Sports
Divers, Mattox Help Tam Capture MCAL Swim Crown
Red-tailed Hawks earn a three-peat thanks also to Jake Weber and Riley Sykes; Baca, Fineman and Neugebauer stand out on the girls squad
A 1-2 finish by its divers and Miguel Mattox’s triumphant effort in the 500-yard freestyle helped propel the boys to a first-place finish Saturday at the Marin County Athletic League Swimming and Diving Championships at Redwood.
In a tight team competition, the Red-tailed Hawks finished with 333 points, edging Marin Catholic (304) and Redwood (303).
“I couldn't have been happier with the way the men swam,” gushed Tam coach Dave Beutel. “They worked so hard all season. They didn't take anything for granted this year just because they had won the past two championships, and they worked harder for the third than the previous two.”
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A key boost came midway through the meet when Kai Brewer (265.00) and Kirk Wong (186.15) dominated the one-yard diving competition.
Mattox recorded Tam’s only other individual win in the 500 free, clocking 5:02.38. He also contributed to a third-place effort in the 400 free relay, teaming with Jake Weber, Luke Sohn and Joe Weber to finish in 3:20.88.
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The Webers also teamed with Tanner Nagy and Brennan Latimer to take third in the 200 free relay in 1:30.10.
Beutel also cited Jake Weber’s fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (54.57) and Riley Sykes’ fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:05.10), along with Mattox’s win in the 500 free, as difference-makers in the team standings.
“All three of these swims came at critical times in critical events to help keep our team in the lead,” he assured. “Riley Sykes moved into the top group of elite swimmers in the MCAL with his performance at this meet. “
The Tam girls, meanwhile, narrowly missed a team title, taking second to Redwood with 363 ½ points. The Giants totaled 394.
Kim Baca (200 free, 1:57.67; 500 free, 5:09.24) and Melissa Fineman (100 fly, 58.20; 100 backstroke, 58.83) won two events apiece and joined with Brigitte Winkler and Roison Duffy to capture the 200 medley relay in 1:52.02.
Baca, Fineman and Winkler teamed with Katie Baca for a second-place effort in the 400 free relay, clocking 3:40.61.
Winkler also recorded a pair of seconds (50 free, 24.50; 100 breaststroke, 1:06.44) and Duffy had another (500 free, 5:30.22).
Kyla Neugebauer made Tam 2-for-2 in diving championships, winning with 416.75 points.
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