Record swim for Sailors’ Peirsol

Melanie Neff

The Newport Harbor High’s girls swim team knew coming into the Sea

View League finals it would take a minor miracle to defeat Irvine.

They didn’t get it.

But in the end, the individual performances helped keep everyone

on the team smiling.

Irvine won the meet with 489 points, followed by host Newport with

417, Foothill (314), Woodbridge (267), Aliso Niguel (264) and Laguna

Hills (257).

“It’s sad to say, but we kind of knew what to expect coming in,”

Newport Coach Ken LaMont said. “So our goal was to make sure we held

on to second place and improved our times.”

Senior Haley Peirsol, who won two individual titles and posted

automatic CIF Southern Section qualifying times in four events

overall, had the swim of the day, breaking the league record in the

500 freestyle with a time of 4:40.41.

She didn’t break just any record either. She broke El Toro High

grad and Olympic bronze medalist Kaitlin Sandeno’s record of 4:51.11

set in 1999.

“That was a great swim for her, especially when you consider whose

record she broke,” LaMont said.

Peirsol, who swims with the Irvine Novaquatics, also won the 200

freestyle in an automatic time of 1:51.87, and she swam on the 200

medley and 400 freestyle relays that both posted automatic times.

“All the girls swam really well today,” LaMont said. “A lot of

girls that already had consideration times made them better.”

Nicole Mackey, also a Nova, was the only other individual title

winner for the Sailors, matching Peirsol with two. Mackey swam a

1:07.80 in the 100 breaststroke and a 2:06.03 in the 200 IM, both

automatic times.

In all, seven Sailors’ swimmers automatically advanced to the

section prelims May 14 at Belmont Plaza, thanks in part to the

relays, which all posted qualifying times.

Mai Tajima, Jenna Murphy, Peirsol and Ashley Parole qualified in

the 200 medley relay with a third-place finish in 1:55.07. Irvine won

the title in 1:49.45. Mackey, Annie Wight, Anne Belden and Murphy

finished second to Irvine (1:40.74) in the 200 free relay to advance

with a time of 1:43.42. In the 400 free relay, Mackey, Tajima, Parole

and Peirsol clocked a 3:43.97 to finish second and advance to the

prelims.

Tajima was unable to take home an individual title, but recorded

two impressive swims to qualify for the prelims. She finished second

to fellow Nova Diana Mac Manus in the 100 back in 1:00.34. MacManus

swam a 58.71. In the 200 free, Tajima qualified with a fourth-place

finish in 1:57.10.

Belden, a sophomore, lowered her time in the 100 back by two

seconds, swimming a 1:04.22 to win the consolation heat and earn a

consideration time. Belden posted a consideration time in the 100

free in the prelims. She finished seventh in the race Friday (56.07)

and Parole was eighth in 56.65.

Murphy came away with two consideration times, just missing

automatics in the 200 IM and the 100 breast. In the IM she missed by

0.42 seconds, finishing fifth in 2:14.42. In the breast, she was 0.52

shy, taking fourth in 1:11.02.