Bolstered by the never-ending cheers of their supporters, the Northwood High School boys swim team won its first CIF State Championships title in the history of the program.  Four school records were broken during the victory.  Photos courtesy of Swim Staff.

"Competing at the highest level is not about winning.  It's about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your players, and heart.  Winning is the result."  - Joe Torre.

  2018 CIF State Swim & Dive Championships Title Trophy          

The powerhouse that is the Northwood High School swim team had a monster weekend adding to its legacy at the CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday, May 19, 2018 at the Clovis Olympic Aquatic Center in Fresno, Ca.  With incredible swims from the boys team, the Timberwolves claimed their first CIF State Championship title in the history of the program. 

Northwood sent a contingency of 6 boys competing against the toughest high school competition in California with an extremely talented list of 226 high schools with 885 swimmers combined to receive the honor across a wide array of events.  

The Timberwolves entered the CIF State Championship following a perfect in-league dual meet season, and CIF D1 Championship title and headed to Clovis, Ca., hoping to cap another outstanding season with a CIF State Championship victory.  

Northwood finished the meet with 157 points, a dominant performance over runner-up Oak Ridge, who reeled in 150 points, and third place Bellarmine, who totaled 145 points.  The team's victory included the breaking of 4 school records, and achieved 10 Top-16 places in the eleven events.

College commits Gabe Munoz  (Georgia Institute of Technology), Henry Wu (Duke University), Hwa Min Sim (Emory University), and anchor Collin Press  (New York University) seized an incredible win placing second in the 200 medley relay, lowering their own school record with a stellar 1:31.46.

Northwood's 200 freestyle finals contribution came from college commit Shawn Lou (Columbia University) who had a solid showing finishing fourteenth with 1:39.68.  

Munoz claimed fifth in the 200 IM with depth that shined through in the four different strokes, which gave him the perfect send-off as he lowered his school record in 1:48.75.  Munoz continued to build on the point spread with a seventh place in the 100 fly, for a personal best time of 48.48 which lowered the oldest 2014 school record left on the books by 0.37 hundredths.  Hwa Min Sim earned a spot in the 100 fly consolation finals providing crucial points needed in picking up a fifteenth in 49.55.

With extraordinary performances at the mid-point, the Timberwolves showed no signs of stopping as the energy continued to accumulate.  Northwood college commit  Hunter Hitchens  (Cornell  University) claimed fifth in the 100 free in a close race touching the wall in 45.36 further cementing its lead over San Ramon.  Lou also swam the 100 free placing eleventh with a time of 45.61.

In the 200 free relay, the foursome of Shawn Lou, Collin Press, Hwa Min Sim and anchor Hunter Hitchens clocked a blistering time of 1:23.79.  That stunning performance broke another previous school record of 1:23.87 set early in the season.

And finally, Henry Wu contributed to a fifth place performance in the 100 breast, powering his way to a 55.53.

Northwood and San Ramon Valley remained neck-and-neck as they rolled through the night, both staving off defending champion Oak Ridge.  After the 100 back with two events left to finish there literally was a three-way tie in overall points.  All signs pointed to a dramatic finish as the pressure was on the meet ending 400 free relay team who achieved a come from behind performance that contributed enough of a point swing to close out the evening with a third place finish and win the title.  That relay team's fab foursome consisted of Shawn Lou, Henry Wu, Gabe Munoz and anchor Hunter Hitchens.

Though these six seniors will not be competing next season, they will be leaving behind multiple championship banners, school records and perhaps most importantly, a legacy of winning. 

The larger picture, however, as the primary motivator for this year's varsity boys squad in their historic run of having won three consecutive Pacific Coast League Championships, first CIF Southern Section D1 Championship, and multiple invitationals this season is their achievement in the highest team victory possible at the CIF State Championships.

“This one is special," said Head Coach Alex Nieto.  "This was a group of seniors that effectively had the perspective of what it took to win, understanding being part of a championship team and then being part of a team that reached the highest level in high school swimming."

“It was an emotional win for us," said Team Captain Hunter Hitchens.  "It's emotional for our coach, it's emotional for the whole team, our families, and Northwood High School.  There was definitely an element of pressure coming into the CIF State Championships.  It's our responsibility as athletes to not let that seep in.  We've been preparing for this all season, it paid off tonight."

NHS SWIM AND OCVARSITY PRODUCTIONs:

NHS Team Celebrations	NHS Team Podium Award	NHS Team Boys Title Presentation	Dan Albano, OCVarsity Interview

TOP 16 FINALS Event Winners:

TOP 16 FINALS RELAY Event Winners & Statistics: