Facing off against twenty-four Orange County area high schools, the Timberwolves were a motivated force displaying a deep roster across freshman/sophomore and varsity divisions at the Capo Valley Relay Invitational.  Photo courtesy of Swim Staff.

The Northwood High School swim team continued their efficient production at the Capo Valley Relay Invitational, which started Thursday and ended Saturday, March 7, 2020 at the Capo Valley HS Aquatic Center.  The venue comprised of twenty-four Orange County area high schools featuring a unique set of seven relays each of which alternated male and female competitors in 24 event performances.

During the venue Northwood faced a new level of competition highlighted with a meet record-breaking performance in the Varsity Boys 200 Breast Relay with a title best-time of 1:48.56 from the team of Colman Sun (26.42), Jeremy Mah (28.01), Christopher Leung (27.88),and anchor Benjamin Liu (26.25). 

It was also especially sweet for the Northwood FR/Soph Boys capturing an overall title win of their own in the 200 Breast Relay with a time of 2:01.41.  This quartet was led by Eric Zhu (28.38), Yagiz Guner (32.22), William Chen (31.38) and anchor Kevin Hong (29.43).

Northwood's boys finished fourth with 188 points, but battled fiercely right from the start to the meet ending 200 Medley Relay against the top-3 teams University, Santa Margarita and Mater Dei.  In the contest, Northwood's boys collectively delivered eight Top-3 placements across the board, and made a statement with closely contested relays from key scoring contributors.  

The overall success was also shining for the girls featuring eleven Top 10 finals strong swims by the Freshman/Sophomore and Varsity squads.  The highest placement from the Lady T-Wolves came from the FR/Soph team notching a fourth for Valerie Wraith (37.59), Vivian Guo (35.72), Sarah Hsu (39.68) and anchor Lauren Nguyen (34.15) in the Girls 200 Breast Relay (2:27.14).  

In the Varsity Girls finals, Northwood put forth their highest sixth-place ranking from Taylor Inouye (34.94), Sarah Buting (35.08), and Addison Cadena (34.69), as well as versatile sophomore Corina Lee (30.14) in the 200 Breast Relay churning out a speedy 2:14.85.  

Saturday's action also saw Northwood's Lady T-Wolves exemplify their firepower with top scoring contributing teams recording an 8th place overall venue ranking with 120 points.  One of girl's biggest strengths is the leadership and experience which was on display throughout the course of this meet.  Those strengths will give them the potential to take it a step further for the remainder of a tentative season.

“We did awesome collectively as a team.  We're focused on putting together the best team we can,"  said Head Coach Alex Nieto. "The team aspect is huge not only in scoring points but with the overall atmosphere that it creates."

NEWS ARTICLE UPDATE:

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) virus pandemic has affected all of us far more than we imagined which has ultimately led the Irvine Unified School District to make the decision to close IUSD schools and facilities to the public beginning March 16th with a current return date of April 6, 2020.  This decision was a response to the challenges presented by the virus and major public health implications.

The Northwood High School swimming program will be taking a temporary pause as IUSD, Northwood High School and CIF reevaluates the situation in the coming weeks.

During this school break please practice self-care.  Keep consistent sleeping schedules.  Continue exercising.  Eat well, stay hydrated and maintain a structure to stay healthy.  Most important, stay connected with your swim teammates through social media, and stay emotionally strong during this pandemic as it will ultimately pass.

1. University 230                                      1. Santa Margarita 254
2. Santa Margarita 220                            2. Tesoro 236
3. Mater Dei 206                                      3. Mater Dei 200
4. Northwood 188                                    4. Corona del Mar 184
5. Aliso Niguel 174                                   5. Foothill 180
6. Portola 112                                           6. Fountain Valley 176
7. Edison 108                                           7. San Juan Hills 160
8. Foothill 94                                            8. Northwood 120
9. San Clemente 94                                 9. San Clemente  94
10. Dana Hills 82                                     10. Portola 80

TOP 5 FINALS VARSITY BOYS RELAY Event Statistics:

TOP 5 FINALS VARSITY GIRLS RELAY Event Statistics:

TOP 5 FINALS FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE BOYS RELAY Event Statistics:

TOP 5 FINALS FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE GIRLS RELAY Event Statistics: