The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
The Wilson boys’ swim team was back in the pool on Friday evening at Cabrillo–taking another celebratory swim for one of the state’s most storied and successful programs.
The Bruins showcased impressive depth as they outclassed the rest of the league, claiming back-to-back Moore League titles and continuing their decades of dominance.
“We really wanted to come out here and improve on what we showed at that Poly meet, and I think all the boys stepped up and did that,” said Wilson head coach Brandon D’Sa. “Everybody dropped time today, which is always the goal. All these guys were hitting CIF times. And thank you to these other Moore League schools for helping push us to be better. Without their guys and what they offer to the league, we don’t get to feel like this. So it’s all respect and love over here on the boys’ side.”
Wilson won seven of the 11 varsity races on Friday, earning 607 points as a team. Long Beach Poly won the other four races, collecting 466 points for second place. Next was Millikan in third with 380 points, followed by Jordan (125), Lakewood (103) and Cabrillo (75).
Poly started the meet well, winning the first two races behind standout junior Lucas Jue. The Louisville commit opened the 200 Medley Relay with a 22.69 split on the backstroke, helping lead the Jackrabbits to a win in a time of 1:35.61, along with teammates Gael Cruz, Mordox Sar and Kyle Oatey.
In the very next event, Jue put down a time of 1:38.21 to win the 200 Free, setting a new Moore League record in that event. His time was .02 seconds faster than former Jackrabbit Colin Geer’s mark at league finals two years ago.
But Jue didn’t stop there, also winning gold in the 100 Backstroke. His time of 48.31 set a new meet record, improving on the 48.86 from Lakewood’s Daniel MacArthur set in 2014.
“I’m happy. I think it could have been a little bit better, but I’m definitely happy about it,” said Jue of his performance on Friday. “I’m still not all the way down to my taper, looking towards next week a little bit more sure. I think more importantly, I’m really happy for my team. I think we did really good day as a whole.”
Wilson also had a double champion in junior Kai Bramble, who won both the 50 and 100 Freestyle. Though interestingly, he had to share the gold with freshman teammate Aidan Conrey in the 50 Free, with both swimmers clocking an identical 22.03.
“All the wins we had coming out from low positions in quals to high positions now, and getting thos one-two (finishes), it just really feels good for sure,” said Bramble.
Wilson closed out the meet with a win in the 400 Free Relay, and each member of that relay squad won at least one individual gold. That group of Bramble, Conrey, Keegan Abing, and Eli Vince were key figures in leading the Bruins to another Moore League title. After Poly ended Wilson’s 49-year league winning streak in 2023, these championships take on additional meaning as the Bruins work to start another title streak.
“I’m a senior, so it’s awesome for me coming off that loss from two years ago, getting two strong wins back-to-back in the end of my career here,” said Vince, who won the 200 IM for the Bruins. “Both years have been absolute grinds. We’ve been pushing it to try to go as fast as we all individually can, and win by the most we could possibly win by. We definitely achieved it tonight. It’s a great night. All the hard work definitely paid off, all the boys worked so hard all season. I’m just proud.”
Coach D’Sa is proud of how the who program performed on Friday, and gave a special shoutout to the swimmers who qualified for CIF prelims, where the Bruins hope to do even more damage.
“The big ones that I want to mention are the guys that qualified for CIF today–Eli Vince, Keegan Abing, Kai Bramble, Aidan Conrey and Noah Smith, all had phenomenal, phenomenal meets and phenomenal drops in time. And that’s awesome because it’s a testament to their dedication to the training and to the program, and showing all the kids in our program what that has to offer. And some of them got to experience that today too and those drops. And I don’t get to mention their names today, but they know who they are, and they know that they did great today, too.”
Abing said that he and his relay mates are targeting the Wilson school record in the 400 Free Relay, set three years ago by a stacked Bruins relay.
“I think we’re about one second off that four by one record, and that’s the goal at CIF is to break that school record,” he said.
CIF-SS prelims are scheduled for May 8, with the CIF-SS finals set for May 10. Both events will be held at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
Boys’ Varsity Results:
200 Medley Relay: Poly (Jue, Cruz, Sar, Oatey) – 1:35.61
200 Free: Lucas Jue, Poly – 1:38.21 (League Record)
200 IM: Eli Vince, Wilson – 1:59.72
50 Free: Aidan Conrey/Kai Bramble, Wilson – 22.03
100 Butterfly: Mordox Sar, Poly – 52.73
100 Free: Kai Bramble, Wilson – 47.60
500 Free: Keegan Abing, Wilson – 4:42.19
200 Free Relay: Wilson (Bramble, Knight, Conrey, Vince) – 1:27.90
100 Backstroke: Lucas Jue, Poly – 48.31 (Meet Record)
100 Breaststroke: Noah Smith, Wilson – 1:00.07
400 Free Relay: Wilson (Bramble, Abing, Conrey, Vince) – 3:09.99
