Killer Whales own top position

The first-place Newport Hills Swim Team built up a lead Saturday in the South Coast Swim Conference Relay Finals at El Toro High.

The meet will not be completed until the SCSC league finals, as the pool had to be closed with five events remaining in the relay finals. But Newport Hills is currently in first place with 448 points, followed by rival Harbor View with 416 points.

For the Killer Whales, as has been the case all season, the younger swimmers helped give them an advantage.

Newport Hills was led by its under 6-year-old girls, 7-8 boys, 9-10 boys and 11-12 boys, with each group winning all of its events.

Julianne Bartz, Hana Cloherty, Gianna Danese, Chloe Harbilas, Kendall Kipp, Lauren Langdale, Kelly Ramm and Sophie Wallace were all key contributors in helping the Killer Whales swim to first-place finishes in the girls’ under 6 medley relay, breaststroke relay, butterfly relay and backstroke relay.

The Newport Hills group of Rex Barden, Brandon Cargile, Morgan Cortens, Rourke Funke, JT Russell and Henry Wilde led the 7-8 boys to first-place honors in all of their relays — medley, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.

The Killer Whales’ Ryan Cargile, Taylor Cortens, Brett Greenlee, Matt McKinnon, Ryan Naddy, Danny Robertson and Nick Schroeder led the 9-10 boys to wins in all of their events. Cortens, Robertson, Greenlee and McKinnon set a new Newport Hills team record of 1 minute, 4.57 seconds in winning the 9-10 medley relay.

Newport Hills swimmers Richie Barden, Nick Furgatch, Christian Garkani, Blake Motal and Benjamin Zepfel helped to pilot victories in all of the boys’ 11-12 relays, and Garkani, Furgatch, Zepfel and Motal set a SCSC relays record of 2:05.96 in the 11-12 boys’ medley relay.

In the 7-8 girls age group, Erika Anderson, Katherine Hess, Maria LaBruna, Tara Morris, Madeleine Musselman, Lauren Openshaw, Caroline Prado and Madison Strasmann led the Killer Whales to three first-place wins, in the medley, breaststroke and butterfly.

The butterfly relays were a strength for the Killer Whales, with additional wins in the under-6 boys (Jake Bays, Cole Fisher, Connor McManigal and Andrew Smith), the 9-10 girls (Brianna Daboub, Courtney Garkani, Brynn Motal and Natalie Wilde) and the 13-14 girls (Hollace Barden, Devon Greenlee, Alexandra Musselman and Erica Phillips). The relays finals consist only of relay events, and there are five events per group — medley, breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke and freestyle.

— From staff reports