By SUE PASCOE Special to the Palisadian-Post Showing their increasing strength as a team, the Palisades-Malibu YMCA swim team was a force to be reckoned with when it traveled to Y Champs at the Commerce Aquatorium in Commerce last weekend. As is Paly’s tradition, the 80-member team met in front of the YMCA on Via de la Paz at 6:30 Saturday morning to travel by bus to the competition that included 634 athletes representing 11 teams from all over Southern California. Older swimmers were paired with new swimmers to make sure everyone had a friend on the bus and an experienced guide once they reached the 10-lane indoor swimming pool. Coach Chappie DeHaven summed up the meet, “The kids swam really tough. The majority swam their best times. We couldn’t be more proud.” Nine-year-old Catherine Wang, MacKenzie Leake, 10, Alexandra Edel, 11, Samantha Brill, 14, and Katherine Quinn, 13, had times fast enough to qualify for Junior Olympics. David Nonberg, 17, qualified for Nationals, the first Paly male to do so in 10 years. Nonberg swam the 50 Freestyle in 28.5 seconds, his fastest time by far in that event, and will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the Nationals April 12-18. “Beforehand there was no possibility in my mind that I could do that,” Nonberg admitted later. “To improve by two seconds in one race is huge. That was a complete surprise to me and everyone else.” Only the top eight swimmers make it to the finals and each swimmer is allowed to enter a maximum of three individual events. In the 8 & Under division, Courtney Carswell placed second in the 25 Freestyle (16.66), third in the 50 Freestyle (37.59) and fifth in the 100 Individual Medley (1:38.66). Nicolas Edel won the 25 Freestyle (16.64), placed second in the 25 Backstroke (19.86) and was fourth in the 25 Breaststroke (23.12). Laura Lemoine placed sixth in the 25 Breaststroke (23.30), Alexander Landau was fourth in the 25 Butterfly (20.83), fourth in the 25 Breaststroke (23.51) and eighth in the 25 Backstroke (21.55). Madison Lyon was seventh in the 25 Breaststroke (23.52) and Morgan Reno swam fourth in the 25 Butterfly (19.63). Mackenzie Leake was the leader for points in the 9 & 10 year- old category. She placed first in the 50 Breaststroke (39.25) and 50 Backstroke (34.99) and second in the 100 Individual Medley (1:16.22). Catherine Wang took fifth in the 50 Freestyle (32.28) and seventh in the 50 Butterfly (35.81). Rachel Jaffe placed sixth in the 50 Breaststroke (45.28) and Olivia Kirkpatrick took fifth in the 50 Breaststroke (43.10). The Medley Relay team of Leake, Kirkpatrick, Pamela Soffer and Mara Silka took third (2:36.54) and the 200 Freestyle Relay of Soffer, Sarah Thorson, Jaffe, and Wang swam second in 2:29.03. The 11 & 12 age division saw Alexandra Edel take third in the 50 Breaststroke (35.04) and fourth in the 50 Backstroke (33.89). Alison Merz dropped 10 seconds off of her previous best time in the 200 Freestyle to take seventh (2:18.05) and also swam seventh in the 50 Butterfly (32.56). Danny Fujinaka placed seventh in the 50 Breaststroke (39.77). The girls’ 200 Medley Relay of Jessica Schem, Jennifer Tartavull, Merz and Hayley Lemoine took third (2:14.99). The boys’ Medley Relay team of Fujinaka, Nick Korody, Matthew Thorson and Jared Brown swam fourth while the Freestyle Relay of Thorson, Brown, Karody and John Cullen also took fourth. In the 13 & 14 group, Alex Fujinaka took a seventh in the 200 Freestyle (2:13.66) and eighth in the 50 Freestyle (28.02). Samantha Brill took third in the 100 Breaststroke (1:15.16), fourth in the 100 Backstroke (1:08.80) and eighth in the 100 Freestyle (1:00.65). Catherine Quinn was second in the 100 Breaststroke (1:13.37) and third in the 50 Freestyle (26.60). The Girls’ 200 Freestyle Relay of Quinn, Ashley Mink, Kathryn Cullen and Brill took second (1:51.81) while the Medley Relay of Cullen, Mink, Shelby Pascoe and Stephanie Boone took 3rd (2:21.21). The 15 & Older girls once again racked up points for Paly. Alexa Merz led the girls with first-place swims in the 50 Freestyle (23.56), 100 Freestyle (51.08) and 200 Individual Medley (2:07.29). Teammate Cara Davidoff took first in the 200 Freestyle (1:55.37) and the 100 Butterfly (59.61) and second in the 50 Freestyle (24.06). Chelsea Davidoff took seventh in the 100 Breaststroke (1:17.89) and 100 Freestyle (59.79). Sheri Dunner took eighth in the 100 Breaststroke (1:20.14). Katherine Smith took a first in the 100 Breaststroke (1:09.35), a second in the 100 Backstroke (1:02.76) and third in the 200 Individual Medley (2:19.22). Alison Piazza swam 7th in the 100 Back (1:13.93). The 200 Freestyle Relay of Merz, Ashley Jacobs, Piazza, and Davidoff took first place (1:46.74) and the 200 Medley Relay of Smith, Chelsea Davidoff, Hannah Haberfield, and Dunner took third (2:06.49). Paly’s senior boys once again ruled the waves with multiple placings, including a first-place in the 200 Freestyle Relay (Jones, Fishler, Nonberg and Hays) in 1:33.95. They took fourth in the Medley Relay (Johnson, Guze, Fox, and Boone) in 1:55.48. Peter Fishler took sixth in all three of his events, the 50 Freestyle (23.96), the 200 Freestyle (1:57.34) and the 100 Butterfly (59.88). Daniel Fox placed fourth in the 100 Butterfly (59.17) and seventh in the 200 Individual Medley (2:16.02). Evan Buze placed eighth in the 100 Breast (1:15.00). Paris Hays took fifth in three events, the 50 Freestyle (23.65), the 100 Backstroke (1:01.14) and the 100 Freestyle (52.71). Teammate Brian Johnson swam to a third in both the 200 Free (1:50.24) and the 200 I.M. (2:05.66) and a 4th in the 100 Back (58.09). Gavin Jones placed fourth in the 100 Freestyle (51.97), sixth in the 50 Freestyle (1:01.23) and seventh in the 100 Butterfly (1:00.37). David Nonberg took third in the 50 Freestyle (22.85), a fifth in the 100 Butterfly (59.87) and eighth in the 200 Freestyle (1:59.35). The Coaches Medley Relay team, always the last unofficial event of Y Champs, was won by Paly. Although Adam Blakis, Chappie DeHaven and Eric Butler deny that the newest coach Val Bagri, a former world class swimmer, was hired for relay purposes, many were voicing suspicions as Paly left the other coaches in their wake. Paly met that evening to hand out awards and honor its swimmers. The graduating seniors: Dan Fox, Cara Davidoff, Sheri Dunner and Alex Boone shared their thoughts about swimming. Fox said that when he’s up at 5:00 a.m., working on flexibility, weights, and doing splits, he sometimes wonders why he’s not in bed like everyone else. He credited Blakis with motivating him. Alex Boone, who started swimming three years ago because he needed P.E. credit, shared his remembrances of his first day of practice. He was on the pool deck with younger swimmers. “Eleven-year-olds were beating me, it wasn’t pretty,” he said. “Adam told me that day that the hardest thing is not going to be swimming, but staying motivated and sticking with it past the first few days.” Blakis, in his usual laidback style had nothing but praise for his team. “The kids swam really well. I’m proud of David [Nonberg] for making his first National cut. The team really came together and supported each other which resulted in a great meet.”
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