak Hassouna surged for third place in 26.23, while Fountain Valley's Phoebe Munholland post first place in 25.44.  L.B. Wilson's Delainey Whelan recorded second (26.00).  Enoch Lai showed his sprint talent for the Varsity boys charting a time of 22.64 for third.  L.B. Wilson's Hank Rivers pulled in the fastest time with 22.85, while teammate Gray Carson locked down second (22.61). 

50 Fly

The Open Girls once again put in a first for Northwood with Ella-Blue Wilmot touching in a 33.09.  Caitlin Novak rolled in for second 33.51, while Fountain Valley's Kaitlyn Pham rounding third in 33.76.  Open freshman Michael Li took second going 28.51 in the 50 fly for a personal best.  L.B. Wilson's Ryan Sullivan claimed first in 27.98, while L.B. Wilson's Monty Sasnauskas put in a third for 29.33.

100 Fly

In the JV Girls competition, Ainsley Zapata is second for Northwood going 1:11.31, while teammate Daniella Ela registered a strong third (1:12.45).  Fountain Valley's Kylie Wu led the field (1:09.56).  JV Boy's Ryan Xu (1:00.48) went for second over Fountain Valley's Alex Luong (1:00.79).  L.B. Wilson's Nathan Morisky clocked the top time in 59.70.  Varsity Girls Carolyn Nguyen put in a good race for the third spot touching in a 1:01.35.  Fountain Valley's Katelyn Dang won the event in 55.99.  The race in the Varsity Boys really came down to two swimmers, with Fountain Valley's Ivan Nghi (52.31) and David Xue (52.78) as they surged to the top two times of the evening.  L.B. Wilson's Brandon Samaniego held third in 53.19.

100 Free

Open girls Sophia Smith got to the wall fastest in the 100 Free in 1:07.41.  Just behind her for second was L.B. Wilson's Althea Wright (1:09.89), and senior Lauren Thorpe registering the third fastest time in 1:11.33.  Northwood's Evan Eich took a victory by winning the 100 Free in 56.92.  Just behind him for second was L.B. Wilson's Phillip Whicker (57.37), and freshman Oliver Child for third in this event (57.58).  Kaitlyn Kong checked in with a third place time for the JV Girls in 1:01.00.  Fountain Valley's Caitlyn Do took first in 59.12, while L.B. Wilson's Ava Ziroli rounded third in 1:00.03.  The JV boys went lights out showing real depth with two finishing in the top three in this race with Kevin Hong (50.56), Justin Chung (52.43), and L.B. Wilson's Kyle Gautchy in for third (54.25).  Lady T-Wolves Malak Hassouna was the quickest competitor in the Varsity Girls 100 Free this afternoon (56.05).  She was out in 27.10 at the 50, and held off a charging Sarah Hopkins from Fountain Valley (56.11).  Her teammate Phoebe Munholland rounded third in 56.62.  Timberwolves Felix Zhu took complete control of the 100 Free with a -.31 margin over the field touching the wall with a 47.97.  L.B. Wilson's Gray Carson pulled in second (48.28), while senior Christopher Pukszta registered third in 49.33.

500 Free

JV Girls Charlotte Waddell raced to a quick third finish touching the wall in a personal best time of 6:10.55.  L.B. Wilson's Samantha Hall charted the best time in 6:04.31, while Fountain Valley's Tyra Oberg touched second in 6:07.11.   Northwood's JV Boys won the 500 Free in a close battle from Benton Cheng who won in 5:14.10.  Andrew Chen concluded his individuals with a third place for the Timberwolves in 5:20.82, while L.B. Wilson's Dylan Wally ended second with 5:15.68.  Lady T-Wolves Kim Huynh (5:33.39) and Addison Candena (5:41.07) went 2-3 in showing their mid-distance talent scoring for the Varsity Girls.  L.B. Wilson's Lilly Simmons posted the win (5:28.63).  Junior Zachary Waddell is second for Northwood's Varsity Boys going a season best with a 4:50.59, while his teammate Nolan Chomin (5:00.45) for third.  L.B. Wilson's took the top position with 4:36.78.

50 Back

Open Girl's Henna Cook took a victory by winning the 50 Back (36.02), and her teammate Yuna Cook pulled in for third with 37.34.  The best swimmer was L.B. Wilson's Cameron Torres (30.97).  Northwood's Joshua Bonode got to the wall fastest in the 50 Back, and just .05 hundredths ahead of teammate Evan Eich (30.81) for second.  L.B. Wilson's Brady Simon rounded third in 31.08.

100 Back

Northwood's JV Boys swept the 100 Back with Yagiz Guner jumping out to an early lead and never relented at the 50 turn (28.08), then stretched out for the touch winning in 58.06.  Andrew Chen gunned for second touch in 1:01.64, while Kendrick Pham took third in 1:01.71.   Lady T-Wolf freshman Acile Jammoul battled throughout the Varsity Girls 100 Back finishing second in 1:04.36.  Jammoul edged out teammate Helena Zhou (1:04.44), while L.B. Wilson's Peyton Carranza won the event (1:04.11).  On the Varsity Boys side it was Youssef Elseifi producing a first place in 56.70.  Sophomore Danny Kim took second in 58.49, while L.B. Wilson's Mazen Abouelela rounded third (58.90).

50 Breast

In the Open Girls Kylie Kenyon won the event with a solid 38.86.  Junior Anita Lamai took the second position in 39.47, while Fountain Valley's My Tien Phan recorded third in 40.81.  Northwood senior Orlando Olague was dominant in the Open Boys, crushing the field in 34.18.  The battle for second went to Xuchao Li (32.29), while L.B. Wilson's Alexander Montoya sealed third in 33.61. 

100 Breast

Junior Britney Cao picked up 3rd place for Northwood's JV Girls with her time of 1:19.62.  Fountain Valley's Rylie Fox posted the fastest time in the division at 1:18.71, while her teammate Hailey Hoang followed second (1:19.32).  Timberwolves Henry Chen was able to close out the individual events for the JV Boys with a top time of 1:03.00.  Grant Lai snared second in 1:06.10, while L.B. Wilson's Braden Regala rounded third (1:07.57).  Freshman Taylor Inouye raced to a quick finish touching the wall with 1:09.90 for a Varsity Girls second place.  Fountain Valley's Katelyn Dang (1:08.90) and Emma Nguyen (1:10.88) went 1-3.  The Varsity Boys produced more second place accolades with freshman Christopher Leung stopping the clock in 58.86.  Hank Rivers dominated the event in 58.53 for L.B. Wilson, followed by Colman Sun recording a 1:01.70 for third.  

Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley -  1st place  2:19.81  Henna Cook (36.53), Kylie Kenyon (38.33), Caitlin Novak (34.92), Sophia Smith (30.03)
Open Boys 200 Medley -  2nd place  2:00.02  Andrew Harper (30.29), Xuchao Li (32.67), Mengshu Zhang (37.91), Yuze Li (n/a)
JV Girls 200 Medley -  2nd place  2:08.33  Emilie Harper (32.28), Valerie Wraith (35.81), Ainsley Zapata (31.23), Marley King (28.01)
                                  -  3rd place  2:11.27  Joyce Kim (34.21), Britney Cao (36.56),  Kacy Kesler (31.18), Ariel Lee (29.32)
JV Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:46.28  Yagiz Guner (27.63), Henry Chen (28.44), Gautam Chaudhry (26.84), Justin Chung (23.37)
                                  -  2nd place  1:49.21  Andrew Chen (29.34), Grant Lai (29.51),  Ryan Xu (26.38), Anthony Foo (23.98)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley -  2nd place  1:52.69  Sarah Hopkins (30.09), Emme Nguyen (31.96), Katelyn Dang (25.67), Phoebe Munholland (24.97)
Varsity Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:38.32  Jeremy Mah (26.04), Ben Liu (27.11), David Xue (23.40), Felix Zhu (21.77)
                                         -  2nd place  1:38.93  Youssef Elseifi (25.75), Colman Sun (28.69), Christopher Leung (22.36), Kenneth Duong (22.13)
Open Girls 200 Free -  2nd place  1:53.04  Kaitlyn Kong (27.78), Joyce Kim (27.96), Ainsley Zapata (29.42), Valerie Wraith (27.88)
Open Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:44.01  Evan Eich (26.39), Brando Cho (24.80), Oliver Zeng (26.34), Oliver Child (26.48)
                                  -  2nd place  1:49.30  Joshua Bonode (27.71) Aditya Rawat (27.32), Karim Yowkeem (28.65), Christian Thorpe (25.62)
JV Girls 200 Free -  2nd place  1:50.59  Kaitlyn Kong (27.78), Joyce Kim (27.96), Ainsley Zapata (29.42), Valerie Wraith (27.88)
JV Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:35.78  Justin Chung (24.17), Dylan Green (24.83), Oliver Allen (24.30), Henry Chen (22.48) 
                             -  2nd place  1:38.12  Ryan Xu (24.86), Kendrick Pham (24.75), Aaron Kim (24.62), Anthony Foo (23.89)
Varsity Girls 200 Free -  3rd place  1:47.89  Isa Munoz (27.58), Victoria Nguyen (26.90), Taylor Inouye (26.52), Malak Hassouna (26.89)
Varsity Boys 200 Free -  1st place  1:29.48  Youssef Elseifi (23.24), Christopher Pukszta (22.37), Enoch Lai (21.80), Kenneth Duong (22.07)
                                    -  3rd place  1:32.58  Christopher Leung (22.79), Ben Liu (22.88), Nicholas Miceli (23.18), Alec Overbaugh (23.73)
Open Girls 400 Free -  3rd place  4:47.21  Sma Yildiz(1:11.95), Ella-Blue Wilmot (1:12.17), Lauren Thorpe (1:14.63), Lilly Zhao (1:08.46) 
Open Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:50.50  Evan Eich (58.70), Jake Compton (57.73), Andrew Harper (57.70), Orlando Olaque (57.37) 
                                  -  2nd place  3:51.25  Michael Li (56.58), Oliver Zeng (1:00.24), Xuchao Li (57.79), Yuzi Li (56.64) 
JV Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:31.42  Yagiz Guner (53.66), Anthony Foo (52.64), Justin Chung (53.86), Kevin Hong (51.26)
                              -  3rd place  3:41.92  Benton Cheng (53.76), Andrew Chen (55.69), Dylan Green (57.05), Oliver Allen (55.42)
Varsity Girls 400 Free -  1st place  3:49.68  Carolyn Nguyen (56.39), Isa Munoz (1:00.34), Lauren Kim (56.69), Malak Hassouna (56.36)
Varsity Boys 400 Free -  1st place  3:14.39  Colman Sun (49.55), Christopher Pukszta (48.74), David Xue (47.62), Felix Zhu (48.48)
                                    -  3rd place  3:30.04  Enoch Lai (50.75), Nolan Chomin (52.75), Alec Overbaugh (53.23), Jeremy Mah (53.31)