Granada Hills Sweeps City Section Swimming Finals To Extend Its Dynasty

The excavation dynasty continues astatine Granada Hills.

The venue was different, but nan consequence was nan aforesaid arsenic nan Highlanders swept nan boys’ and girls’ titles Friday successful nan City Section aquatics championships astatine East Los Angeles College.

It was nan girls’ 4th title successful a statement (two short of nan school-record six consecutive they won from 1995-2000) and their 10th overall. They vanished pinch 458 points, comfortably up of runner-up Cleveland (226) and third-place Palisades (222).

“We’ve won City each twelvemonth since I was a freshman truthful I’m beautiful happy,” said co-captain Elaina Brier, a elder committed to UC Santa Cruz. “I sewage 2nd successful some of my individual events and won my relays (200-meter medley and 200-meter freestyle). We turned into specified a ascendant squad and this is nan strongest one.”

GALA’s Jordyn Hale defended her crown successful nan 50 freestyle successful 24.14 seconds (she won successful 24 level past year), followed by Brier (24.67). Hale besides won nan 100 freestyle successful 53.06 aft placing 2nd past twelvemonth to Iris Paek of LACES successful 52.93. Brier was nan runner-up this clip successful 54.24.

Elise Kao of Venice repeated arsenic 200 freestyle champion pinch a clip of 1:54.98 and Granada Hills’ Meygen Flores was 2nd successful 1:57.90. Kao (59.63) was 2nd to Flores (58.21) successful nan 100 butterfly and Flores’ teammate Sahasi Mahat was third.

Venice skipper Elise Kao repeated arsenic nan girls’ 200-meter freestyle champion astatine nan City Section Finals pinch a clip of 1:54.98 connected Friday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Granada Hills’ Isabella San Jose won some nan 200 individual medley (2:08.64) and 100 breaststroke (1:04.66), Mahat was 2nd successful nan 100 backstroke and Abigail Sirichalermchai was 2nd to San Jose successful nan 100 breaststroke. The Highlander girls took third, 4th and 5th successful nan 500 freestyle and closed beardown pinch a winning 3:42.78 effort successful nan 400 freestyle relay.

Not to beryllium outdone, nan boys racked up a whopping 512 points for their 3rd consecutive title and 4th full (the first was successful 2001).

Palisades (275) placed 2nd for nan 4th twelvemonth successful a row, 2 points up of Cleveland.

Princeton-bound skipper Ryan Zheng capped a stellar profession by winning nan 200 and 500 freestyles for nan 3rd consecutive clip and anchoring nan Highlanders’ winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays for nan 3rd twelvemonth successful a row.

Granada Hills’ Ryan Zheng won nan 200-meter freestyle for nan 3rd twelvemonth successful a statement successful 1:41.75 seconds astatine nan City Section Finals connected Friday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“Four golds for nan 3rd twelvemonth successful a statement — it makes each nan difficult activity worthy it,” Zheng said.

Zheng swam nan 200 successful 1:41.75 seconds, bettering his 1:42.23 successful past year’s finals meet astatine Valley College, to hit teammates Kyle Lee (1:44.77) and Ryan Cha (1:46.71), who were 2nd and third. Zheng topped past year’s winning clip successful nan 500 by astir 2 seconds successful 4:40.42.

Granada Hills’ extent was astir evident successful nan 100 breaststroke, arsenic Joel Shin (59.27), Ethan Gonzalez (1:00.97), Arya Shahriari (1:01.05) and Jairus Paita (1:03.07) swept nan apical 4 spots.

The Highlanders lowered their times successful nan 200 freestyle relay (1:28.14) and 400 freestyle relay (3:12.61) and took first successful nan 200 medley relay by astir 3 seconds but sewage disqualified erstwhile officials ruled Kenny Brier near early connected nan freestyle leg.

Reseda’s Volodymyr Balaban won nan 200-meter individual medley successful 1:57.11 astatine nan City Section Finals astatine East Los Angeles College connected Friday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Brier (Elaina’s sophomore brother) won nan 50 freestyle (21.54) and 100 freestyle (48.53) while Reseda’s Volodymyr Balaban took nan 200 individual medley successful 1:57.11, followed by Shin (1:58.64).

“Every constituent matters each azygous year. ... I’ve ne'er seen specified unity successful a team,” said Granada Hills coach Joshua Cheng, nan designer of nan dynasty, who swam for Cleveland (graduating successful 2015) and is now successful his 5th twelvemonth pinch nan Highlanders. “We vanished correct wherever we belonged — astatine nan top!”

As his squad chanted, “One more!” Cheng said: “Why extremity there?”