Newport Harbor swimmer Connor Ohl breaks 20 seconds again in 50 freestyle
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Newport Harbor swimmer Connor Ohl reaffirmed his status Friday in an exclusive sprint group. He then joined more elite company.
The senior broke the 20-second barrier in the 50-yard freestyle for the second consecutive year at the Sunset League finals at Golden West College and sank Olympian Tom Shields’ league record in the 100 free.
Ohl didn’t show much emotion after stopping the clock in the 50 at 19.90 seconds, 11 one-hundredths of a second off his league record of 19.79 in 2025.
In recording that time, Ohl joined Olympian Michael Cavic (Tustin) as the only Orange County boys to ever break 20 seconds in a high school meet.
Ohl, who is committed to Stanford for water polo, flashed a smile and pointed to his mom Diane after winning the 100 free in a meet record and lifetime-best 44.08.
Ohl was happy with both his times, but especially the 100.
“I’ve been wanting to get that lower and lower,” said Ohl, who broke Shields’ meet record of 44.54 for Edison in 2009. “That was an amazing swim for me right there. I’m so happy about that.”
“I felt all my breakouts off the wall, even off the flips … were really strong and that gave me a lot of momentum,” he added.
Ohl moved to fourth in county history in the 100 free and again challenged Cavic’s county record in the 50 of 19.69 from 2002.
Ohl, who is 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, capped his meet by splitting an eye-popping 19.37 as the anchor in the 200 free relay.
“I honestly couldn’t do it without the great coaching staff at Newport,” said Ohl, who mentioned coaches Kevin Potter and Carson Sand. “They really help me more with the technical (side). The flips, the dives, the underwaters.”
Ohl’s performance helped highlight a meet that produced sizzling times from Fountain Valley’s Alyssa Ton and strong team performances.
Ton won the 200 free in a county-leading 1:45.37 and showcased her sprinting to claim the 100 free in a county-leading 49.10.
The Tennessee committed junior missed her lifetime-best in the 100 by only five hundreths.
“The 100 free is a fun event for me because usually I do some longer events,” said Ton, who plans to race the 200 and 500 free at the CIF-SS championships next week.
“I wouldn’t necessary call myself a sprinter. I won’t call myself a long distance either. I feel like I can kind of hop around.”
The meet featured a few other double-winners.
On the girls side, Corona del Mar sophomore Sofia Szymanowski touched first in the 200 individual medley (2:03.31) and 100 breaststroke (1:01.28).
On the boys side, Fountain Valley senior Peter Vu claimed the 500 free (4:29.18) and 100 breaststroke (55.03).
In the breaststroke, the Princeton commit edged Corona del Mar’s Ethan Lim (55.73) in one of the best races of the meet.
Edison senior Holden Lee broke 50 seconds in the butterfly (49.61) and backstroke (49.48) to capture titles.
The Pomona-Pitzer commit also helped Edison’s 200 free relay to a title in a school-record 1:24.37.
He teamed with fellow seniors Matthew Langford, Micah Baltzer and Coulter Dilts to hold off Ohl and Newport Harbor by three-tenths.
Edison’s relay featured the same swimmers as last season when it missed racing at the CIF-SS meet due to an entry issue.
“They focused on the things they needed to late in the season and that’s what paid off,” first-year Edison coach Tommy Kelly said.
Huntington Beach boys won the league meet to claim the title after finishing third in league duals with a 4-2 record. Senior Isaac Squires, who is committed to Golden West College, won the 200 free in 1:41.03. He impressed in prelims with a 1:39.68.
Newport Harbor’s girls, who went 6-0 in league duals, captured their fourth straight title. Emerson Mulvey, also a water polo standout, took the 50 free in 24.07.
In other league finals Friday:
In the Pacific Coast League: Andrew Maksymowski won the 200 IM (1:49.36) and 500 free (4:24.98) to lead the Northwood boys to the title at the Woollett Aquatics Center. Junior Bella Parker touched first in the 200 IM (2:05.15) and 100 back (55.12) to help power the Woodbridge girls to the title.
In the Trinity League: Bennett Korner captured the 50 free (20.24) and breaststroke (56.03) to lead the Santa Margarita boys to the title in their home pool. Freshman Haylee Pramono won the 200 IM (2:03.22) and backstroke (58.29) to help push the Santa Margarita girls to the title.
In the South Coast League: Zoe de Fabrique of San Clemente claimed the 200 (1:50.81) and 500 (4:56.07) freestyles to help highlight the meet at Capistrano Valley.
In the Crestview League: Jay Hickman won the boys 500 free (league-record 4:29.02) and Chloe Teger claimed the girls 500 free (4:58.04) to lead Villa Park at Foothill High. Villa Park’s Lucy Flynn touched first in the 200 free (1:50.18) and 100 breast (1:05.24).
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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 12:35 AM.