MHS Swim has a season to remember

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Swimmers dive in during the Citrus Coast League championship meet. The Malibu High boys team finished second in league, and the girls team finished third. Photos by Steven Lippman

Sharks close season strong, records are broken and team represented in the CIF Division 3 Championships

The Malibu High School swim team is celebrating a successful season with strong performances across the whole team and highlighted by some exceptional individual efforts.

The boys varsity team closed the season with a strong second-place finish at the Citrus Coast League Championships, while the girls varsity team came in third.

The season showcased impressive efforts from student athletes Filip Kurial, Vanessa Clarke, Tallula Muphree, Jake Sichta, Eros Brunel, Thomas Drummond, Nico Marazzi, Ryder Lippman, and Costes Jensen among others.

Malibu High School head swimming coach Michael Mulligan praised his teams for their hard work that allowed them to compete at the highest level.

“Being a coach, their coach, is so rewarding,” he said. “Being able to see the kids put in their best efforts, achieving their goal times from the beginning of the season, and improving their pre-season times, it’s pretty special.”

He said he believes the team created a culture of support, discipline, and fun. 

“It was such a fun team to coach. They have a lot of team spirit, they had a lot of fun at practice, and always cheered each other on in practice,” Mulligan said. “Our seniors and upperclassmen led the way, encouraged, and supported our younger swimmers,”.

MHS senior and team captain Vanessa Clarke explained the importance of Mulligan’s support and leadership.

“Coach Mulligan leads the greatest and loudest pre-meet psyche-cheers!,” she said. “He is always pushing swimmers to be their absolute best. He has been a very loyal coach, having been at MHS for several decades, and we are very lucky to have him.”

Clarke led by example as a senior, competing at the highest level. She won the 100 freestyle league championship and bested her previous time by .10. She ended up in third place for the 50 freestyle at league finals, just .01 from second place. 

She went on to represent MHS at the CIF Division 3 Championships, where she qualified for the 50 free finals with a new personal best time, and took 16th overall. 

Clarke reflected on her strong season and said she was proud to have all her hard work pay off. 

“Since I was 6 years old, I have been training year-round, several days a week for this moment, so achieving success was truly rewarding,” she said. “When you lofty set goals, it has a motivating impact, and you constantly want to compete at your best.”

Despite her individual success, Clarke applauded her team for their commitment to improvement and success.

“At league finals, our team felt the benefit of our countless hours of training, producing great results in our races. Being in a very competitive division, we had to work extra hard to put up great results, which we did,” Clarke said.

Another standout on the team was Filip Kurial, whose efforts have etched his name into MHS history. 

Kurial is now the school’s record holder for the 50 free, with a time of 21.02, surpassing the previous record of 21.38. He is also the record holder for the fastest 100 free, with a time of 45.59, besting the previous score of 46.00. 

Kurial spoke humbly on the season, highlighting the efforts of the team before his own.

“I am very proud of our performance this year. This has been the farthest we have made it through CIF in a while,” Kurial said. “I am very happy with how the year turned out and it will definitely be one to remember. Not only am I happy with my times, but it was also crazy to see just how much everyone else was able to improve too.” 

Kurial also represented the school at the Division 3 Championships, placing 21st in the state in the 50 frees and 12th in the state in the 100 frees.

Kurial praised his coach for the support and training. 

“Mr. Mulligan is the best coach that I have had for swimming. He is tough at practice and makes us work to become the best versions of ourselves, in and out of the pool,” Kurial said. “The skills, knowledge, and energy that he brings to the pool are unbeatable and I can’t wait to swim with him again next year.”

Mulligan said he was happy with the team’s achievements, but believes the takeaway of the season is the support, progress, and happiness that the program supplied to the team.

“I was happy with the work ethic, the team comradery and I would say that the takeaway has to be seeing the enjoyment and excitement when they get their fastest time, or place high in finals, and knowing they’re excited about continuing swimming the following year,” Mulligan said.