The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
The Wilson girls’ swim team completed their goal of a Moore League championship three-peat on a chilly April evening at LBCC at the Moore League Finals. The Bruins edged out a game Long Beach Poly squad by the narrow score of 562-519 to bring home their third straight title.
“It was incredible, it was amazing, it was just like the old days—super special,” said first-year Wilson coach Kristin Barth-Kredell. “My first season as head coach back at my alma mater, it’s just an incredible feeling. The girls swam out of their minds—they earned it, it’s all about them.”
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It was an emotional night for the whole Wilson aquatics family. Barth-Kredell is the daughter of legendary Wilson coach Klaus Barth, an iconic figure in the local aquatics world and the namesake for the highly-regarded Klaus Barth Invitational.
“It’s an honor,” said Barth-Kredell. “It’s an honor and it’s emotional. It feels right, and it was so special. Having (longtime former coach Maggie Twinem) here, my whole family here. It’s a tremendous thing to be a part of in the role of a head coach—but it’s really about the girls and what they did.”
The Bruins were led all night by All-American senior and Kentucky signee Sammie Hamilton, who piled up points and Moore League records while leading her Wilson squad to a league championship.
“Sammie is an incredible swimmer,” said Barth-Kredell. “I was her coach when she was five years old. I’ve watched her grow and it’s just an honor to watch her swim, she’s worked her butt off and she has big things coming her way. I can’t wait to see what she can do.”
Hamilton won the 200 and 500 free in historic fashion with two league records and All-American standards, in addition to anchoring a big win in the 200 free relay and 400 free relay, the latter of which also set a league record.
“I was just really focused,” said Hamilton. “I know what I can do, I know what this team can do. We’ve seen it this whole year. We’ve worked a lot harder than we did before, and I think it really showed today. “
Hamilton got her record performance started early, breaking her own Moore League and Finals record in the 200 free with a 1:48.94, which saw her grab an early lead and never look back. She was even more dominant in her specialty race of the 500 free, which she has the state’s top time in.
Hamilton set a new league record in the 500 free at prelims, and was able to break that mark by two full seconds on Friday, in a race that she won by 12 seconds despite Poly’s Belle Puckett breaking a Poly record that had stood for nearly 30 years in the event.
After her win in the 500, Hamilton reached up and placed an invisible crown on her head.
“For me, swim is life, it’s everything, it’s all I do,” she said. “These girls swim every day. This means so much to me, it’s such a Long Beach tradition. I’m so glad we could go out my senior year with a W.”
Hamilton was the headliner for the Moore League this year but she wasn’t the only star. Poly senior Sofia Brys helped lead her team to a win in the 200 medley relay and easily won the 200 IM and 100 fly. Her time of 55.99 in the 100 fly was just .01 off the Moore League Finals meet record.
“I think the whole team swam pretty well, we all pulled through,” said Brys. “I didn’t hit all the times I was going for but I’ll try to get them in CIF.”
The meet also represented a major changing of the guard for the league and for Poly. Twinem retired last year after three decades coaching Wilson, and Poly coach Kalani Caldwell recently announced that she’s retiring from coaching at the end of this year as well. Both coaches were honored in a surprise mid-meet ceremony.
“That was a surprise, this isn’t supposed to be about me it’s supposed to be about the kids,” said Caldwell after the meet. “It meant a lot, and it meant a lot that there were a lot of alumni that came, too. We were undefeated this year, we won the CIF Academic Team championship, we broke two school records tonight. It was a good year.”
In the final team standings, Wilson and Poly were up top with 562 and 519 respectively, followed by Millikan at 308, Lakewood at 216, Cabrillo at 111, and Jordan at 93.
Millikan’s Kylie Montiel swam a dominant 100 back to claim the gold in that event in 58.79, for the only championship Friday night that went to a non-Wilson/Poly swimmer. Montiel led 25 yards in and extended her lead out to a comfortable win as her teammates cheered her on. The Rams swam well in the 100 breast with Ramirez finishing second by .05 and Devon Fletcher finishing third in 1:09.84.
The Moore League swimmers who qualified for CIF Southern Section competition will compete in the CIF-SS Division 1 prelims at Mt. SAC on May 2 and the Division 1 finals on May 4 at 12pm.
Moore League champions
200 Medley Relay: Long Beach Poly (Sofia Brys, Phoebe Kuo, Maya Guevara, Belle Puckett), 1:50.65
200 Free: Sammie Hamilton, Wilson, 1:48.94 (Moore League record)
200 IM: Sofia Brys, Long Beach Poly, 2:08.38
50 Free: Katherine O’Dea, Wilson, 24.42
100 Fly: Sofia Brys, Long Beach Poly, 55.99
100 Free: Vanessa Newton, Wilson, 52.31
500 Free: Sammie Hamilton, Wilson, 4:46.79
200 Free Relay: Wilson (Katherine O’Dea, Vanessa Newton, Matilda Davison-Lakey, Sammie Hamilton), 1:38.13
100 Back: Kylie Montiel, Millikan, 58.79
100 Breast: Phoebe Kuo, Long Beach Poly, 1:09.60
400 Free Relay: Wilson (Katherine O’Dea, Vanessa Newton, Pippa Heaver, Sammie Hamilton), 3:31.73
