One of the most competitive leagues in Orange County swimming has gotten even tougher.
The upcoming Pacific Coast League boys finals, featuring top-five ranked University, Northwood and Corona del Mar, added Hunter Hitchens to the mix last week.
Hitchens, a sophomore who had been out with CIF-SS eligibility issues, helped Northwood edge Corona del Mar in a dual meet and outdistance University for the runner-up spot to Mater Dei at the Foothill Swim Games on Saturday.
“Hunter Hitchens looks awesome,” Coach Ryan Vande Wydeven of defending league champion University said.
“(The race) was already ramped up in my mind. It’s teams (ranked) three, four and five. That’s a big deal. But now, it’s going to be really challenging. It’s going to take a lot. … It will be a showdown.”
The Pacific Coast finals are May 6 at Woollett Aquatics Center at 2 p.m.
CAVIC SENDS SHOULTS FUNNY TWEET
Santa Margarita’s Grant Shoults received a humorous congratulatory message on Twitter from a legendary Orange County swimmer after the Foothill Swim Games.
Tustin graduate Michael Cavic, who famously almost beat Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympics, noticed a mention on Twitter that the Stanford-bound Shoults broke his 2001 meet record in the 100-yard butterfly by about three-quarters of a second.
“Congrats, @grantshoults!” Cavic wrote on Twitter over the weekend. “Stanford, though? Been a while since a Cardinal did anything mentionable in swimming.”
Cavic attended Cal, Stanford’s heated rival. In 2008, he raced for Serbia when he lost to Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly final by one one-hundredth of a second in a controversial finish. Cavic ended his post on Twitter to Shoults with a wink symbol.
EDISON’S RILEY TO RETIRE
Edison’s Diggy Riley, who has been coaching swimming in some capacity at the Sunset League school for 15 years, will resign at the end of this season.
The two-time county coach of the year said he is excited for the upcoming championship season but is looking forward to a break. He also has a new outlook on coaching and life after the death of his wife, Sally, last spring from cancer.
“I’m sure everybody says it who has a loved one they’ve lost: the simple things in life have now become so important,” he said.
“What’s important is just enjoying life … and my faith has a lot to due with that. Just believing God has a plan for me.”
Riley also resigned as the boys and girls water polo coach in the spring.
