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Wilson reclaimed the top spot in the Moore League last year after the Jackrabbits made history in 2023. Will someone else challenge the reigning champs, or will the Bruins continue their domination in the water?
WILSON
The memory of Wilson’s 49-year Moore League champion streak being snapped by rival Long Beach Poly was fresh in the Bruins’ mind going into the 2024 season. Wilson reclaimed the top spot in the league after a successful season saw them beat their rivals in league finals and start what they hope will be another long streak.
This year, the Bruins have the same goal in mind with coach Brandon D’Sa still at the helm. D’Sa has a history of aquatic success, being an All-CIF Wilson water polo alum and national champion at UCLA himself.
“We’re fighting to win league,” D’Sa said. “We know the work that we have ahead of us, and we know what it takes to do that, so we’re excited.”
The Bruins boast a versatile group of swimmers this year, which D’Sa knows is especially important after losing some key seniors last spring. The top returner for Wilson lies with reigning 200 IM champion and senior Elijah Vince.
“The guy can swim anything,” D’Sa said. “I know he’s going to be a top dog in whatever event he has.”
Juniors Kai Bramble and Keegan Abing are also some important swimmers for the Bruins this season. D’Sa said he expects all three of these upperclassmen to qualify for CIF this year.
“We’re excited to see how the upperclassmen lead the lowerclassmen and what the lowerclassmen achieve throughout the year,” D’Sa said.
D’Sa said there are a ton of younger Bruins looking to make some noise this season.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing some of these younger guys stepping up,” D’Sa said. “We have a really large sophomore and freshmen class and some really awesome junior and senior returners.”
Freshmen Tommy Gurney and Aiden Conrey are two fresh faces in the water for Wilson this year. Both came to high school with some strong times already, but D’Sa said only time will tell how these two will play a role in the Bruins’ success.
“They seem highly competitive. They’re training with the Varsity and JV group already, and they’re showing the program what they got to offer,” D’Sa said.
D’Sa knows the competition this year will be as fierce as always, another battle where anyone can take the title. However, he also knows who his team is up against and what they have to do to win league.
“The boys are competitive,” D’Sa said. “We take every practice seriously. We try to show them that what we do in our program is very serious.”
No matter what happens with his team, D’Sa knows it will surely be another exciting and historic year for Moore League swim.
“There’s always something, a wrinkle, something interesting, happening in the swimming world. We’re excited,” D’Sa said.
LONG BEACH POLY
After a historical 2023 season saw the Jackrabbits snap Wilson’s Long Beach Poly was looking to continue this success last Spring.
However, Long Beach Poly fell to the Bruins once more in 2024 but are back on the hunt this year. Except this time, it is about becoming the best version of themselves.
“Every day will be about becoming our best,” coach Ishmael Pluton said. “Less focus on the opponent this season and more on reflecting on our own performances and how to improve each and every day of the season so that we peak at Moore League finals and everyone is swimming to the fullest of their potential.”
Pluton said his team will look to do this by not only maintaining their strengths, but also focusing on improving their weaknesses. The Jackrabbits have a strong group of swimmers back in the water this year, including Louisville commit Lucas Jue.
“[Jue is] coming off an amazing junior season where he finished well at the CIF State meet,” Pluton said. “He will be the fastest boys’ swimmer in the Moore League this year.”
Jue was the Moore League champion in the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.63 last season, as well as a part of Poly’s winning 400 freestyle relay team.
Jue is one of three strong juniors for the Jackrabbits. Jacob Churchill and Townsend Kato also return for Poly, both of which were part of the Moore League champion 200 medley relay team.
“[Churchill] has only been getting faster. We are excited to see how he does this season,” Pluton said. “Townsend has been working especially hard and is hungry to be our top sprinter this season.”
Pluton is also expecting strong leadership out of his senior class. Kyle Oatey and Mordox Sar will lead the ‘Rabbits this year. Sar is the reigning 100 yard butterfly champ.
Poly also has some talent in the underclassmen. Pluton said his freshman class is huge, and both them and the sophomore class have the potential to rise to Varsity.
MILLIKAN
After a third place finish last season, the Rams are having a transition year in 2025. Coach Randy Wright said his team’s mindset is what makes them great.
“We will need the strength from our sophomores and juniors to make an impact on team scoring,” Wright said. “We may not have the star power, but it’s our working together that achieves success.”
While the team may look toward their sophomores and juniors, the Rams boast a strong senior class this season. Zin Dahdul, Lucas Smith and Sasha McCance are all seniors who qualified for CIF last year.
All three have been working hard, along with fellow senior Aiden Xavier. Xavier and junior Josh Lindner will be very important in the Rams’ medley relays this season.
Wright is also expecting the bounce back of two other important juniors. Luc Poissant narrowly missed CIF for the 100 back last year and is chasing his first qualification. Noah Martinez spent much of last season sidelined with an injury but will be back in the pool for Millikan this year.
“He’s back and swimming faster than ever,” Wright said of Martinez. “We need his leadership in the fly and IM, and I know he’s eager to make his first CIF run.”
The Rams will combine all these elements in an attempt to chase some success in the pool this season.
CABRILLO
The Jags saw some major success in the pool last year, as Aharon Villegas-Resendiz was named the All-Moore League 50 free champion with a time of 21.95. That was only 0.16 seconds behind Poly record-holder Samuel Kuo, who is now swimming at the Naval Academy.
However, this year is a bit of a rebuild period for the Jags who lost some key swimmers in the spring.
“The Jaguars boys’ program is experiencing its first down cycle in history with almost half the team graduating last year and a few spots given up,” coach Lawrence Durand said. “However, the squad will be competitive no doubt.”
Durand will rely on his senior captains Jacob Jacinto and Kris Mendoza to lead Cabrillo this season. Durand said his team is “young” this year – but not young in their age, simply young in their experience.
“11th grade is not typically used for a definition of a ‘young’ squad, however, they were [on] JV last year in the shadow of a fast and seasoned varsity team,” Durand said.
However, the head coach still expects great things out of his strong junior class. He will look toward Eli Mejia, Anthony Rizo, Jorge Pasten and Gary Romero to fill big shoes left by last season’s historical swimmers.
Even with a fresh look, the Jags’ goal remains simple and focused.
“Our goal is to get some wins and overachieve greatly,” Durand said.
LAKEWOOD
The Lancers are being led by a new head coach this year under Ian Schubert. Schubert already has aquatic experience at Lakewood, serving as the head coach for girls’ water polo, as well.
Schubert jumped right in with the boys’ swimming program, having his team train hard in preparation for season. He said his squad dedicates themselves to the mission of becoming competitive swimmers, swimming thousands of yards daily.
“They have shown that they are not afraid of hard work,” Schubert said.
The Lancers will be led by two strong, returning upperclassmen. Senior Isaiah Leonard and junior Javante Fearence are leading Lakewood this year and have already displayed this level of strong dedication and work ethic Schubert has been looking for.
“These boys bring a sense of experience and excellence to the team that our underclassmen are looking to harness and build off of as well,” Schubert said.
Schubert said Leonard and Fearence have high expectations for themselves but also push the rest of their team to be the best swimmers they can be. He thinks this combination will strengthen the Lancers this season.
“With a mix of these veteran swimmers and a large amount of underclassmen athletes stepping up, we have high aspirations for our athletes,” Schubert said. “With every meet we hope that our times improve day by day.”
The head coach said his swimmers are already putting up some competitive times in consideration for both league and CIF, but the work never stops.
“It delights me as a coach to see them improve and dedicate themselves to the vision of being competitive swimmers in this league,” Schubert said.
JORDAN
Jordan coach Brenden Gruneisen has always had the same priority for his Panthers: improvement. He knows that in the swimming world, this is possible as long as swimmers put in the effort.
“My goal is for all of the kids to look back at where they were when the season began and to be proud of how far they’ve come by the time the season comes to an end,” Gruneisen said.
The head coach thinks this year’s team displays a level of commitment that will make this goal more than possible to achieve. The Panthers’ commitment to the team, each other and themselves will help them put up a fight in their Moore League meets.
The North will be led by junior John Delgadillo. Delgadillo swam a CIF consideration time last year in the 100 butterfly and was the lead man for Jordan’s relays, which also earned CIF consideration.
“John is the best overall athlete on the team and it has been so fun to see him pair his natural abilities with hard work and dedication to the sport,” Gruneisen said.
Gruneisen said Delgadillo is looking to qualify in the top ten at Moore League and swim in the championship final.
“Here at Jordan, swimming in that championship heat is an enormous accomplishment given how competitive the Moore League is; but I think John is more than capable of achieving this thanks to his hard work,” Gruneisen said.
Delgadillo will be joined by senior Omar Valdez and junior Eliu Vasquez, who were both a part of the CIF consideration relay teams. Valdez is a captain for the Panthers this year, while Gruneisen described Vasquez as the team’s “sparkplug.”
“[Valdez] is such a tremendous young man, and I truly couldn’t ask for a better leader and ambassador for our program,” Gruneisen said. “[Vasquez] has so much energy and passion and can get on the other boys about stepping their game up while backing it up as one of our fastest and hardest working swimmers.”
There will also be two sophomores stepping up for Jordan. Carlos Benavides and Joan Garcia both swam for the Panthers last year but have shown tremendous improvement in the offseason.
While Gruneisen is proud of his team for earning CIF consideration last year, he said they are not satisfied. They will be looking to go even further this season and strive for a final spot.
“We’re going to control what we can control by putting in the hard work it’s going to take to qualify this time,” Gruneisen said.
