Girls swim: Mackey and Peirsol storm into Sailor record books

Steve Virgen

BELMONT SHORE - With Irvine High running away with the CIF Southern

Section Division I title, there were other goals to reach for the Newport

Harbor girls swim team Friday at Belmont Plaza.

Newport juniors Nicole Mackey and Hayley Peirsol made sure their names

would be in the school record book with their swims in the CIF meet.

Mackey, who owns or is affiliated with seven out of 11 Newport Harbor swimming records, grabbed two runner-up finishes in the 200-yard

individual medley (2:02.60) and the 100 butterfly (55.87). Both of her

times broke school records.

“I knew the time I had to beat before I went in (for each event),”

Mackey said of her motivation in her events. “I wanted to beat (Kristen

Caverly of San Clemente in the 200 IM). My goal next year is to break the

(national public high school) record, 1:58.84. I’m going to work real

hard to get that. I’m going to smash it.”

Peirsol finished runner-up in the 500 free (4:45.41), breaking the record she had set in the CIF Preliminaries Wednesday, a 4:49.58. Peirsol

also finished third in the 200 freestyle, which included Mai Tajima, who

finished seventh (1:55.09) Tajima finished fifth in the 100 back (58.66).

Mackey’s 2:02.60 in the 200 IM broke Carly Geehr’s 2:02.71 set last

year, and Mackey’s swim in the 100 fly broke her own 55.90, also set last

year, when Mackey finished second in the 100 backstroke and third in the

100 fly.

Geehr, a senior bound for Stanford, attended the CIF Finals and

supported her teammates, as a shoulder injury has kept her out of action

this season.

Newport Coach Ken LaMont said the Sailors would have surely finished

second for the CIF team title race, if Geehr had been able to swim.

“She’s going to do well for Stanford in her college career,” LaMont

said of Geehr.

The Sailors finished fourth in the CIF meet, while the Irvine Vaqueros

defended their title with ease, scoring 285 points and setting two

national high school records. Santa Margarita finished second with 197

points.

Mackey, Tajima, Ashley Parole and Peirsol finished third in the 400

free relay (3:33.42), and the Newport quartet finished sixth in the 200

medley relay (1:51.90).

The Vaqueros set the national high school record in the 200 medley

relay (1:43.71) and Courtney Cashion, a club swim teammate of Mackey,

Peirsol and Tajima, broke the record in the 100 free (49.45).