The San Marino High School varsity boys’ swimming team won the Mt. SAC Meet of Champions banner with 585 points, which was more than enough to defeat second-place La Verne Damien (545 points). The squad includes (from left) head coach Casey Holcomb, Patrick Tulaphorn, Kyle Wong, Preston Wong, Taylor Hughes, Darren Wong, Jeff Chan, Tristan Lin, Kyle Day, John Van and Kevin Chen. Not pictured: Adrian Huang, Maxwell Lin and Kurtis Tsai.
The San Marino High School varsity swim teams have dominated their Rio Hondo League opponents this season, and the Titans proved their stellar performances are no fluke with a remarkable showing at the Mt. San Antonio College Meet of Champions in Walnut last weekend.
The boys edged La Verne Damien, 585-545, to win the Meet of Champions crown, and the girls tallied 282.5 points to place 11th. The San Marino swimming programs combined for 867.5 points, placing them second behind San Marcos, which recorded 955.5 points and competes in Division I.
The SMHS boys squad finished among the top five in six events, including all three relay races. Darren Wong, John Van, Kyle Day and Tristan Lin teamed up to take third place in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:38.28. Murrieta Valley High took home the gold with a time of 1:36.32. Taylor Hughes later joined Day, Lin and Wong to finish the 400 freestyle relay in 3:16.34, which was good for fifth place. Patrick Tulaphorn, John Van, Maxwell Lin and Hughes competed in the 200 free relay and finished third with a time of 1:29.77.
Tristan Lin posted two top-three finishes in the meet. The Titan was second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.25, finishing just behind Diamond Bar’s Prestin Li’s time of 57.88. Lin placed third in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:54.66. Ethan Trieu of Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos won the IM event with a time of 1:53.12.
Day also turned in good individual performances with a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (52.18) and sixth-place finish in the 100 backstroke (53.72).
Wong took seventh place in the 200 IM with a time of 1:58.35, and he posted a time of 54.14 to finish eighth in the 100 back. Van also competed in the 200 IM and posted a time of 2:00.90, which was good for 15th place. He later competed in the 100 breast and finished in 1:01.94 for seventh place.
Maxwell Lin competed in the 100 fly and placed eighth with a time of 2:00.80. He later participated in the 100 free race and finished in 51.25 for 18th place.
Kevin Chen contributed a ninth-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.80, and he placed 14th in the 100 fly with a time of 53.49.
Hughes competed in the 50- and 100-yard free events and placed 14th (22.87) and 11th (49.38), respectively. Tulaphorn participated in the same events and placed 12th in the 50 free (22.76) and 15th in the 100 free (50.70).
Kurtis Tsai raced in the long events, placing 13th in the 200 free with a time of 1:48.10 and 12th in the 500 free with a time of 4:56.34. Adrian Huang also participated in the 200 free and finished in 1:52.33 for 23rd place. Huang posted a 13th-place finish in the 100 fly with a time of 52.87.
Kyle Wong was 21st in the 500 free with a time of 5:07.54, and Jeffrey Chan was right behind his teammate in the same event for 22nd place (5:08.30). Preston Wong contributed a 27th-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.10.
The San Marino girls posted five top-five finishes, including one individual victory. Zephanie Koh turned in a stellar performance and won the 100 back with a time of 55.59. Koh also contributed a second-place finish in the 100 fly with a time of 55.63.
Koh was also part of two relay teams. She teamed up with Jasmine Chen, Ellie Chen and Kali Villaluna in the 200 medley relay and finished fifth with a time of 1:51.22. The quartet also raced the 400 free relay and placed seventh with a time of 3:40.90.
Jill Lin, Caitlin Hernandez, Ashley Wang and Claire Chiu competed in the 200 free relay and finished in 1:51.44 for 16th place.
Villaluna turned in a solid performance, placing ninth in the 100 back with a time of 1:02.12 and 10th in the 200 free with a time of 1:57.68.
Jasmine Chen also competed in the 100 back and finished in 1:01.37 for 11th place. The Titan also raced in the 100 free and place 21st with a time of 56.64.
Ellie Chen posted a time of 1:11.27 in the 100 breast to take 19th place and finished the 100 free in 57.27 for 23rd place.
Alicia Ogawa finished 24th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:14.63, and Hernandez contributed a 47th-place finish in the 500 free with a time of 6:20.81.
The San Marino boys’ and girls’ teams will host Temple City in a Rio Hondo League matchup this afternoon at 3:15 p.m.
