By Vincent PAGE

For the first time in the history of Crescenta Valley High School, both the boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving teams are champions. Both teams won the Division III finals earlier this month. On Tuesday night, both teams were recognized by Glendale Unified School District for their historic seasons.

The boys’ swimming team won in down-to-the-wire fashion, narrowly edging out Ventura High School in the finals. The CVHS boys finished with a final tally of 233 points, only five more than Ventura’s final score.

The girls were a little more decisive with their victory. Finishing with 271.5 points for their efforts, they beat Sunny Hills High School by nearly 20 points.

Both teams went into the finals as Pacific League champions. The two squads both won convincingly over Arcadia, claiming victory by a combined 104 points against the Arcadia teams. These wins continued the dominance of CVHS swimming, as they have now won 26 of the last 27 Pacific League titles.

In the CIF finals, the boys’ team was led primarily by William Blake and Andre Yarcan. Both were dominant throughout the competition, with Blake capturing two first place finishes on his own in the 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 38.11 seconds) and 100-yard freestyle (45.08 seconds). Yarcan had a first and second place finish, in the 100 butterfly (49.52 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (56.6 seconds), respectively.

Blake and Yarcan were also crucial during the team relay portion of the event. They teamed up with Karl Puttler and Harrison Blake to finish second in the 200 medley relay (1:34.78). The team also took runner-up in the 400 freestyle (3:08.55), in which Joshua Jeong stepped in for Harrison Blake.

Gabriela Icheva was a leader for the girls’ team, winning races throughout the event. Individually, she won the 500-yard freestyle with an exceptional time of 4:56.07.

Amanda Peterson was also vital to the team’s win, placing second (1:4.46) in the 100 meter breaststroke. Peterson and Icheva then teamed up with Yoon Jungmin and Kimmy Park to win the 200 meter medley relay in 1:47.05. CVHS also placed second in the 400 meter freestyle relay (3:30.58).

For the Falcons’ swimming teams, it was getting difficult for new goals to be thought of and sought after. Displaying dominance over the course of the past decade, winning simultaneous CIF championships was one of the last things for head coach, Jan Sakonju, and his teams to accomplish.

Now their only focus in on repeating their performances.

  Vincent PAGE