Capo Valley scores big in Millikan Relays (updated)

LONG BEACH - Capistrano Valley's boys swim team hit all the right marks Saturday night at the Millikan Southern Section Relays.

The top-ranked Cougars improved in some races, held their standing in others and stayed away from the DQ bug.

They even held off Edison's Tom Shields, and lived to celebrate it.

Capistrano Valley took advantage of a costly disqualification by Edison in the 200-yard breaststroke but also set a meet record in the 400 freestyle relay en route to capturing the team title at Belmont Plaza.

The Cougars scored 198 points to outdistance Murrieta Valley (170), Corona del Mar (164) and Edison (160).

"You did exactly what you had to do," Capistrano Valley coach Steve Yancey told his team.

Capistrano Valley's highlighted its night with a meet and school record in the 400 free relay. Tyler DeShon, Lucas Norman, Chris Colgan and Spenser Goodman just held off top-seeded Edison and Shields to touch in 3 minutes, 10.37 seconds.

The Cougars edged Newport Harbor's 2002 meet standard by a mere two-hundredths of a second with an automatic All-America time. The Sailors '02 relay included Olympian Aaron Peirsol.

Edison again had Shields, who nearly rallied the Chargers to the victory with an impressive anchor.

Capistrano Valley anchor Goodman took about a 41/2-second lead on Shields going into the final 100 but Shields — who dove in third — blazed to a lifetime-best 42.80 anchor to bring Edison to the wall second in a near-record 3:10.44.

Goodman split a 47.22 — near his lifetime best — but Shields' speed made it a touch finish.

"That was so scary," Goodman said. "That (42.80) is insane."

The Cal-bound Shields broke 43 seconds for the first time on a relay.

"I thought I had him," Shields said of Goodman. "Good fun. … I love relays."

Shields also posted an impressive leadoff to the Chargers' victorious 200 backstroke relay (1:38.42, third all-time) with a lifetime-best 22.46. That time was faster than half the leadoff swims in the finals of the 300 free relay.

"I said (to my team), 'Listen. You've got to get better,'" Yancey said. "And that's the bottom line — we got better."

Corona del Mar won the breaststroke in a swift 1:51.08. Juniors Michael Liao and Isle Anderson and sophomores Garrett Larson and John Kim clocked the second-fastest time in meet history. The Sea Kings also claimed the medley in 1:38.26, and if not for a DQ of its IM relay in the prelims, they might have challenged for the title.

Tesoro's 300 free relay of Spencer Wollkind, Alex Nowlin, Mike Martin, Brian Schneiderman, Mike Snow and Bryan Faust touched first by just over a second with a 2:12.76 — fifth all-time.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com