Wilson captures 44th consecutive Moore League boys swimming title

LONG BEACH >> At the Moore League boys swimming championship meet at Cabrillo High School on Friday night, the chill in the air was countered by the heat of the night as the best swimmers in the area ripped up the pool for a shot at a league title.

The Wilson High School boys swim team did what they do best and that’s capture yet another Moore League championship with a score of 539.5 points. They bested the second place Poly Jackrabbits by 105.5 points.

Wilson has a stranglehold on the Moore League when it comes to boys swimming and they boosted their dynasty to yet another level by wiing their 44th consecutive Moore League championship.

“I’ve never wanted success for a team so bad in my coaching career,” said Wilson coach Eric Berg. “They’re a very selfless group and they bought into to what we were selling.”

When it comes to Wilson swimming, it’s depth that is so intimidating at the Moore League meet. Wilson’s ability to put three swimmers in every event gives them the edge.

“It’s all about playing your part,” said senior Spencer Allen, who was scratched from the 100 freestyle to pick up some more points for his team in the 100 backstroke. “Everybody on this team is dedicated and everybody wants to pull their own weight.”

The Bruins’ 200 medley relay team of Jack Berg, Alan Peoples, Kobe Jackson, and Austin Sherlock started off the night with a bang by taking first place and building an early lead in the meet.

Wilson already had a commanding lead going into the final event, but that didn’t stop them from edging out Millikan to win the 400 freestyle relay. Their time of 3:15.20 put the exclamation point on their 44th consecutive title.

“We don’t have a huge stack of club swimmers,” said Berg. “But we’re lucky to find our little raw gold nuggets and shine them up and get them ready to compete.”

A total team effort lifted the Bruins to victory, but the second-place Poly Jackrabbits’ top swimmers were impressive. They grabbed first place in five of the eight individual events. Junior Jack Neton led the charge for Poly with convincing wins in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke. He posted times of 1:57.61 and 58.36, respectively.

Lakewood sprinter Michael Talag continued his dominance in the freestyle events by placing first in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. His times of 21.80 and 48.15 were good enough to repeat as champion in the events. The senior will be headed to Redlands University to further his career in water polo.

Advertisement

The Millikan High School relay team of Michael Baker, Jack Hampton, Blake Horvath, and Shaun Spaulding won the 200 freestyle relay. Their time of 1:29.60 was good enough to break the 42 year-old school record set in 1978. The record time led Millikan to a score of 398.50 and a third place finish.

CIF preliminaries begin on Friday and championship heats will be held on Saturday.