From the sports archives: Carlmont boys earn first PAL Bay swimming crown in program history

Farley and Kelly got the traditional baptism by their team after the Carlmont boys claimed the title at the Peninsula Athletic League bay Division Championships, marking the first PAL swimming crown in program history.

Last season, the Scots took second place at the annual meet, falling 2 points shy of first-place Menlo-Atherton. So, this year, they returned with a vengeance, scoring 568.5 points to capture the title; second-place San Mateo finished with 406 points; and third-place Woodside with 243 points.

Farley — now in his third year as Carlmont’s head coach — said last year’s second-place fate was sealed by an early disqualification that ultimately cost the Scots the championship. But the silver lining was the team marching back to the postseason this year looking to prove itself.

“It was a really tight-knit group really focused on achieving something,” Farley said. “Kids that worked really hard and were focused.”

On the girls’ side, Menlo-Atherton repeated as champions, paced by the record-breaking afternoon of sophomore Izzi Henig.

The Lady Bears finished with 559 points, topping second-place San Mateo with 302 points. Third-place Carlmont finished with 295 points, edging fourth-place Burlingame with 294 points.

Henig was the marvel of the meet, claiming four first-place finishes. She opened the varsity meet by anchoring M-A’s win in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 48.53 seconds. Just 30 minutes later, Henig obliterated the PAL meet record in the 200 freestyle — previously set by Katherine Wong in 2004 with a time of 1:52.81 — with a first-place time of 1:49.57.

Henig went on to win the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.28 seconds in a feverish race that saw six swimmers qualify for the Central Coast Section meet. The sophomore finished the day with her most dominant swim, opening M-A’s win in the 400 free relay with a split of 49.38 seconds, which qualifies as the new PAL meet record in the 100 free, previously set by Brooke Stenstrom in 2013 at 51.34.

“I felt pretty good but it’s all about the team,” Henig said. “So I’m really happy I could step up when my team needed me to.”

Chan the man for Carlmont

The Carlmont boys opened Saturday’s meet modestly.

Junior sprinter Stuart Vickery scored the Scots’ first individual points of the day with a third-place finish in the 200 free; behind first-place Vincent Busque of M-A (1:42.92); and second-place Christian Rosier of Hillsdale (1:47.36). And in the 200 individual medley, sophomore Josh Camerino took second (1:59.17); finishing behind Woodside senior Karl Arvidsson’s 1:56.08.

Then senior Alex Chan burst onto the scene.

Chan claimed first place in four events, starting with his thrilling finish in the 50 free to earn a first-place tie with Sequoia senior Noah Dearborn, as both touched the wall with a time of 22.02.

Chan’s teammates backed up his momentous performance. Vickery took first in the 100 fly with a time of 52.54. Camerino took first in the 100 free with a 48.26. Then the relay team of Camerino, Vickery, Chan and senior Lukas Kelly took first place in the 200 free relay, thanks to a monster finish by Chan.

When Chan hit the water for the anchor leg, Carlmont trailed by a quarter length of the pool. But the senior sprinter used all his wiles to chase down M-A, and as he trailed by two strokes at the final turn, he exploded off the wall to take the lead.

“He’s just a natural swimmer,” Farley said. “He’s got really good 50 free speed and got a good start. Once he was a few feet behind, I knew he had it.”

Chan went on to claim first in the 100 back with a time of 54.12. The Scots relay team also topped the podium in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:15.53.

Henig has high hopes

A sophomore transfer from Castilleja, Henig is looking beyond Saturday’s performance that proved she is one of the top swimmers in PAL history.

Last year, she experienced mixed emotions about her showing at the CCS meet. She was disqualified in the 50 free but made up for it with a second-place finish in the 100 free. From there, Henig advanced to the state championship meet in Clovis and took third place.

“That was one of the most incredible high school swimming experiences I’ve ever had,” Henig said. “So, that was fun.”

This year, her goal is earn a trip to the state meet in both events. Considering Saturday’s performance, the goal certainly seems within her wheelhouse. The frightening thing though, according to M-A head coach Brett Koerten, is M-A still has yet to see Henig’s best.

“It was a great swim (Saturday) but I don’t think it was her personal best,” Koerten said.

Bay Championships roundup

In other individual action: San Mateo junior Larisa Tam took first in the girls 200 IM with a 2:08.01; Tam also took first in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.05; M-A junior Sophie Murff took first in the girls 50 free with a 24.87, out-touching teammate Kate Denend’s 24.91; Sequoia junior Kierstin Ikeda took first in the girls 100 free with a 54.52; Hillsdale senior Michelle Karpishin took first in the girls 500 free with a 5:08.65, including an impressive split of 29.92 in her final lap; M-A’s Busque took first in the boys 500 free with a 4:40.81; San Mateo freshman Emma Lepisova took first in the 100 back with a 58.88; and Arvidsson took first in the 100 back with a PAL meet record time of 58.18, topping a record that stood since 1985, set by Lee Concepcion with a 58.78.

In other relay action: The Woodside boys team of Arvidsson, Trevor Collet, Max Untrecht and Tom Goldberg took first in the boys 200 medley relay with a 1:39.84; and M-A’s girls team of Denend, Murff, Maddie Worden and Haley Arrington took first in the girls 200 free relay with a 1:40.20.