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2002 Metro Conference Finals Report

Barons dominate Metro finals

Barons' Kim Linder, Paul Hernandez dunked as Swimmers of the Year

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, May 10, 2002 -- When the final individual place-finish was recorded and the team standings finally took shape long past sunset last Friday at the Southwestern College pool, Bonita Vista High swim coach Steve Wiggs likely felt more relief than elation despite a once more dominating performance by the Barons boys and girls teams at the Metro Conference finals.

The Bonita Vista girls racked up 618 points to outdistance their nearest challenger in the team standings by nearly 300 points while the Barons boys team nearly doubled the points on its nearest challenger.

“The only thing I can say is that it was an entire team effort. Both the boys and girls teams worked together,” said Wiggs, who earned recognition as the conference’s Boys Coach of the Year.

Bonita Vista swept dual meet titles in both boys and girls Mesa League competition this season. Of the 22 championship finals events at last Friday’s conference meet, the Barons won 18 — including a sweep of all 11 girls championship heats.

Emerging from the pool following their ceremonial post-meet dunking were a pair of Bonita Vista juniors — Kim Linder and Paul Hernandez — who were selected as this year’s conference Swimmers of the Year.

“I think the Metro league has come a long way since I came in as a freshman. I hope it continues to develop. There’s a lot more faster times this year than two years ago. That’s great,” said Hernandez, who was victorious in the boys 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke while swimming a leg on the Barons’ championship 200 medley relay team.

“I worked very hard to get it. I had a lot of fun swimming. This is great,” said Linder, who won individual titles in the 50 and 500 freestyle events while also helping the Barons’ 200 medley relay team to victory.

Hernandez, who repeated his titles in the IM and breaststroke from a year ago, is planning to end his season with a favorable showing in Saturday’s San Diego Section Division I championships at Mt. Carmel High School. He finished third in the division in the breaststroke with a 1:01.78 time at last year’s finals. He competed at last Friday’s conference finals wearing a drag suit as part of his continuing resistance training toward hitting pay dirt at the division championships.

“I’d really like to go under a minute (in the breaststroke). I’ve done a 1:06 in practice. The way the pace is going, it’s right where I’m headed,” he said.

Linder’s goals entering the season were to win individual conference titles, claim a berth among the top eight swimmers in the ensuing San Diego Section divisional championships and earn an entry in the school’s record book. She credited hard work, dedication and team work in helping push her toward realizing those goals. Linder had finished second in both the 50 and 500 free events at last year’s Metro finals.

Of the BV girls’ eight individual champions at this year’s conference finals, two were repeat champions: Melissa Mattero (200 free) and Danielle Torre (100 breaststroke). Entering their names as first-time double-event conference champions for the Barons were Alvizia Alexander (200 IM and 100 butterfly) and freshman Brandi Schlick (100 free and 100 backstroke).

Also swimming to repeat conference titles were Eastlake High junior Nik Clair-Williams (50 free) and Marian Catholic’s Roberto Lopez (500 free). Clair-Williams became a three-time champion in the boys 50 freestyle while grabbing his second consecutive second-place finish in the 100 free.

Jesse Gallegos (100 free and 100 backstroke) and Bram Hanono (200 free) rounded out Bonita Vista’s individual boys champions this year. Hanono finished sixth at last year’s Division I finals in the 500 free (an event in which he took second at this year’s conference meet).

Montgomery senior Jose Serratos, who won last year’s 200 free title, finished second this year in the event to Bonita Vista’s Hanono but came through with a victorious swim in the butterfly finals, topping Marian Catholic’s Roberto Lopez. Serratos won last year’s Division I 500 free consolation title.

Mar Vista’s Sue Czerwiec earned recognition as the conference’s Girls Coach of the Year after leading her team to a second-place finish in the conference standings and its second consecutive South Bay League dual meet title. The only team the Mariners have lost to in dual meet competition the past four years has been Bonita Vista.

“We’d had a solid group for four years (but) this is the first year we went into Metros with everyone. Thirteen girls swam in finals events. Those are big time numbers for me. We had one girl in each event in the top 8 heat,” Czerwiec said.

The Mar Vista girls team had its biggest representation in postseason competition this year under Czerwiec’s tenure. All three relay teams posted CIF consideration times this season. Recording CIF consideration times among individuals were Sarah Latoski (50 free), Staci Warren (100 free), Rebeca Valadez (200 free), Jennifer Parra (backstroke) and Shelli Homer (breaststroke). Homer was the Mariners’ highest individual placer at last Friday’s Metro finals with a fourth-place finish in the breaststroke. Parra, who finished fifth in the backstroke, is just a freshman.

The Mariner boys team, while still in a rebuilding mode, surpassed all expectations, according coach Chad Kavanagh, by securing its second consecutive South Bay League dual meet title and runner-up finish to the Barons at the conference finals.

Particularly impressive in the second half of the season was the team’s Metro champion 200 free relay team. The Mar Vista unit of Joe Czerwiec, Juan Vera, Kyle Collins and Mike Andrade dropped six seconds over the course of the season but shaved a final two seconds in the final two weeks to earn an automatic CIF time in the event.

Among individuals who earned CIF consideration times in events were Collins (50 free), Vera (breaststroke) and the Czerwiec brothers Joe (butterfly) and Julian (backstroke). Vera, Joe Czerwiec and Julian Czerwiec all earned third-place finishes in their respective specialty events in last Friday’s conference finals.

Saturday’s Division I finals start at 9 a.m., followed by the Division II finals at 3 p.m. Coronado’s boys will be going for their third consecutive Division II title while Valhalla, another two-time reigning champion, will be out to defend its Division I boys title.

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