Behind a record-breaking performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Malibu boys swim team won its second consecutive Frontier League title last week.
The host Sharks tallied 390 points to outdistance second-place Nordhoff High School (355), Grace Brethren (108), Santa Paula (100), Saint Bonaventure (75) and Fillmore (62).
The Malibu girls team finished in third with 207 points behind league champion Nordhoff (360) and runner-up Grace Brethren, which narrowly surpassed the Sharks with 209 points.
“It’s awesome. It’s great to repeat. Tough to do that,” Malibu coach Tim Segesman said. “The boys rose to the occasion today. They responded to the challenge and to set school records is even better.”
In a thrilling conclusion to the meet, Logan Hotchkiss, Cooper Bell, Alec Wilimovsky and Owen Franz emphatically put an exclamation point on another league championship by swimming a 3:18.28 in the 400-yard freestyle relay to shatter the previous school record of 3:20.52 set in 2008.
“That was really exciting,” Hotchkiss said. “Last year we were aiming for that but we never hit it. This time we got it at league finals and we are hoping to cut down some more time at CIF.”
The Shark relay team finished an impressive 18 seconds ahead of Nordhoff, which came in at 3:36.66.
The race brought about cheers and jubilation that echoed throughout the Malibu campus.
“That was sweet,” Segesman said as fellow MHS coach Michael Mulligan was thrown into the pool to begin the celebration. “We knew we had some fast swimmers. Owen (Franz) swam out of his mind. When these guys want something, they go get it.”
The fabulous foursome also won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:30.61, easily beating Nordhoff (1:34.30).
Hotchkiss, who won CIF Division IV titles in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle races a year ago, continues to etch his name on the Malibu swim record board.
In addition to the 400 freestyle relay, Hotchkiss set school records in the 200 yard individual medley (IM) and the 100-yard breaststroke.
Two days earlier, Hotchkiss set the new school record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.78 to break Jordan Wilimovsky’s mark of 2:03.90 in 2011. At league finals, Hotchkiss broke his own record swimming in 2:00.11.
He continued his masterful swim performance by setting a school record in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.93) narrowly edging the time of 1:02.98 set by Carter Baldwin in 2008. Hotchkiss also owns school records in the 200 freestyle (1:45.54) and 100 backstroke (57.34), which he accomplished in 2013.
“I’m really happy with my times. Now I hope to do well in my two races at CIF,” said Hotchkiss, who will defend his two CIF titles this Friday at the CIF Swimming Championships in Riverside.
Wilimovsky won the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.17) and the 100-yard butterfly (56.49).
“That was unexpected,” said Wilimovsky referring to the 100 butterfly. “I didn’t know I was going to go so fast in the fly. I dropped 4 seconds from my seed time. That was exciting.”
Along with junior teammates Hotchkiss and Franz, Wilimovsky will swim four events at the CIF finals.
“I’m shooting for the school record in the 100 fly,” he said.
Franz won the 50-yard freestyle (22.60) and the 100 yard freestyle in 48.00. He defeated Patrick Wilber of Saint Bonaventure (48.26) in an exciting finish to claim the double dip.
“I came out in the 50 expecting to go first,” Franz said. “But the 100 was truly unexpected for me. It was a good swim. I dropped more than two seconds which was big.”
Freshman Farah Stack had a strong afternoon for the MHS girls, winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:58.57 and taking first and setting a school record in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.37). She eclipsed the previous record of 1:03.13 by Seana Diemer in 2006.
“I was really excited to win the races,” Stack said. “I was happy to get the school record too. I’ve been working really hard in practice focusing on the details of my stroke. I’m really proud of myself for accomplishing my time.”
