{"id":202867,"date":"2026-03-03T22:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T22:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/202867\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T22:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T22:38:06","slug":"long-beach-girls-swimming-preview-2026-the562-org","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/202867\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Girls\u2019 Swimming Preview 2026 \u2013 The562.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

The562\u2019s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach in 2025-26 is sponsored by\u00a0Watersafe Swim School<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another season of girls swimming is underway, with each Long Beach team hoping to dethrone Wilson as the queens of the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilson<\/p>\n

The Bruins have built a powerhouse program, and are on the heels of four straight Moore League championships. Despite this, the team\u2019s mindset is forward-looking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are entering this season with momentum and purpose,\u201d said head coach Kristin Barth-Kredell. \u201cOur priorities are clear: maintain the championship standard that has defined our program, continue developing depth across all three levels, compete with discipline, integrity, and pride, and push for stronger performances at CIF and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bruins\u2019 push for a five-peat will occur in a fresh facility, as this will be the debut season of Wilson\u2019s new outdoor aquatics center for the swim team. Barth-Kredell calls it an incredible gift for Wilson athletes that will motivate them to continue performing at a high level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt elevates our daily training environment and gives us the opportunity to build a true home-deck advantage,\u201d Barth-Kredell said. \u201cWe are grateful for it, and we are ready to race in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior Matilda Davidson-Lakey, Reese Haga and Katie Tunnicliff headline Wilson\u2019s squad, as they\u2019ll be stalwarts both in and out of the water. Sophomore Abby Billish also returns after an impressive freshman season. A six-foot sprinter, she was pivotal at last season\u2019s Moore League finals, keeping pace with top swimmers in both individual and relay events to score key points for her team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barth-Kredell mentioned Emmylou Kennedy and Kylie Kennedy as two freshmen standouts to keep an eye on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team understands that success is built daily \u2014 in practice habits, academic accountability, and how we support one another,\u201d Barth-Kredell said. \u201cWith a new pool, strong leadership, and a motivated roster, Wilson girls\u2019 swim is ready to compete at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long Beach Poly<\/p>\n

The Jackrabbits placed second in Moore League last season despite winning seven of the 11 races at the finals, with Wilson outscoring them in points. Head coach Ishmael Pluton considers sustained improvement as the key to challenging the Bruins this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end goal is to peak at Moore League Finals,\u201d Pluton said.<\/p>\n

Several swimmers will return to aid that effort. These include juniors Phoebe Kuo, described as an \u201call-around speed machine,\u201d and Jemma Nagle, described as a hard worker and stellar leader known for her distance prowess. Poly will also rely on senior Kayla Ngyuen, lauded not just for her sprint freestyle splits, but also for having the expertise and leadership skills to lead her team through the toughest meets. Senior Sequoia Newman, a multi-sport athlete, will make the shift to swim season after helping lead the Jackrabbit\u2019s girls\u2019 water polo team to the CIF quarterfinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s fired up to swim fast in her senior season,\u201d Pluton said. \u201cWe expect some great spring freestyle from Sequoia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Lorealle Lobedecis, a CIF State Diving podium finisher, is poised to add to an already impressive r\u00e9sum\u00e9, while Pluton also expects sophomore Nikki Bickel to race even faster this year. Freshman Mao Guevara joins the Jackrabbits as an exciting newcomer.<\/p>\n

Millikan<\/p>\n

The Rams are focusing on continuity this season as they work to build on last year\u2019s strong third place finish in Moore League.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary goals are always improvement and working together to improve,\u201d head coach Mike Carrillo said. \u201cSwimming is very much an individual sport, but to improve we need to push each other at practice and meets to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading the charge is junior Sienna Ramirez Jr, who set a school record in the 100 Breaststroke last season with a 1:06.98 time. She also finished 4th in CIF Division 2 last year in the 100 breaststroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Junior Karina Ruiz and sophomore Lake Fisher also return; both were part of the group that took down Wilson in the 200 Medley Relay at the Moore League Finals. Sophomore McKenna Rosenberg is another Ram whom Carrillo expects to make an impact in the water. She\u2019s coming off a dominant water polo season where she notched a game-high seven goals in Millikan\u2019s Division 2 CIF game \u2013 earning an athlete of the week honor from The562.<\/p>\n

Lakewood<\/p>\n

Perseverance is the Lancers\u2019 mantra as they strive to succeed not just in league, but in Division 3 CIF play, where the team hopes to win at least two relays and an individual race.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goals for the team are to day in and day out persevere and work hard even when things get\u00a0 tough,\u201d head coach Deborah Caine said. \u201cOur meet goals are to focus on Lakewood and showing consistent improvement throughout the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Junior Kaylee Cuizon returns as the squad\u2019s top swimmer in the 200 IM and 100 fly. She qualified for CIF D3 finals last year, and Caine said her goal is to reach that level again this season and place even higher in Moore League Finals. Another swimmer with CIF aspirations is junior Jaiden Jordan, who specializes in the 50 and 100 Free and will serve as an anchor for all three relays. Danica Sapitan will also play a big role in the 100 Breaststroke and 200 IM, as she strives to compete for a Moore League Finals spot in the former.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lakewood also welcomes two new sophomores to varsity this year. Sophomore Camila Mora-Corral enters for the freestyle and breaststroke events, while Valerie Bolanos will help varsity in butterfly and freestyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jordan<\/p>\n

After an improved season that saw Jordan climb a spot in the Moore League standings, the Panthers are excited for another year of growth and opportunity.<\/p>\n

Head coach Brenden Gruneisen values the balance of this year\u2019s squad between experienced players and promising freshmen he\u2019s excited about.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are senior-heavy this year, but we also have some up-and-coming talent that I\u2019m really excited about,\u201d Gruneisen said. \u201cUltimately, this season will be about sending this excellent senior class off on a high note while simultaneously building for future success with our younger girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gruneisen labelled senior Melanie Madrid as Jordan\u2019s top swimmer not just this year, but in recent memory. She broke school records in the 200 and 500 Freestyle \u2013 two events that also garnered her CIF qualification. Madrid is known for her versatility in all events, but will primarily swim the 200 Freestyle, 200 IM and 100 breaststroke individually, along with leading the freestyle relays and swimming the breaststroke leg in Medley relays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has her sights set on a few more records this year and I think her goals are very attainable thanks to her incredible work ethic and drive to succeed,\u201d Gruneisen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melanie Alatorre is another senior looking to finish her Panthers career strong. She\u2019s the team\u2019s strongest butterfly swimmer and will compete in the 100 Butterfly and 200 IM while handling the butterfly leg of the Medley Relay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMelanie has improved so much in her 4 years at Jordan not only in terms of her physical ability, but also her confidence level and approach to competition,\u201d Gruneisen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adding to the vaunted senior class is Paola Mejorado, who\u2019s known as the backstroke specialist \u2013 having gotten a CIF Consideration time in the 100 backstroke. She hopes to hit that time standard this year, while swimming sprint freestyle and being a pivotal part of all relays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPaola is a fierce competitor and it\u2019s so much fun to coach her and watch her race,\u201d Gruneisen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gruneisen highlighted how this year\u2019s freshman class is particularly promising. The standout is Jaylin Reyes, who enters with a wealth of prior swimming knowledge and experiences, having gone through several youth programs in the area. Well-versed in all four strokes, she\u2019ll likely compete alongside the seniors in the 4th spot on Jordan\u2019s A relay teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe enters her first swim season ready to make big contributions to our varsity team right away,\u201d Gruneisen said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The562\u2019s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach in 2025-26 is sponsored by\u00a0Watersafe Swim School. Another season of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-202867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}