By Cate Meister
Disclaimer: Cate Meister is a member of the FVHS swim team.
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) swim raced against Edison High School (EHS) on Mar. 26 in a close-scoring meet. The girls were victorious in their battle against the Chargers, winning with a score of 89-81, while the boys were defeated with a score of 73-97.
The girls started off strong in the 200 yard medley relay, where sophomore Rylie Fox, sophomore Peyton Sherwood, junior Phoebe Munholland and senior Sarah Hopkins took first place. After having been in second place, Munholland pulled the team into a lead that Hopkins was able to maintain for a finishing time of 1:55.59. The boys also finished first in the 200 yard medley. Sophomore Justin Chen, senior Ivan Nghi, senior Derek Nakagawa and junior Tyler Vuong won with a time of 1:41.59 after an early lead from Chen and Nghi.
Junior Sean Kemick narrowly took second in the boys 200 yard freestyle, swimming a time of 1:55.28 while sophomore Yen Dang also finished second in the girls 200 IM. Nghi placed first in the boys 200 individual medley with a time of 1:58.35.
Following her victory in the medley relay, Munholland later won the girls 50 yard freestyle, finishing in 25.21 seconds. Shortly after, she also took first in the girls 100 yard freestyle with a final time of 55.44 while Fox took second with a time of 58.73. Hopkins also saw more victories, finishing the girls 100 yard butterfly with a winning time of 1:00.66 and placing first in the girls 100 yard backstroke in 1:04.09 seconds.
Freshman Cassidy Dang also gave a noteworthy performance in the girls 500 yard freestyle. After having maintained a steady third place for the first 350 yards of the race, Dang surpassed the second place swimmer from EHS. Dang later caught up to the first place swimmer in the final laps of the race, barely out touching her for a win with a finishing time of 5:41.54.
Sophomore Justin Chen and junior Bryce Leach finished second and third in the boys 100 yard freestyle with times of 51.79 and 52.55, respectively. Leach later competed alongside Vuong, Nghi and
freshmen Gavin Tran for a time of 1:32.65, resulting in a victory in the boys 200 yard freestyle relay. Shortly after, Vuong was also victorious in the boys 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.67.
In the girls 200 yard freestyle relay, FVHS’s winning relay team was unfortunately disqualified due to an early start. However, the Barons’ other competing team, composed of senior Marley Patcheak, sophomore Anne Huynh, senior Gabriella Hester and sophomore Sierra Springer, took second with a time of 1:50.61.
The girls concluded the meet with a victory in the 400 yard freestyle relay. Dang, Fox, freshman Reese Meister and Hopkins took first with a time of 3:48.40.
“Our training paid off, as many swimmers shaved time on their races. I am so proud of our girls,” Hopkins, who is also a team captain, said of the girls’ victory. “I can’t wait to see what this season holds.”
The Barons will race against the Vikings at Marina High School on Thursday, Apr. 15 at 3 pm.
