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Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Third annual ‘Battle in the Bay' moves Back Bay water polo rivals from pool to ocean
It's been a big week for Newport Harbor High junior Connor Ohl. The sharp-shooting boys' water polo player committed to Stanford earlier this week. He then turned 18 on Thursday, the same day the Sailors hosted the third annual 'Battle in the Bay' showcase against rival Corona del Mar in the water next to Marina Park on the Balboa Peninsula. Ohl gave himself a birthday gift. He was named the KAP7 Player of the Game for the boys' match, earning a stand-up paddleboard for his efforts. Newport Harbor swept the two games, winning the girls' game 17-5 before earning a 15-8 win in the boys' game. 'We really came together and our crash defense was just amazing,' said Ohl, who led the Sailors with four goals in the boys' game. 'When you play good defense, the offense will come, and that's what happened today. Our defense complemented our offense.' The Battle in the Bay has become an annual event that the Newport Beach water polo community circles on its calendar. Newport Harbor looked the part of a team that was a CIF Southern Section Open Division champion in the boys' season last fall, and an Open Division finalist in the girls' season in the winter. 'It's such a unique spot,' Sailors coach Ross Sinclair said. 'It's unique to play in the Battle of the Bay, and I think this is another added element of celebrating the community and being able to play in the bay. It's a novelty.' Kai Kaneko added three goals for the Sailors boys, while Dash D'Ambrosia, Hudson Parks and Mason Netzer scored twice each. Koosha Mirrafati led CdM with three goals. 'It's a cool thing for our community to come together and do something that no other programs in the country get to do,' CdM coach Lucas Reynolds said, adding that he was a bit jealous the event wasn't around when he was a CdM student. 'Being able to play in the bay, play so close to home in a really cool environment, I think it's an awesome opportunity for our kids.' Newport Harbor senior goalkeeper Lydia Soderberg was the Player of the Game for the girls' match. Some of her Sailors teammates blew up her inflatable paddleboard and watched the boys' game while perched on it. Caitlin Stayt and Gabby Alexson led the Sailors with three goals each, while Josie Alaluf had two goals for CdM. Newport Harbor also benefited from strong play from freshmen, including Lily Tomalas, Vivian Muir, Olivia Bryant and goalkeeper Sutton Lohman. They stepped up, as four Sailors — Madison Mack, Kennedy Fahey, Addison Ting and Caroline Daniels — are currently playing for the U.S. Cadet National Team at the PanAm Aquatics Water Polo Championships in Colombia. 'This is just a really unique experience,' Stayt said. 'We love coming out here and being with the community, being with each other.'
Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Chase Shipp, Corinna Ruffini medal at CIF State Diving Championships
Laguna Beach High senior Chase Shipp and Newport Harbor junior Corinna Ruffini each medaled at the CIF State Diving Championships on Thursday at Clovis Olympic Swim Complex. Shipp, bound for Harvard, finished fourth place in the boys' competition with 509.55 points. Ruffini, a University of Houston commit, was fifth in the girls' competition with 451 points. Shipp, making his third appearance at the CIF State Championship meet, earned his best finish. He was seventh last year as a junior and sixth as a sophomore. The two-time CIF Southern Section champion said in a text message that his dives felt less consistent than they had been lately, but he couldn't complain about fourth place. 'As I close out my high school dive career I especially want to thank my coach, Curt Wilson, for his steadfast support,' Shipp said. 'I'm looking forward to seeing the next group of Laguna divers on the podium at CIF. Go Beach!' Ruffini earned her first medal at the state meet, as she finished 14th last year as a sophomore. 'It was a super fun meet with some good competition!' she said in a text message. 'I've been pretty sick all week and haven't been able to practice at all, so I really surprised myself with my performance since I wasn't feeling my best. I'm hoping that next year I can come back in better health and hopefully take the title as state champ!' Newport Harbor junior Violet Carone finished 11th at state finals in the girls' competition, while Edison sophomore Allison McNichols placed 18th.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
High school boys' volleyball: Saturday playoff results and updated pairings
SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS SATURDAY'S RESULTS POOL PLAY DIVISION 1 #6 Newport Harbor d. #7 Redondo Union, 18-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-12 SEMIFINALS DIVISION 2 Mater Dei d. St. Francis, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17 Advertisement Peninsula d. St. Margaret's, 13-25, 25-23, 25-16, 27-25 DIVISION 3 Tesoro d. North Torrance, 25-17, 25-19, 25-16 Orange Lutheran d. Warren, 25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 25-14 DIVISION 4 Santa Barbara d. Corona Santiago, 25-21, 25-16, 30-28 Sage Hill d. Crean Lutheran, 3-0 DIVISION 5 Esperanza d. Newbury Park, 25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 21-25, 16-14 Kennedy d. Vista Murrieta, 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22 DIVISION 6 Quartz Hill d. Village Christian, 3-2 El Toro d. Laguna Blanca, 3-2 DIVISION 7 Brea Olinda d. San Jacinto, 3-1 Brentwood at San Gabriel Academy, Monday at 4 p.m. DIVISION 8 Katella d. Lancaster Desert Christian, 25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21 Advertisement Wildwood d. Avalon, 3-2 DIVISION 9 California Academy of Math & Science d. San Jacinto Valley Academy, 3-2 Beverly Hills at Downey, Monday at 5 p.m. Note: Finals in Division 1 Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at Cerritos College; Finals in Divisions 2-9 May 16 or 17 (sites and times TBA). Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Fountain Valley girls, Newport Harbor boys earn top-five finishes at CIF D1 swim finals
WALNUT — Fountain Valley High School sophomore Alyssa Ton celebrated her Sweet 16 birthday on Saturday. Ton gave herself two great gifts at the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Swimming Championships. She won the girls' 200- and 500-yard freestyle events going away, posting personal-best times in each event in the process. 'I didn't know [the meet] was on my birthday until maybe a couple of weeks ago,' Ton said. 'I think honestly, it's pretty fun to have it on my birthday. To go lifetime bests in both [events] on my birthday, that's really fun.' The special talent helped the Barons' girls place a strong third place as a team, up two spots from a year ago. Newport Harbor's boys set three school records at the Division 1 finals and finished tied for fifth as a team. Ton repeated as Division 1 girls' 200 freestyle champion, going out fast and cruising to a first-place finish in a time of 1 minute, 44.12 seconds. 'I wanted to go out pretty fast and see if I could hold on, and I think I did just that,' she said. She won the girls' 500 freestyle by nearly five seconds, cruising to the wall in 4:43.19. Fountain Valley coach Nathan Wilcox said that at Thursday's meet preliminaries, Ton had broken the 1974 school record of Olympic champion Shirley Babashoff in the event. She lowered that time by more than a full second on Saturday. She also swam leadoff as the Fountain Valley 200 medley relay team, which also featured senior Kaitlyn Nguyen, freshman Audrey Prall and senior Leyna Nguyen, touched third in 1:45.04. Kaitlyn Nguyen finished second in the 200 IM and fourth in the breaststroke for the Barons, while Wilcox said his team also benefited from the improvement of Leyna Nguyen, who made the 'A' final in the 50 free and the 'B' final of the 100 freestyle. 'We're building something really good at Fountain Valley,' Wilcox said. 'We're hoping that in three to five years, we're up there with Santa Margarita and we have a chance of winning it every year. That's the goal. That's what we're trying to build.' Newport Harbor junior Connor Ohl won the boys' 50 free in 20.04 seconds, a week after swimming a 19.79 at Sunset League finals to become the second Orange County boy to go under 20 seconds. 'I only wanted to win when I came here today, and that's what I did,' said Ohl, who also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle. 'It's obviously not a 19, but to win any day is a great day. It's awesome.' Sailors senior Aidan Arie won the consolation final in the boys' 200 IM in 1:48.83, a time that would have placed him second in the championship final. In doing so, he broke the school record in the event set by Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol in 2000. It was the third individual school record of Arie's high school career. '[Peirsol] still has a standing world record, that's the crazy part,' said Arie, who also took second place in the butterfly. 'The 200 back is still his. I was looking at his record on the board, and I was like, 'Can I do that?' It's pretty cool to take him down. I'm just stoked.' Later in the meet, Arie also helped the Sailors also set school records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. The 200 free relay quartet of Dash D'Ambrosia, James Mulvey, Arie and Ohl touched third in 1:22.63, while the 400 free relay featuring the same swimmers in the same order also finished third in 3:01.63. Newport Harbor coach Kevin Potter said the Sailors boys set school records in six of 11 events this year, while Arie also set the 500 freestyle record last year. The Newport Harbor pool is under reconstruction and set to reopen next school year. 'Next year, when that new record board goes up, it's going to be a lot of new names on there,' Ohl said. 'Mulvey and Dash really wanted to have their names on that board.' Fountain Valley junior Peter Vu finished third in both of his individual events, the 200 IM and the breaststroke. In the girls' breaststroke event, CdM sophomore Sofia Szymanowski broke her own school record and placed a strong second in 1:00.79, less than four-tenths of a second behind repeat champion Bella Brito from Mira Costa. Szymanowski said a bee sting suffered during preliminaries affected her in her other strokes, but not as much in the breaststroke. 'I'm going to be sad when they're graduated next year,' Symanowski said of Nguyen, who is her training partner in club swimming at Irvine Novaquatics, and Brito. 'I just love racing against them.' CdM's Nikki Lahey, Szymanowski, Alex Milisavljevic and Kennedy Smith placed eighth in the medley relay, while Szymanowski, Milisavljevic, Josie Alaluf and Lahey were ninth in the 200 free relay. CdM's girls also finished ninth as a team. Lahey, a senior, capped her high school career with two individual championship finals. She was seventh in the girls' 100 free and eighth in the 50 free. Edison junior Holden Lee also made two championship finals, finishing fourth in the boys' backstroke and eighth in the butterfly. Costa Mesa's boys, who had won the Division 3 championship in 2023 and the Division 2 title last year, found the going more tough in Division 1. Still, Mustangs junior Avrum Xagorarakis was the consolation champion in the 200 freestyle on Saturday. Santa Margarita's girls won their 11th straight CIF team title at the meet, while the Santa Margarita boys won their fifth straight crown. Wilcox said that several his top Irvine Novaquatics club swimmers will now turn their attention to the USA Swimming National Championships, set for June 3-7 in Indianapolis. But Arie said he will compete at the CIF State Swimming Championships, which begin Friday at Clovis Olympic Swim Complex. Marina senior Jadyn Chaffins finished fifth in the 50 free on Friday at Mt. SAC, touching in 24.59 seconds and ending her career as the second-fastest in the event in Vikings history. Among other swimmers in championship finals, Costa Mesa sophomore Melanie Pang placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke and Sage Hill senior Dylan Rosmann finished fifth in the boys' 100 freestyle. Ocean View sophomore Thai Nguyen placed ninth in the boys' 100 breaststroke, pacing local finishers on Friday at Mt. SAC. Ocean View's girls placed ninth as a team at the finals Thursday at Mt. SAC. Seahawks senior Morgan Carles placed top three in each of her individual events. She was second in the 100 backstroke in 59.68 and third in the 100 freestyle in 53.11. Fellow Ocean View senior Gabrielle Singer was eighth in the 100 free. The Ocean View girls' 400 free relay team of Singer, Gaby Zifcak, Serena Ruiz and Carles placed third in 4:01.90.
Los Angeles Times
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
4 local high school divers advance to CIF State meet
WALNUT — Laguna Beach High senior Chase Shipp saved the best for last on Tuesday afternoon at the CIF State diving qualifier. He nailed his sixth and final dive, a reverse 1 ½ somersault 2 ½ twist free. The seven judges gave him a total score of 64.50, his top mark of the day. 'I was really happy with it,' Shipp said. 'I knew that I had to hit it to hopefully get first. I would have liked another four points on it hopefully, but it's all good. I felt the board really move well under my feet, and felt the entry line up pretty well.' Shipp ended up placing a close second to Grant Schneider of Capistrano Valley Christian at the qualifier meet, held at Mt. San Antonio College. The effort was more than enough to get him to next week's CIF State Meet for the third time. Edison sophomore Allison McNichols and Newport Harbor juniors Corinna Ruffini and Violet Carone also advanced to the state meet. Diving finals for boys and girls will be held May 15 at Clovis Olympic Swim Complex. McNichols qualified third from the CIF Southern Section on the girls' side, with Ruffini in fifth. Carone took the sixth and final qualifying spot, among the 12 divers assembled for Tuesday's meet. The conditions were cool and misty Tuesday, so the hot tub was the area of choice when the divers weren't actually executing their 1-meter dives. 'It could be a lot worse,' noted Shipp, who is bound for Harvard University. 'Last weekend, up at Novato [at the USA Diving Junior Region 10 Championships], 20 miles per hour gusts were literally blowing people off of the boards.' Shipp, who won his second straight CIF Southern Section Division 2 title last week, has little left to prove but is looking for a solid meet to cap his high school diving career. He finished seventh at the state meet last year, and sixth as a sophomore. 'I'm just going in there hoping to do as well as possible,' he said. 'I don't see a big difference in it being senior year. I'm just going out every time to do the best I can.' McNichols is headed to the state meet for the first time, and said she was thrilled. She started strong on Tuesday, with her first dive, an inward 1 ½ somersault pike, netting her a score of 50.40 that tied for her best. 'That's probably my favorite dive,' she said. 'I feel like that dive, I always hit really good. I really like it. At practice it's always a good, solid, consistent dive for me.' Newport Harbor's Ruffini and Carone are headed to the state meet for the second and first time, respectively. Ruffini, who finished second at the Division 1 finals, overcame a rough start with her second dive Tuesday. Her final dive, a forward 2 ½ somersault tuck, earned a score of 50.40 that was tops among girls' divers in the sixth round. 'My first two dives weren't my best, but I definitely came back,' she said. 'My last few, I had better scores on, which I was really stoked about. At state, I'm just going to need to be a little bit more consistent. That's definitely something that I've been working on this year, consistency.' With only the top six divers in each gender moving on, other locals saw their seasons end Tuesday. Newport Harbor junior Nikka Asgarian placed eighth at the qualifying meet on the girls' side, while Edison senior Ian Dien finished 12th on the boys' side. Asgarian, who dives club for Crown Valley Divers along with Shipp and Carone, was one of the most vocal in encouraging her fellow competitors after strong dives. McNichols and Ruffini dive for Coast Divers, which is headed up by Newport Harbor coach Kaeden Cogbill. 'We're not just competitors, we're all really good friends,' Shipp said. 'It's a really tight-knit community. That's one of the things that makes diving so much fun, instead of just intense, that collaborative community.'
