Malibu Seawolves swimmers Tallula Murphree and Filip Kurial finished at the tops of their age groups at the first annual Malibu Sprint Invitational at the Malibu Community Pool.
Tallula, 10, one of three Seawolves triplets, tied for first in the meet’s 9-10 Men/Women division with 94 points, while Filip, 11, was the lead point-getter with 96 in the 11 & Older Men/Women division. The two garnered their scores by competing in various heats, including backstrokes, breaststroke, freestyles, IM and relay swims.
Seawolves program head Max Jaben noted that the two also won the youth swimming program’s Jane Manykova (Kurial) High Point Award due to their performances. The honor is named after Filip’s mother who passed away last summer.
“It was very meaningful that he won the first award named after his mother on Mother’s Day weekend,” Jaben said.
Filip and Tallula weren’t the only Seawolves to swim successfully against the visiting competition, which included swimmers from CCAT Swimming, Rattler Swim Club and other swimmers from the Southern California Coastal Committee.
Tallula’s brother, Ranger, 10, finished third in their age group with 86 points, and Flora Case tied for fifth with 77 points.
Ranger was nervous initially on Saturday but was proud of this performance.
“It was super fun,” he said.
Eight-year-old Gia Baranick finished seventh in the 5-8 Men/Women division with 68 points.
Jaben said the meet was a huge success.
“Not only did our program do an outstanding job hosting, but our swimmers swam amazing,” he said. “We had tons of best times.”
The invitational was a big event for the Seawolves and the Malibu Aquatics Foundation, a nonprofit that supports aquatic programs and water safety in Malibu, because this was the first time a local swim club had hosted a swim meet in the city.
Jaben said it means a lot to the families of the 40-member Seawolves to hold a swim competition at the Malibu pool.
“We have reached a point where we are really proud of the swim team we have,” he said. “We are always going to other meets. Ninety-five percent of our meets are in Santa Barbara, Carpentaria, Thousand Oaks. We never get the opportunity to host in Malibu. It’s kind of a validating time for our team.”
Ranger and Tallula’s mother, Sue Murphree, said the Seawolves’ event was a great bonding experience for the team’s parents. She added that competing in a familiar pool benefited the younger Seawolves.
“Kids as young as five … on the team were comfortable swimming in their own pool, as opposed to a different location where they might have problems with the logistics,” she explained.
The third Murphree sibling in the Seawolves ranks, Wiley, 10, said swimming in Malibu allowed him to sleep in a bit more before the 11 a.m. meet. Wiley and his siblings normally get up around 6 a.m. on competition days to travel to wherever the Seawolves will swim.
“I really hope we will keep on having swim meets at home, so I can get faster and faster and not have to wake up as early,” Wiley said. “I can just go two miles and I’m at the pool.”
It took about three months for the invitational to be put together. In addition to the swim heats, the event featured food provided by Vintage Grocers and Kristy’s Village Café.
The Seawolves will compete in the Memorial Day Meet at Cal Lutheran University May 25-27. Beyond that, four members of the club have qualified for a Junior Olympics meet this summer.
Ranger set team records for a second time in the 10 & Under 50 and 100-yard backstroke events at the spring Junior Olympics in March. His 50-meter time was 34.83 seconds and his 100-meter time was 1:16.46.
Malibu High swimmer Marcel Hurtubise, also a member of the Seawolves, broke former Malibu High and Seawolves swimmer Logan Hotchkiss’ high school 100-meter butterfly record on at the Tri-Valley League Championships earlier this month. Hurtubise swam the event in 52.97, besting Hotchkiss’ 53.97.
