Tars twice as nice

IRVINE ? It was a numbers game for both the Newport Harbor boys and girls’ swim teams at the Sea View League finals Friday at Irvine High.

The only number that mattered at the end of the meet, however, was the number “one.”

As in league champion, for the second straight year.

Boasting deep and experienced squads, the Sailors defended their boys and girls’ league championships. The boys scored 524 points to easily outpace second-place Irvine, while the girls ? with 392 points ? won a squeaker over second-place Aliso Niguel (390) and third-place Irvine (384).

The girls’ league finals weren’t decided until the last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Newport Harbor topped Aliso Niguel in both the consolation heat (first place) and the finals heat (third place against Aliso Niguel’s fifth), overcoming a 10-point deficit heading into the event.

“We had a very strong (400) relay, and they had stacked the two relays earlier in the meet,” said Sailor girls’ Coach Ken LaMont. “We knew we had an advantage at the end. Depth really got us through the whole season. We also have a lot of freestylers, and swim meets tend to be freestyle heavy.”

“I told the girls that winning it is the easy part, but defending it is the hard part. I think we proved that today.”

The Newport Harbor boys had a little less difficult time defending their crown, taking the early lead and not letting up. Individually, senior Dan Furman had quite a day, winning the 50 and 100 freestyle and anchoring the victorious boys’ 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

“I’m really happy with my individual swims, but more so on the relays,” Furman said. “Last year, even though we won, we got second on both of those relays. It just didn’t feel complete. This one just feels more whole.”

The meet-ending 400 freestyle relay was where the Newport Harbor boys showed their dominance, as Furman, Clint Jorth, David Linden and Kyle McGhie won by nearly three seconds at 3:13.35 and were well ahead before Furman’s anchor swim. The Sailors were the third-fastest team in the event preliminaries.

“I think we all had really good swims,” Furman said. “When I get out there and have a big lead already, that’s huge.”

For the Sailor girls, senior Leah Robertson finished second in the 50 and 100 freestyle, missing first by less than half-a-second each time. Kayley Oka finished second in the girls’ 100 butterfly and third in the 200 individual medley, while senior Kally Lucas took second in the 500 freestyle and fifth in the 200 freestyle.

Newport’s Max Joseph finished second in the boys’ 200 individual medley and third in the 500 freestyle, and Telford Cottam was second in the 50 freestyle. James Jackson and Collin Sherman took fourth place in the boys’ 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke, respectively, while Clint Jorth was third in the 100 freestyle.

“Our depth in the freestyle won it for us,” said Newport Harbor boys’ Coach Jason Lynch. “We did really good in all the freestyle events, and in our IM as well. We had four guys in the IM finals.”

“We’ve just got some talented kids who work hard and came together as a team,” he added.