For the past four years, a strong Malibu High swim team has been competing in the shadow of the powerhouse Oaks Christian School while being a member of the Tri-Valley League. Now after a switch to the Frontier League, the Sharks have established their new identity as the frontrunner to win a league title in both boys and girls swimming.
“It’s exciting for the kids. It’s been tough being in the Tri-Valley League the last four years with Oaks Christian. They are always winning it and winning by a hundred points,” Malibu coach Tim Segesman said. “Now we finally get to compete for a league title and get the kids motivated. They are excited to work hard and put out the effort to see if they can be successful this year.”
Last week in a home meet against fellow league foes Saint Bonaventure, Grace Brethren and Bishop Diego, Malibu swept the boys and girls dual meets. The boys defeated Saint Bonaventure 72-16, Grace Brethren 74-9, and Bishop Diego 72-4. The girls knocked off Grace Brethren in a tight battle, 48-40, Saint Bonaventure, 62-13 and shutout Bishop Diego, 62-0.
Segesman, who is in his 11th season as head coach of the program, was pleased with the overall effort and results from all his swimmers.
“I think we had a great meet. We had some good swims. We had two qualifications for CIF for the girls and the boys,” Segesman said. “For coming back after having two weeks off, the kids are working hard. It shows they want to make a good run at going to CIF and winning a league title.”
With 62 members in the MHS swim program, several of whom also compete for the Malibu Seawolves club program, numbers are up and expectations are on the rise. Talented young athletes such as Logan Hotchkiss, Alec Wilimovsky, Owen Franz, Esther Yang, Chloe Veronique and Caroline Pietrzyk form a bright nucleus of swimmers for the future. None of them are seniors.
Hotchkiss specializes in the 200 individual medley (IM) and 100 butterfly and should likely threaten the school records in those two events currently held by Northwestern University phenom and 2012 MHS graduate, Jordan Wilimovsky. Only a sophomore, Hotchkiss has matured into the school’s best swimmer and looked the part dominating the meet last week.
He earned an automatic CIF qualifying time of 2:08.42 in the 200 IM while placing first as well as earning victories in the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. Hotchkiss is also a strong competitor in the 200 and 500 individual freestyle.
“I felt pretty good. I haven’t set any personal records yet because I have been doing a bunch of practices and haven’t been tapering,” Hotchkiss said. “I want to get at least two records on the board.”
“Logan is a great asset. He has a lot of natural talent,” Segesman said. “As he grows and becomes older, he should set some school records. He will be one of the top swimmers this year in CIF Division IV. It’s going to be fun to watch and see what he can bring to the table.”
Alec Wilimovsky won the 200 freestyle last week in a time of 1:59.58, which earned him CIF consideration. He also won the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.52. He has followed nicely in the footsteps of his older brother, who excelled while at Malibu.
“Just watching him train over the years and the dedication that he puts in really lets me know how much work I need to put in,” said Wilimovsky, a sophomore. “I still could have gone a little faster today, but I felt pretty good for coming off of spring break.”
Franz, a sophomore, won the 50 freestyle (24.41) and 100 freestyle (53.83).
Yang, a freshman, conquered the 200 IM in a time of 2:27.32 while Veronique, a junior, won the 50 freestyle in 26.58. Both earned CIF consideration.
Pietrzyk and senior Moorea Maguire took first and second in the 200 freestyle in 2:17.54 and 2:34.50, respectively. Pietrzyk, a standout runner who also finished in second last week on the track in the 3200-meter race at the prestigious Arcadia Track Invitational, captured the 500 freestyle in the pool in a CIF consideration time of 6:09.96. Maguire claimed second in the 100 butterfly in 1:13.73.
“I did well,” said Pietrzyk, a sophomore. “I’m enjoying both sports. It’s tough but I’m not tired.”
Like Pietrzyk, Maguire competes for MHS in two sports simultaneously. When she isn’t swimming, she surfs and will be competing this weekend at the state surfing championships in Oceanside. On this day, she was just happy to be back in the pool.
“I’m coming back from a back injury and I was a little skeptical of doing the 100 fly. It turned out okay because I got second,” Maguire said. “I was happy with my performance by shaving off a second off my time.” League finals will be held on April 30 and May 2 at a site to be determined.