The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial
Long Beach has been known for producing great swimmers and aquatic athletes for more than a century, which makes the 2023 that Long Beach Poly’s Colin Geer and Wilson’s Sammie Hamilton had even more impressive, as both swimmers made history.
Geer helped lead Poly to a Moore League swim title over Wilson, breaking a state-record streak of 49 years. Geer was just as impressive as an individual swimmer as he was as a team leader. Now at Michigan as a freshman, Geer won individual CIF-SS and CIF State titles, becoming the first-ever state champion from Long Beach in the modern swim postseason era.
“He’s been the greatest leader you could ever ask for in a high school athlete,” Poly swim coach Ish Pluton said of Geer, who also set a new CIF-SS Division 1 record in the 200 IM during his golden postseason run.
“Swimming at Poly was amazing and I’m so glad my teammates and I could accomplish our goals,” Geer said. “That (league meet) was a night I know I’ll never forget.”
Geer also qualified for the 2024 USA Swim Olympic Trials in the 200 IM and will compete in Indianapolis in 2024 for a chance to go to Paris.
While Geer was the 2022-23 All-City Boys’ Athlete of the Year, Hamilton is the clear frontrunner to earn the girls’ title this school year after a historic run last year as a junior.
Hamilton recently committed to swim in the NCAA at Kentucky. One of the top recruits in the nation, she selected the Wildcats over USC, Alabama, Ohio State, and others.
Last year Hamilton set Moore League records while leading her Wilson Bruins to a third consecutive Moore League title. She also finished third in the 500 free at the CIF State meet, the highest finish by a Bruin in the modern incarnation of that meet. She’ll be one of the top swimmers in the state this year with a chance to win a title, and will have her pick of league records to try and take down in her senior campaign.
She’s also broken the Huntington Beach Pier Swim Record and won eight silver medals in the Maccabiah Games.
At the recent Junior Nationals meet in Chicago, she qualified for five events and took sixth in the nation in the 1650.
