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Norsemen get wet, celebrate again

Valhalla repeats as Division I boys San Diego Section champions

By Phillip Brents

RANCHO PENASQUITOS, May 19, 2001 -- Valhalla High School swim team coaches Jeff Mueller and Vicki Hoffman-Webster knew what was coming after the official team scores were announced at the conclusion of last Saturday’s CIF-San Diego Section Division I championship meet at the Mt. Carmel High School pool: another ceremonial dunking.

Such a rite is reserved for the coaching staff of the victorious team. The Norsemen boys wasted little time in taking matters into their own hands after the presentation of the championship plaque: in went Mueller and Hoffman-Webster along with a few of the team’s high-caliber swimmers, including brothers Will and Clint McLaughlin, Adam Dole and Zach Webster.

Wet clothing wasn’t an issue. The smiles on the two coaches said it all after climbing out of the pool.

"This is my 10th year with the Valhalla team, either as a swimmer or coach, and this is the best thing that’s happened to me in all that time," said Mueller, who took over the reins of the boys squad this season as head coach after serving as an assistant coach the past several years. "It’s very exciting. For Will to win it his senior year and for me to win it my first year as coach, it’s very, very exciting."

Mueller, a 1993 graduate of Valhalla High, has an interesting perspective: both McLaughlins are his younger brothers. Will, a senior who will attend the University of Pacific this fall on a water polo and swimming scholarship, left his mark on the meet by winning both the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly events, setting a meet record in the latter event. Clint, a sophomore, finished fourth in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 200 individual medley. The McLaughlin brothers, along with Dole (the meet’s 500 freestyle champion) and Webster (second in the 100 backstroke), helped steer Valhalla to titles in both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay events.

"We didn’t have a lot of guys in the meet but it came down to the caliber of the guys we had. This was a great all-around group of guys," Mueller said.

Despite losing four swimmers from last year’s Division I championship team, including two swimmers who elected not to return to the sport, the Norsemen boys squad managed to successfully defend its championship title with a 22-point margin of victory against runner-up Fallbrook. Valhalla essentially had its second consecutive division title all but wrapped up heading into the final event of the day — the 400 freestyle relay — though caution ruled the waves. The only way the Warriors could overtake the Norsemen for the team title would be if Fallbrook won the event and Valhalla was disqualified.

As fate would have it, the Norsemen were seeded first in the 400 free relay and the Warriors second, though just 0.35 seconds separated the teams from their times posted in the preceding Thursday’s prelim meet. The four legs, with each swimmer responsible for 100 yards, went virtually stroke for stroke, with swimmers from Fallbrook and Valhalla alternately exchanging the lead position on turns. The final hotly contested 100 yards turned into a duel between the Norsemen’s Will McLaughlin and Warrior senior Danny Ender, with McLaughlin establishing a winning margin over the last 25 yards to push the team onto a school record time of 3:11.39.

The one second victory in the 400 free relay event capped a superlative afternoon overall for Valhalla, which collected individual titles in the 200 and 500 free and 100 fly while adding the 200 medley relay title to its treasure chest.

Hoffman-Webster, who serves as the Norsemen’s head administrative coach, said she knew that if the team was to repeat its championship that it would be done so in narrow fashion. "If we did win, it was going to be very, very close. Last year, we won by 90 points. That’s a significant number. If we were going to win it this year, it was going to be immensely close. What helped us was our strong diving -- both last year and this year."

In diving competition held the day before at Mesa College, Valhalla had two of its three divers entered in the event earn top six place-finishes. Senior Craig Rychel, the Grossmont South League champion, finished third while classmate Wes Brink was sixth.

Fast times and career-best performances defined the 2001 Valhalla championship effort the following day in Rancho Peñasquitos.

The team’s 400 free relay time was nine seconds faster than its seed time from the regular season and more than three seconds faster than that recorded two days earlier in prelim competition. The medley relay squad, with the same quartet of Webster (backstroke), Dole (breaststroke), Will McLaughlin (butterfly) and Clint McLaughlin (freestyle), featured a seven-second improvement from its regular season seed time and a three-second improvement from its prelim clocking. The medley relay time of 1:39.39 was close to school record, according to the team’s coaching staff.

For the UOP-bound Will McLaughlin, the division finals meet otherwise served as a suitable going-away present for the team. He set career best times in winning both the 200 free and 100 fly. His All-American consideration time of 1:41.67 in the 200 free was more than three seconds faster than his prelim clocking and almost a full second ahead of his winning time of 1:42.21 at last year’s meet. More important to the Norsemen’s back-to-back championship hopes, the time stood more than a second faster than the 1:42.80 time posted by runner-up finisher David Brown of Fallbrook. McLaughlin’s automatic All-American time of 49.49 seconds in the 100 fly eclipsed the standing record of 50.53, set by Hilltop’s Jacob Fraire in 1998 and Rancho Buena Vista’s Quentin Byma in 1999, and bettered his 2000 winning mark by more than one second.

"It’s a great feeling to do it all again," said McLaughlin.

Dole, who shaved more than six seconds off his prelim time in winning the 500 free in 4:38.42 after finishing third in the 200 free, called the team’s back-to-back championships an "amazing" feat. "It really puts an icing on the cake to my junior year," he said.

Besides swimming legs on the team’s victorious 200 medley and 400 free relay teams, Clint McLaughlin was fourth in the 100 fly with a season best 53.28 time and was sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:00.94) while Webster posted a runner-up finish in the backstroke (55.28) and a fifth-place finish in the 200 free (1:46.59). Will McLaughlin, Dole and Webster accounted for one half of the field in the six-lane 200 free championship finals.

Though spearheaded by the four standouts, the Norsemen’s championship drive also featured fine performances from a number of other talented swimmers. Valhalla posted the second-fastest time in the 200 free relay consolation finals, with the unit of Nick Ayers, Corey O’Bryan, Kevin Simpson and Mitch DeGues combining for an eighth-place time in the event of 1:35.39 to place behind Bonita Vista’s winning school record time of 1:33.50. Norseman junior Anthony Aranico was 12th in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.22).

In placing third in the boys Division I diving championships, Rychel moved up from an eighth-place finish of a year ago. "It was a really tough field. I’m satisfied with my score," said Rychel, who recorded 331.05 points on the 11-dive card.

Brink totaled 299.30 points to finish sixth out of the 17 divers in the division finals. Valhalla senior Jordan Fabrikant placed 14th. The top 12 finishers scored team points.

The Valhalla girls team, which placed sixth in the final Division I team standings, was paced in the finals by sophomore Holly Hansen’s school record time of 59.95 in the 100 backstroke. The time placed Hansen third in the event. Sophomore Natalie Luscomb was third in the 200 IM with a season best time of 2:16.04. In diving, Denise Tomoicich was fourth.

El Cap's Smithey shines in Division II meet

El Capitan’s Joey Smithey was the top East County performer in the Division II swimming championships, held earlier in the day at the Mt. Carmel pool. Smithey, a junior, swam to individual titles in both the boys 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, repeating his title in the 100 breast. Smithey clocked 1:57.14 to win the 200 IM, shaving nearly three seconds off his prelim time of 2:03.03 and bettering his regular season seed time (2:04.91) by almost eight seconds. He topped his 1:00.95 winning time of last year in the breaststroke by turning in a sub-minute 58.27 to earn consideration All-American honors.

"I wanted to break a minute in the breaststroke. It was my best ever by two seconds," said the very satisfied Smithey. "My goals now are to defend my championships in both events next year and to get All-American times in both events. It’s a great goal for next year."

Smithey’s time in the 200 IM is just 0.33 seconds off consideration All-American status; his time in the breaststroke is less than half a second off the automatic All-American standard.

The Grossmont North League champion and third in the event at last year’s Division I finals, Smithey said his strategy was to seize the lead and not relinquish it ."I wanted to hike it out in the fly, stay ahead in the breast, then pull ahead and finish strong in the freestyle," he noted.

Highlighting the Division II meet from the girls standpoint was Santana senior Lauren Brinkman's championship performance in the 100 butterfly with a season-best time of 59.54 seconds; she clocked 2:14.05 to place third in the 200 IM.

West Hills sophomore Tim Fuller was third in the boys 100 free with a season best 48.27 clocking and won the 200 free consolation finals in 1:46.10 — a time that would have placed him fourth in the championship field. Senior teammate Chris Koroly was sixth in the boys 50 sprint (23.02) and 11th in the 100 fly (57.00).

The Wolf Pack foursome of Uriel Lopez, Chuck Ringer, Koroly and Fuller captured the consolation 200 medley relay title in 1:46.79. Grossmont’s four-man unit of Tim Hoover, John Tolosko, Tim Kline and David Richards was right behind in 1:47.44. Kline placed 10th in the 100 fly (56.48); Hoover was 11th in the 100 back (59.35). Ringer was 11th in the 100 breast (1:06.81) while Granite Hills’ Chris George was 10th in the boys 50 free (23.04).

West Hills junior B. J. Lines, the Grossmont North League diving champion, finished 11th in the boys division finals ahead of sophomore teammate Kevin Webb. Grossmont’s Adam Hutson was 13th.

Grossmont’s 200 free relay was 10th in the boys field (1:35.66) while West Hills (9th, 3:29.63), Grossmont (10th, 3:30.56) and Granite Hills (11th, 3:34.60) rounded out the consolation field in the boys 400 free relay event.

Granite Hills sophomore Nicole Fisher captured the girls 100 free consolation title (54.48).   

Santana's Michelle Sanks timed 1:57.37 to place third in the girls 200 free while Meghan Sheehan captured the girls 500 free consolation title in 5:21.59. Monte Vista's girls were the 400 free relay consolation champions while the El Capitan boys finished runner-up in the 400 free consolation finals.

In diving, Santana's Adam Solis was third in the boys competition while schoolmate Michelle Siedle was fourth in the girls competition.