Connor Ohl sprinted into history on Friday at Golden West College.

Before he even looked up at the scoreboard for his time after swimming the 50-yard freestyle at Sunset League finals, the Newport Harbor High junior heard the crowd cheering.

“I knew right then that I went 19 [seconds],” Ohl said. “When I looked up, it was just the icing on the cake.”

With his time of 19.79 seconds, he became the second-fastest high school swimmer in the event in Orange County history. The county record is a 19.69 by Olympian Michael Cavic of Tustin, set in 2002.

Los Alamitos won the boys’ Sunset League swimming championship, while Newport Harbor’s girls used their depth to capture their third straight league crown.

Newport Harbor’s Kennedy Fahey, Madison Mack, Emerson Mulvey and Ariana Amoroso, from left, stand side-by-side as they wait for the start of the girls’ 50-yard freestyle during the Sunset League swim finals at Golden West College on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

There were plenty of fast swims at the six-hour meet. Fountain Valley set five league records, with sophomore Alyssa Ton and junior Peter Vu setting two each in their individual events.

Ohl was electrifying, splashing the water after seeing the time and clasping the hand of senior teammate James Mulvey to his right.

Ohl, Mulvey and Dash D’Ambrosia swept the top three spots in the event for the Sailors.

“One-two-three is just incredible,” said Ohl, who also repeated as the boys’ 100 free champion in 44.86 seconds. “The fact that it’s three water polo guys and not trained swimmers, it’s even more incredible.”

He added that he would be gunning for Cavic’s county-record mark at next week’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 championships.

“I never thought I’d ever be reaching levels like this,” Ohl said. “It’s unbelievable. … First it was breaking the Newport record, then it was breaking 20 [seconds] and now it’s breaking this next record. It’s just this progression of going faster and faster.”

Members of the Newport Harbor girls’ swim team celebrate after winning the Sunset League title on Friday.

(Matt Szabo)

Newport Harbor’s girls had lost by four points to Fountain Valley in a league dual meet, but won going away at league finals for their third straight crown.

Senior Ariana Amoroso finished second in the 50 free and third in the backstroke to pace the Sailors. Amoroso is going to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which announced in March that it would be cutting its swimming program, though the school’s swimmers are scrambling to raise money to try to save it.

“I’m happy to end on a win senior year,” said Amoroso, adding that it was bittersweet that the CIF finals would likely be her final swim meet. “I’m happy to see improvements in my times after recently switching club teams, too.”

Fountain Valley’s Kaitlyn Nguyen swims the girls’ 200 yard individual medley to first place during the Sunset League swim finals at Golden West College on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Caitlyn Stayt finished third in the 200 individual medley and fourth in the backstroke for the Sailors girls, who also got a pair of ‘A’ finals appearances by freshman Vivian Muir.

Stayt is one of two seniors who came out for swimming after helping the Sailors make the CIF Southern Section Open Division title match in water polo, along with Harper Price.

“The senior leadership has been amazing,” Newport Harbor coach Kevin Potter said. “They came back and just really stepped up. Harper swam the breaststroke. Last time she swam breaststroke was freshman year at league finals, and this year, we needed a breaststroker. She stepped in and scored huge points for us in that ‘A’ final.”

The versatile Ton won the girls’ 200 freestyle in 1:44.50 and backstroke in 53.68, each time a personal-best. She said she enjoyed the fact that her events were spaced apart, which allowed her to cheer for her teammates.

Newport Harbor’s Aidan Arie reacts to dominating the boys’ 100 yard butterfly during the Sunset League swim finals at Golden West College on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“There’s still some things to work on, but I’m really excited heading into CIF,” said Ton, a CIF champion in the 200 freestyle last year.

Her Barons senior teammate, USC-bound Kaitlyn Nguyen, won the 200 IM (1:59.76). Nguyen was second in the breaststroke to Corona del Mar sophomore Sofia Szymanowski (1:00.97), who placed second in the IM.

“I think Sofia’s got a really good chance of winning [CIF] next week [in the breaststroke], and I think Kaitlyn can also win it,” said Fountain Valley coach Nathan Wilcox, who coaches both in club swimming for Irvine Novaquatics. “It’s just going to come down to who wants it more. … I definitely think those girls are both top three next week.”

Corona del Mar’s Micah Grantham breaks the surface on the first lap of the boys’ 200 yard freestyle during the Sunset League swim finals at Golden West College on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Fountain Valley’s girls’ 200 medley relay, featuring Ton, Nguyen, freshman Audrey Prall and senior Leyna Nguyen, also won in a meet-record time of 1:44.00.

Among other top girls’ swimmers, CdM senior Nikki Lahey became a three-time league champion in both the 50 free (23.42) and 100 free (50.38).

“It’s really focusing on the little details and improving those next week,” said Lahey, bound for San Jose State. “I feel like I’m in a pretty good place with my times right now.”

Edison senior Gaby Kelly became a four-time league champion in the 500 free, winning it in a school record time of 4:52.27. Kelly never lost the race in a league meet during her entire high school career.

“I was really stoked about it,” said Kelly, who placed second in the 200 free. “Especially with all of the new teams coming into the league, I was a little nervous, but I was really stoked with how I went. Being able to have that achievement is really nice.”

Fountain Valley’s Alyssa Ton swims the girl’s 200 yard freestyle during the Sunset League swim finals at Golden West College on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

On the boys’ side, Fountain Valley’s Vu claimed the 200 individual medley (1:48.77) and breaststroke (54.62).

Newport Harbor senior Aidan Arie blasted to a school-record 48.28 in the butterfly, and also won the 500 free in 4:36.93. He celebrated wildly after winning the butterfly, as he said he earned a Summer Junior Nationals cut.

Add Arie to the list of those incredulous at what Ohl is doing.

“At this point, if he told me he was going 18 [seconds], I’d believe him, the way he’s dropping,” he said. “It’s crazy. It’s not normal.”

Edison’s Holden Lee won the backstroke (49.88) and was third in the butterfly.

Isaac Squires, a talented water polo player, helped Huntington Beach win the medley relay and also was an individual champion in the 200 free, touching in 1:42.91.

“If I can’t beat them in water polo, it’s nice to beat them here in swim,” Squires said. “It’s fun, because it’s competitive, but it also helps because you get faster and you’re always conditioned.”

Isaac Squires of Huntington Beach swims the boys’ 200 yard freestyle to victory during the Sunset League swim finals at Golden West College on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Most of the league’s top swimmers will compete in the Division 1 meet, which will have preliminaries at 9 a.m. Thursday at Mt. San Antonio College and finals at noon on Saturday.

Fountain Valley looks to excel. Ton is seeded first in the girls’ 200 free, while Nguyen and Vu are seeded first in 200 IM for both genders.

Vu is also seeded first in the boys’ breaststroke, and Szymanowski and Nguyen earned the top two seeds in the girls’ breaststroke.

Ohl and Arie are seeded first in the boys’ 50 free and butterfly, respectively, with Ohl seeded second in the 100 free. Lahey earned top-four seeds in each of her sprint freestyle events, and Kelly is seeded third in the girls’ 500 free.

Edison’s Lee is seeded third in the boys’ backstroke.

Wilcox said he’s looking for a top-three finish at CIF for Fountain Valley’s girls, who finished fifth last year.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy men’s track & field team posted a solid performance Friday at the Patriot League Outdoor Championship to end the day in second place with 56 points.  The Mids trail first-place Army by 12 points through six of the 22 events at the meet which is being contested at Hart Track in Worcester, Mass.

“I think we did a solid job today with the number of athletes we have qualified for finals. There were some big and clutch performances today. All in all, it was a good first day,” remarked Director of Track and Field Jamie Cook.

The Mids opened the day with a fast start when Murphy Smith won his second-straight 10,000m league title in 30:56.08. Alexander Kirkland competed in the event for the first time this spring and finished in second-place with a time of 30:57.87. Jackson Nguyen clocked a 31:20.52 to finish in eighth place.

“Coach [Aaron] Lanzel and the group always have a plan going into a race. Murphy [Smith] has a good feel when it’s time to make a move and Alexander [Kirkland] did a good job following suit,” stated Cook.

Dane Eike (3:51.76) and Matt Newell (3:56.37) finished in fourth and 11th place, respectively, to qualify for Saturday’s 1,500m finals.

Navy will be well represented in tomorrow’s 400m finals as all four entered Midshipmen posted qualifying times. Pete deJonge (47.99) led the foursome to take third place. Nathan Kent’s time (48.07) placed him fourth as he tries to defend his league title tomorrow. Joining them in the final will be teammates Jacques Guillaume (48.20, fifth place) and Simon Alexander (career-best 48.22, seventh).

Tyler Yurich (10.47) finished in third place in the 100m sprint to advance to the finals. Marcel Jackson (10.50) finished behind Yurich to place fourth and punch his ticket to the final. Jonah Johnson (10.55) will also contend for gold as he finished in sixth place.

Yurich continued to lead the Midshipmen in the sprint events as he finished in fifth place in the 200m with a time of 21.42. Kent also advanced to the finals with a sixth-place time of 21.44, and Johnson finished in seventh place in 21.47.

Greyson Gravitt (1:51.36) edged out American’s Carver Morgan (1:51.41) for the top time in the 800m semifinals. Carson Sloat finished sixth in the event (1:52.05) to keep his championship hopes alive. 

The Mids cruised in the 400m hurdles semifinals, which was led by David Walker who won the event with a career-best time of 52.05. Two-time defending league champion Guillaume finished in second place with a 52.88. Cooper Wakley ran a career-best 54.38 in the event to also qualify for the finals. 

Navy capped off the track events with a third-place finish in the 4x800m relay in 7:32.09 with a squad that consisted of James Partlow, Carson sloat, Matt Newell and Luke Nester.

Brian Schloeder took silver in the pole vault with a mark of 5.21m (17′ 1″). Gunnar Kimball finished in third place with a height of 5.06m (16′ 7.25″).

Caleb Walker finished in third place in the javelin with a throw of 62.22m (204′ 1″).

Wyatt Shaw placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 7.12m (23′ 4.5″).

Senior team captain Thomas Christie leads the Mids and ranks second overall in the decathlon with 3,631 total points. Christie won the high jump with a leap of 2.01m (6′ 7″).  Teammate Nicolas Simmons is in third place overall with 3,609 points.

Saturday’s final day of competition will start at 8 a.m., with ESPN+ coverage beginning at 11 a.m.

Day One Team Scores (through 6 of 22 events)

1. Army: 68

2. Navy: 56

3. Boston: 39

4. Bucknell: 19

5. Lehigh: 18

6. Colgate: 13

7. Lafayette: 11

8. Holy Cross: 10

9. American: 0

 

COLLEGEVILLE, PA – The Johns Hopkins men’s outdoor track & field team opened the Centennial Conference Championship in strong form Friday at Ursinus College, ending the first day of competition atop the team standings with 31 points—five ahead of host Ursinus.
 
Two Blue Jays earned silver medals on the day: senior Peter Lim in the pole vault and sophomore Nash Minor in the 10,000-meter run.
 
The 10,000-meter group delivered a dominant showing, contributing 20 points to the team total. Minor led the way with his silver-medal performance, finishing in 31:39.65. Teammates Sean Enright (4^th | 32:17.54), Nick Pham (5^th | 32:17.71) and Dane Spahr (6^th | 32:26.46) followed closely, securing 12 points with top-six finishes.
 
In the pole vault, Lim cleared a season-best 4.45 meters to secure silver. Seth Wyzykowski (7^th | 4.00 meters) and Aiden Rothstein (8^th | 3.85 meters) added to the team’s tally, contributing a combined 11 points from the event.
 
In the decathlon, Sebastian Tangelson leads the field after five events with 3,521 points, highlighted by first-place finishes in the long jump, high jump and shot put. His long jump mark of 6.94 meters ranks fifth in program history and 57^th nationally this season. Fellow Blue Jay Owen Takahashi sits in second with 3,036 points, claiming victories in the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes.
 
Though outside scoring position, Leo Anderson made history in the hammer throw, posting the fourth-longest mark in program history with a throw of 41.03 meters.
 
The Blue Jays return to action Saturday, May 3, for day two of the Centennial Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with action scheduled to begin at 10 AM in the decathlon’s 110-meter hurdles.
 

DURHAM, N.C. (May 3, 2024) – On Saturday in Durham County Memorial Stadium, Winston-Salem State University’s Women and Claflin University’s Men were crowned champions at the 2025 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

The WSSU Rams fought valiantly to edge out the defending champions, the Fayetteville State Broncos, by a mere 0.5 points, with final scores of 136.5 and 136, respectively. Claflin University secured third place with a score of 120.5.

Claflin University dominated the men’s competition, scoring an impressive 150 points. Virginia Union University followed closely, earning 143 points, while Virginia State University claimed third place with 93 points.

Head Coach Antonio Wells of Winston-Salem State was named CIAA Women’s Coach of the Year, while Claflin’s Head Coach Malcolm Watts was honored as CIAA Men’s Coach of the Year.

Individual accolades were also awarded, with WSSU’s Charnessa Reid named the Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and FSU’s Domanique Knowles named the Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. Johnson C. Smith University’s Tyson Williams was recognized as the Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, and Virginia Union University’s Zachary Jones was named the Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.

FSU’s Knowles also captured the Women’s Field MVP award by contributing 23 points with a first-place win in the high jump, second place in triple jump, and fourth place in long jump. VUU’s Jones earned the Men’s Field MVP Award with 23 points from winning the shot-put and discus throw, and placing sixth in the javelin throw.

WSSU’s Elicia Bryant was named the Women’s Track MVP with her 23-point contribution from first place in the 1500m, second place in the 800m, and fourth place in the 3000m. The Men’s Track MVP went to Claflin University’s Jaevon Riley, who accumulated 22.5 points by winning first place in the 400m hurdles, 400m, and 4x400m relay.

Saturday’s women’s winners were Knowles of Fayetteville State (high jump), Yassine Kamara of Bowie State (discus), Jhnyia Knuckles of Claflin (triple jump), Charnessa Reid of Winston-Salem(100m hurdles), Kamani Johns of Lincoln (Pa.) (400m), Brianna Benloss of Winston-Salem State (100m, 200m), Brenda Cheboi of Fayetteville State (800m), Gabrielle Maye of Johnson C. Smith (400m hurdles), Rose Muturi of Virginia State (3000m), the Virginia State 4x100m relay team, and the Claflin 4x400m relay team.

Saturday’s men’s winners were Javion Watkins of Johnson C. Smith (javelin), Jahaz Morgan of Virginia State (triple jump), Zachary Jones of Virginia Union (discus), Lorenzo Pelham of Bowie State(110m hurdles), Jaevon Riley of Claflin (400m and 400m hurdles), Romar Stapleton of Claflin (100m), Zion Murry of Claflin (800m), Tyson Williams of Johnson C. Smith (200m), Franklin Kipchirchir of Virginia Union (5000m), and the Claflin 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

Men’s Final Standings

1. Claflin – 150

2. Virginia Union – 143

3. Virginia State – 93

4. Johnson C. Smith – 91

5. Livingstone – 72

6. Bowie State – 52

7. Lincoln (PA.) – 27

7. Bluefield State – 27

Women’s Final Standings

1. Winston-Salem State – 136.5

2. Fayetteville State – 136

3. Claflin – 120.5

4. Virginia State – 57.5

5. Lincoln (PA.) – 35.5

6. Johnson C. Smith – 32

7. Bowie State – 29

7. Virginia Union – 29

9. Shaw – 20

10. Livingstone – 13

11. Bluefield State – 9

To view the full championship results, navigate here.