The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
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.
No high school in America can match the aquatic tradition that fills the walls of the Pete Archer Aquatics Center, the longtime natatorium at Wilson High School.
For the final time, the Bruins hosted a swim meet in that storied venue, welcoming in none other than archrival Long Beach Poly for one final showdown. Starting next year, Wilson will have a new aquatics complex on the other side of Ximeno, but before new Olympians are molded and school records broken, there was time for one more trip down memory lane.
Dozens of former Wilson coaches, water polo players, and swimmers returned home on Tuesday afternoon to see the Bruins take on the Jackrabbits, with the visitors winning a very close girls’ competition and the Wilson boys’ cruising to a win over their rivals. It was also Senior Night for both schools as they prepare for Moore League finals next week, but there was decades of history and tradition in the air.
“This place was packed full of people that put their blood, sweat and tears into this ancient beast and saw reward for it too,” said Wilson head coach Brandon D’Sa. “They wanted to come back and not just see it for the last time, but to remember their fun times here and see what this program is doing now. And I got nothing but compliments from everybody about the fact that it seems like the program’s in a good place. The pool is what it is, and we’re moving to a new one. But they just miss all this, and they love to see that it’s still got the same feeling about it.
“The history is still here.”
Girls’ Varsity
It was a heated competition on the girls’ side, with Poly trailing by three points going into the final relay of the day. The Jackrabbits knew going in they’d need to finish first and third in that race, which is exactly what they did in order to secure a narrow 86-84 win over the Bruins.
“It feels amazing. I don’t know what else to say besides, they put in the work,” said Poly head coach Ali Landeros of his squad. “Strategically I’ve been eyeing Wilson since day one, just feeling around a few different things. I played with the lineup for weeks trying to figure out what the best situation would be for us, and luckily enough, all the work paid off. So it feels great.”
Poly won eight of the 11 varsity races on Tuesday, but were only barely able to overcome Wilson’s team depth. The Bruins got off to a fast start by winning the first two races of the day, the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free, but Poly was able to win all but one of the next nine events to snag victory.
Belle Puckett and Phoebe Kuo each claimed two individual golds for the Jackrabbits, and they swam the first two legs of Poly’s winning 400 Free Relay that closed the meet with a crucial win. Poly’s “B” relay was also important as they claimed third place in that event, and Puckett said the team was well aware of that race’s significance going in. As a senior team captain, Puckett said she’s been working hard to finally beat Wilson in her career, and finally got a breakthrough on Tuesday.
“Throughout my four years at Poly, I’ve been trying to beat Wilson because of our rivalry, and we went in thinking it was gonna be close,” Puckett explained. “And although there are times where we thought we fell behind, it’s my job as a captain, it was my responsibility to keep everyone in the game, telling them that we got this. And at the end, I think the energy was super high. And I think our B relay did a really good job, and everyone just did their part.”
Nikki Bickel and Maya Guevara were also race winners for the Jackrabbits, claiming gold in the 100 Breaststroke and 50 Freestyle, respectively.
Wilson’s Abby Billish was a standout for the Bruins, winning gold in both the 200 and 500 Freestyle.
The Bruins still have everything left to swim for at Moore League finals next week, scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. at Cabrillo High. But Tuesday’s result should give Poly a boost as they look to take down the defending champs.
“I think it gives us a lot more confidence,” Puckett said. “Because for the past three years we’ve been losing (to Wilson), and even if we win this dual meet, we still have to go into league finals trying to get any points we can get, and we can’t be overconfident.”
Boys’ Varsity
The boys’ competition also ended with a bang, but the team result had long been decided in Wilson’s favor. The Bruins showed off their depth with a comfortable 108-62 victory, despite winning just six of the 11 races.
“The proof is in the training, and today wasn’t just about today, it was all the training that these guys have done since January,” said D’Sa. “One of our big mottos is ‘trust the training,’ put in the hard work and the reward will be there at the end, which is hard for 14-18-year-old boys to buy into, but they all do it. They hold each other accountable.”
D’Sa gave credit to his group of senior leaders including team captain Eli Vince, Enzo Brigagliano, Evan Morisky, Gavin Simon, and Noah Smith, which helped lead the Bruins to not only a comfortable rivalry win, but a memorable one in the history of Wilson Swim.
“It was epic. It was an honor to be the last team to swim in this pool, and being on that last relay group ever in that pool from Wilson was awesome,” said Vince. “And Senior Night is sweet for both teams, it’s always a fun match against Poly no matter what, the energy is always there. And it was good to beat them by a good amount, which is rad. Given how the last couple years have gone, with it being close, I feel like that was a solid statement.”
Kai Bramble led the way for the Bruins with a pair of individual victories, sweeping the 50 Free and 100 Free for Wilson while also leading their victorious 200 Free Relay.
“I’m very, very, happy. It's an honor to be the last guys in this pool,” Bramble said. “It just means so much with how it’s been, (the rivalry) has been so close the last couple of years. So it really just feels amazing to get a couple wins in.”
For Poly, things got off to a shaky start as their 200 Medley Relay squad got DQ’d in the first race of the day. But head coach Ishmael Pluton was unfazed by that result given Poly’s time of 1:36.78, nearly 10 seconds better than Wilson’s relay squad that finished second.
The Jackrabbits had two swimmers win multiple races, with Mordox Sar claiming gold in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly, and superstar Lucas Jue winning the 500 Free and 100 Back in style. Jue won the 500 by more than 31 seconds and was also a clear winner in the backstroke, with his time of :51.50 nearly nine full seconds faster than the field.
Jue delivered perhaps the best swim of the night to close out the meet, bringing Poly back for a narrow victory in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Jue swam a ridiculous split of :46.3 to bring the Jackrabbits back for one of the closest victories of the evening, clipping the Bruins at the wall by just over three tenths of a second.
Wilson’s Noah Smith also scored a narrow victory in the 100 Breaststroke, just edging out Poly’s Gael Cruz with a 1:04.42, just a couple tenths better than Cruz’s time of 1:04.65.
The Bruins and Jackrabbits will join the rest of the Moore League next Friday night at Cabrillo for league finals, with the first race scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
Girls’ Varsity Race Winners:
200 Medley Relay - Wilson (Dunn, Tunnicliff, Garcia, Alfonso), 2:00.11
200 Free - Abby Billish, Wilson (2:01.84)
200 IM - Phoebe Kuo, Poly (2:13.75)
50 Free - Maya Guevara, Poly (25.25)
100 Butterfly - Belle Puckett, Poly (1:00.58)
100 Free - Belle Puckett, Poly (53.85)
500 Free - Abby Billish, Wilson (5:26.86)
200 Free Relay - Poly (Puckett, Bickel, Kuo, Guevara), 1:43.30
100 Backstroke - Phoebe Kuo, Poly (1:02.91)
100 Breaststroke - Nikki Bickel, Poly (1:09.47)
400 Free Relay - Poly (Puckett, Kuo, Bickel, Guevara), 3:41.70
Boys’ Varsity Race Winners:
200 Medley Relay - Wilson (Casem, Smith, Abing, Knight), 1:46.50
200 Free - Keegan Abing, Wilson (1:53.80)
200 IM - Mordox Sar, Poly (2:06.19)
50 Free - Kai Bramble, Wilson (22.80)
100 Butterfly - Mordox Sar, Poly (55.42)
100 Free - Kai Bramble, Wilson (49.36)
500 Free - Lucas Jue, Poly (4:35.82)
200 Free Relay - Wilson (Bramble, Casem, Conrey, Vince), 1:32.95
100 Backstroke - Lucas Jue, Poly (51:50)
100 Breaststroke - Noah Smith, Wilson (1:04.42)
400 Free Relay - Poly (Oatey, Kato, Sar, Jue), 3:18.08
