2018 CIF SOUTH COAST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- May 1-4, 2018
- Capistrano Valley High School
- Mission Viejo, California
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2018 CA OB CIF South Coast League”
The 2018 CIF South Coast League Championships took place last week in Mission Viejo, California, as the high schools in the area battled for team titles. For the girls, Tesoro won in dominant fashion, led by sophomore Malia Mills who had two individual wins along with two in relays. The boys team race was much tighter, with Aliso Niguel (485) edging out Tesoro (480) by a mere five points.
Girls Meet
Mills was a dominant force for Tesoro, with her swim in the 100 breaststroke the highlight of the entire meet. After breaking the league record in prelims at 1:03.11, she lowered it further in finals down to 1:02.95. Aliso Niguel’s Halle Feng was the runner-up in 1:04.67.
Mills also picked up the win in the 50 free, clocking 23.35 to top Dana Hills’ Lucy Kao (23.83) and Sydney Querner (23.90). Mills also played a key role on Tesoro’s wins in the 200 medley and 200 free relays, anchoring in a blistering 23.00 on the 200 medley. Dana Hills finished as the runner-up in the 200 medley relay in 1:48.04 to Tesoro’s 1:46.91, while Trabuco Hills (1:40.08) was well back for 2nd place in the 200 free relay (1:37.22 for Tesoro). Tesoro also comfortably won the 400 free relay to close the meet out, posting a time of 3:31.03 with a notable 51.72 leg from Jessica Epps as Dana Hills was 3:34.18 for 2nd.
Epps was the only other girl to win two individual events, coming out on top in the 200 free (1:49.95) and 100 free (51.59). Her teammate Ileeya Losey, who took 2nd in the 200 free, won the 500 free in 4:56.29, while 100 free runner-up Jodie McKendry of Aliso Niguel prevailed with a win in the 200 IM (2:03.06). The other event winners were Aliso Niguel’s Victoria Gong in the 100 back (56.37), and Mission Viejo’s Hanna Erickson in the 100 fly (56.13).
In the end Tesoro won by well over 200 points with 619, followed by Aliso Niguel (378) and Trabuco Hills (364).
Final Team Scores – Girls Varsity
- Tesoro, 619
- Aliso Niguel, 378
- Trabuco Hills, 364
- Dana Hills, 321
- Mission Viejo, 236
Boys Meet
Just as Mills led the way for the Tesoro girls, junior Sean Slusiewicz was the catalyst for the Aliso Niguel boys, winning a pair of individual events and playing a central role in two of their relay wins. He started off by taking the 50 free in 20.43, and then not long after won the 100 in 45.10. Jake Ward of Dana Hills was 2nd in both events, posting times of 20.81 and 46.32.
Slusiewicz then shifted his focus to the relays, leading off Aliso Niguel in 20.55 as they ultimately held off Tesoro in the 200 free relay in a time of 1:23.73. He then had a heroic anchor leg in the last race of the meet, splitting 44.26 as Aliso Niguel (3:03.09) got by Dana Hills (3:03.95) in the 400 free relay. They also won the 200 medley relay without Susliewicz, putting up a time of 1:33.71 with notable splits from Josh Cho (23.40) on back and Aaron Pang (22.55) on fly.
Those two had one individual win apiece, with Pang taking the 100 fly in 48.26, and Cho the 100 back in 50.11 (with Pang also 2nd in that race in 50.41).
Owen Kao of Dana Hills and Jonathan Cheng of Tesoro each picked up two individual wins as well. Kao won the 200 free (1:37.24) and 500 free (4:27.34), and also had a monster 44.49 leg on the 400 free relay as his team almost upset Aliso Niguel. Cheng won the 200 IM (1:48.67) and 100 breast (56.22), and also had solid splits of 21.04 and 45.72 on the free relays.
That last relay win clinched the title for Aliso Niguel, topping Tesoro by five points. Dana Hills was a solid 3rd, with Trabuco Hills getting by Mission Viejo for 4th by nine points.
Final Team Scores – Boys Varsity
- Aliso Niguel, 485
- Tesoro, 480
- Dana Hills, 395
- Trabuco Hills, 274
- Mission Viejo, 265