The Northwood boys win was fueled by the signature energy, versatility and strength with 8 first placements in 11 events showcasing all their off-season work.  Photo courtesy of Alex Tokachev.  

The Northwood Timberwolves competed at their second dual meet against the Woodbridge Warriors at the Northwood High School Aquatic Center on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.  As it has been so far this season, the story line was depth as the Timberwolves boys triumphed over the Warriros,121-57, and Lady T-Wolves fell short by 76-102 over the Lady Warriors.

The Northwood boys win was fueled by the signature energy, versatility and strength with 8 first placements in 11 events showcasing all their off-season work. 

While Northwood's boys sealed the dual meet win handily, they will need to focus in on sprint and relay events to have a clear shot at the Pacific Coast League Championships next month.  

Although the final winning score for the Lady T-Wolves fell short, it does not reflect the maturing depth, speed, talent and strength that Northwood's girls have been building on so far at the start of this season.

In front of NHS swimmers and coaches, and parents/public accessing our first live stream meet there was an added emotional component as the Northwood seniors participated in being honored.  Feel free to leave your positive encouraging messages for our graduating seniors in the article comments section below.

Northwood High School Swim Team's Class of 2021.  (Front Row-Left to right)  Britney Cao, Emilie Harper, Kacy Kesler, Chrlotte Waddell, Victoria Nguyen;  (Middle Row-Left to right) Lilly Zhao, Henry Chen, Colman Sun, Grant Lai, Mengshu Zhang;  (Back Row-Left to right)  Justin Chung, Kendrick Pham, Kenneth Duong, Ben Liu, Aaron Kim, Zach Waddell, Jeremy Mah.  Intermission Ceremony presented by NHS Head Swim Coach Alex Nieto.  Photo Courtesy of Alex Tolkachev.

“Our Lives are Before us, Our Pasts are Behind us, But our Memories Are forever with us.". - Congratulations to the NHS Swim Team Class of 2021 Seniors!!

200 FREE

Norhwood's Melissa Lam fired off a top time in 2:20.73 in the Open Girls division.  Woodbridge's Alyssa Dana checked in with a second place time in 2:35.76 while Samantha Lewis rounded third (2:48.89).  In the Open Boys Christian Thorpe (2:09.53), Mengshu Zhang (2:16.97) and Andrew Kim (2:35.32) notched a triple sweep in the event.  Right in the thick of the battle JV Girls senior Kacy Kesler stopped the watch for second in 2:17.77.  Woodbridge's Milena Novakovic took the event in 2:13.83, while Nicolette Holden touched third (2:19.05).  On the JV Boys side, Benton Cheng raced to a top finish in the 200 Free with 1:53.31.  Ryan DeLand touched in a 1:53.35 for second with Northwood's Kendrick Pham locked down third (1:54.58).  Lady T-Wolves Katerina Tolkachev led by about two body lengths turning a 58.65 after the first 100, then found the adrenaline throwing down a 2:02.29 for the win.  Woodbridge's Kate Cho (2:04.65) and Ella Suh (2:06.74) went 2-3.  Varsity Boys Zachary Waddell raced to a quick second finish touching the wall in a time of 1:49.48, and Ryan Connole gunning for third touch in 1:50.67.  Woodbridge's Prinston Pan worked his way to holding on to a top time (1:46.98).

100 IM

Northwood's Open Girls provided some momentum with Rachel Yokota (1:13.57), and Daniella Ela (1:14.97) finishing 1-2.  Woodbridge's Riley Hodges rounded third (1:22.09).  The Open Boys led by Andrew Zhang putting up a 1:03.35 with teammate Andy Gao adding a second place in 1:07.32.  Woodbridge's Vladyslav Deineko finished third in 1:07.81.

200 IM

JV Girls Vivian Guo led the charge earning a top spot in the 200 IM with 2:25.82.  Woodbridge's Hyleigh Pan (2:35.59) and Julia Tjia (2:35.88) touched the wall 2-3.  In the JV Boys, Michael Abshier had the fastest time of 2:08.06, while teammate Gavin Lai took second in 2:16.91.  Woodbridge's Michael Camacho rounded third (2:22.71).  Lady T-Wolves sophomore 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 2:13.15.  Woodbridge's Julia Cho was next in line for second (2:15.26), while Acile Jammoul closed out third in 2:17.74.  Northwood's Varsity Boys blasted a commanding sweep in the 200 IM event with Christopher Leung finishing well ahead in 1:56.35.  Second went to Younghun Kim in 2:00.54, while Ryley Yoo rolled in for third (2:03.11).

50 Free

The Open Girls Lilly Zhao added a second place showing with 32.42.  Woodbridge's Brooke Brody (29.82) for the win, and Bindumi Jayasekara round third (32.47).  Open Boys Jalen Hsia registered the third fastest time for the Timberwolves in 26.58.  Woodbridge's Max Ellis (26.26) and Quinn Dhesi (26.58) went 1-2.  JV Girls Kaitlyn Kong posted second in the 50 Free (28.01) only a couple hands length away from Woodbridge's Tiana Lin who went 27.96 for the win.  Ava Reiter rounded third 28.27.  The JV Boys added a triple win of excitement with Justin Chung (24.38), Evan Eich (24.47) and Aaron Kim (24.58) who opened a sizable advantage for their division.  Varsity Girls put in a third place with Lauren Kim (25.78).  Woodbridge's Phoebe Yeh clocked a 24.41 to win the event while teammate Riun Hoshina took second in 25.53.  JV Boys Michael Lee stormed out to an early lead holding a winning time of 24.02.  Drucker Drucker registered a swift 25.20 for second over Corona del Mar's Elijah Speier (25.50).  Varsity Lady T-Wolf Olivia Chen added a second place showing with 25.71, while Corona del Mar's Nicle Lin (25.24) and Sarah Lawson (27.03) were first and third.  The Varsity Boys 50 Free saw the two top contenders under 23 seconds.  Senior Kenneth Duong had the fastest touch, winning the race in 22.36.  Behind him Woodbridge's Jacob Wang (22.84) out-touched Henry Chen with a 23.14 for third.

50 Fly

Open Junior Sanjana Venka grabbed the second spot in 37.87, while Emma McDowell claimed third in 41.75.  Woodbridge's Ashley Niu clocked a 32.91 to win the event.  Joshua Bonode charted a time of 30.46 for second in the Open boys.  Woodbridge's Luke Gibson took the top time in 30.37, while Quinn Dhesi rounded third (30.72).  Varsity Girls Acile Jammoul marked second in 1:04.52.  Woodbridge's 

100 Fly

Ainsley Zapata raced to a quick finish touching the wall with 1:13.27 for the JV Girls win.  Woodbridge's Ella Rodriguez tracked very close behind closing second in 1:13.60, and Britney Cao (1:14.42) prevailed with a third.  Freshman Ethan Chen highlighted the JV Boys, blasting a 56.03 to pick up the win over teammate Ryan Xu (56.72).  Woodbridge's Jacob Steinhouser closed out third in 58.52.  The Varisty Girls 100 Fly finally came down to Lady T-Wolves Acile Jammoul (1:04.52) who capped off a second finish with the top-3.  Woodbridge's Zara Masud won the event in 58.98, while Kate Cho placed third (1:04.54). The Varsity Boys mounted a furious challenge taking the lead on a 26.02 fly split from Ryley Yoo and going 54.70 for the solid win.  Woodbridge's Nathaniel Ko surged for second place in 55.02, while Elson Lee touched third in 55.52. 

100 Free

Open Girls Katie Ho worked her way to holding on to a first in a time of 1:04.89.  Touching just behind her was fellow compatriot Rachel Yokota putting in a strong 1:05.73 for second.  Woodbridge's Alyssa Dana rounded third (1:09.77).  On the Open Boys side, Andrew Zhang closed out his individual event posting a first place in 56.51.  Christian Thorpe followed second in 57.88 with Woodbridge's Max Ellis posting third (58.11).  The JV Girls went lights out showing real depth with two finishing in the top three in this race with Kaitlyn Kong (1:01.40) for the win, and Lindsay Cheung (1:01.88) for third.  Woodbridge's Milena Novakovic pulled in for second (1:01.79).  The JV Boys was a tight race throughout, with Evan Eich putting in a strong 55.13 for second.  Woodbridge's Matthew Sushenok took the victory in 53.39, while Andrew Harper (55.15) was third.  The Varsity Girls produced more second place accolades with sophomore Kim Huynh stopping the clock in 55.43.  Woodbridge's Phoebe Yeh dominated the event in 53.90 for Woodbridge, and her teammate Rin Hoshina rounded third (55.88).  Coming up with a second place for the Varsity Boys was Senior Jeremy Mah with a time of 48.97, while Henry Chen didn't disappoint touching third (49.72).  Woodbridge's Hunter Cehelnik powered in the win (48.91).

500 Free

It was a positive end to the meet for Senior Charlotte Waddell (6:19.35) providing a second place for the JV Girls.  Woodbridge's Carson MacKenzie won the event in 6:12.10 with her teammate Ella Rodriguez posting third (6:35.43).  Northwood's JV Boys won the 500 Free with excellent depth from double winner Michael Abshier, who won in 5:05.30.  Kendrick Pham concluded his individuals with a second place for the Timberwolves in 5:25.02, while Woodbridge's Thomas Cehelnik ended third with 5:36.01.  Varsity Girls Katernina Tolkachev completed her individual events checking in for second with a 5:32.26 Woodbridge's Zara Musud punched the wall first with 5:20.09 with her teammate Sofia Steward rounding third in 5:41.98.  While division scores really widen for Northwood at this point Junior Nolan Chomin provided a positive end to his individuals placing second for the Varsity Boys in 4:49.78, while Zachary Waddell rounded third with 4:56.30.

50 Back

Northwood's Open Boys shaped up with some speed and depth in the 50 Back.  They lead a field that includes Aditya Harri (32.10) and Andy Kim (34.07) going 1-2 in this event.  Woodbridge's Nathan Spear rounded third (35.77). 

100 Back

The battle for second went to JV Girls Kacey Kesler (1:12.82).  Woodbridge's Nicolette Holden clocked in a 1:12.13 to take the event with Megan Lee sitting third in 1:15.35.  On the JV Boys side, Ryan Xu (1:02.93), Daivik Patel (1:03.79) and Brandon Cho (1:07.79) took control of the race early on with a triple sweep for the Timberwolves.  The Lady T-Wolves featured great depth with Genevieve Chomin roaring by with a convincing win in 1:01.54.  Junior Helena Zhou powered away with 1:03.92 for second.  Woodbridge's Julia Cho with (NT) officially third.  Sophomore Christopher Leung concluded his excellent meet for the Northwood Varsity Boys as he wins the 100 Back with a 54.34.  Leung was followed by Woodbridge's Nathaniel Ko who posted a 55.82, and Elson Lee who recorded 56.57 for third.

50 Breast

Open Girls Sanjana Venkatesh touched the wall for second in 42.42.  Woodbridge's Madison Lin produced the top time in 40.46, with teammate Akari ltami rounding third (47.08).  Northwood Open Boys Gavin Lee clocked a 32.53 to win the event while teammate Colin Pham took second a 36.65.  Woodbridge's Brandon Adcook was third in 44.78.

100 Breast

Northwood's JV Girls Britney Cao (1:22.81), who capped off a second finish within the top-3.  Woodbridge's Tiana Lin won the event in 1:17.48, while Hyleigh Pan rounded third (1:22.94).  The afternoon saw another triple sweep from Northwood's JV Boys in the 100 Breast that included Anthony Foo (1:06.63), Grant Lai (1:07.77) and Gavin Lai (1:12.66).  Taylor Inouye highlighted the Varsity Girls side, blasting a 1:09.53 to pick up the win.  Woodbridge's Melissa Wong went second in 1:11.84, while third runner-up Avery Ferrero pulled up in 1:12.23.  Gentlemen, start your engines!  And Northwood's Ben Liu did, going out fast and capturing first in 59.35.  Teammate Eric Zhu notched second in 59.54, while Colman Sun is third for the Timberwolves  in 1:02.89.

 

Relays
Open Girls 200 Medley -  2nd place  2:15.15  Daniella Ela (37.02), Rachel Yokota ( 37.44), Katie Ho (32.83), Melissa Lam (27.86)
                                      -  3rd place  2:31.79  Lilly Zhao (37.97), Nicole Karraa (44.56), Emma McDowell (35.74), Sanjana Venkatesh (32.52)
Open Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  2:01.89  Andy Kim (33.04), Gavin Lee (32.62), Colin Pham (35.60), Aditya Harri (20.63)
                                      -  3rd place  2:06.15  Andy Gao (33.51), Jalen Hsia (36.35), Corey Okamoto (30.94), Aditya Rawat (25.35)
JV Girls 200 Medley -  1st place  2:06.35  Emilie Harper (33.58), Zoe Liu (35.20), Britney Cao (32.80), Kaitlyn Kong (23.77)
JV Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:47.03  Ryan Xu (28.87), Anthony Foo (29.24), Ethan Chen (25.15), Andrew Harper (23.77)
                                 -  2nd place  1:49.11  Daivik Patel (28.70), Grant Lai (29.13), Evan Eich (27.14), Oliver Allen (24.14)
Varsity Girls 200 Medley  -  2nd place  1:54.71  Avery Liu (29.22), Taylor Inouye (31.63), Helena Zhou (31.05), Lauren Kim (22.81)
Varsity Boys 200 Medley -  1st place  1:36.82  Jeremy Mah (25.68), Ben Liu (26.75), Christopher Leung (22.86), Kenneth Duong (21.54)
Open Girls 200 Free -  2nd place  1:58.16  Daniella Ela (30.38), Katie Ho (29.23), Rachel Yokota (30.98), Melissa Lam (27.57)