FELTON — The Aptos High boys swim team suffered its first Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League dual meet loss in more than five years earlier this spring.
The 87-81 defeat to the Soquel High Knights, however, came with an asterisk: Spencer Clarke was absent.
“That’s why I figured we had a chance today,” said Aptos head coach Jim Triplett.
The Mariners’ standout senior swimmer threw on his Superman cape and evened the odds on Saturday to help the Aptos boys win their fifth straight SCCAL championship at San Lorenzo Valley High.
Away on a college recruiting trip during his team’s league loss on March 16, Clarke was back in a big way. He cruised to victories in the 500-yard freestyle and 200 individual medley, while also swimming a leg on a pair of scoring relay teams for the Mariners.
Aptos edged Soquel, 328-279, to keep its reign over the SCCAL intact.
Clarke, headed to NCAA Division I Fordham University in New York on scholarship, sped to a five-second win in the 500 free with a time of 4:43.57 and a three-second victory in the 200 I.M. at 1:56.65.
A perfectionist with hopes of advancing to the CIF state meet, Clarke said there’s still plenty of room to improve. His next test will come at the Central Coast Section meet at the Santa Clara International Swim Center on May 11-12. It will be his third trip as an individual and fourth overall.
“I didn’t pull away as much as I wanted to,” said Clarke, wearing his maroon Fordham University hoodie in-between races. “I wanted to make it a blowout win, but it’s still not bad. It didn’t feel horrible. I think, definitely at CCS, being a little more tapered and being a little more knowledgeable, I think I can do better and drop a significant amount of time.”
His teammates and coaches were more than happy with his results on Saturday.
“He makes such a big difference,” said Aptos sophomore swimmer Ian McGuckin. “He always lifts up the team’s spirits.”
McGuckin will join Clarke at CCS in two weeks after winning the 200 free and 100 breaststroke in 1:56.67 and 1:00.92, respectively. It will be his second consecutive go-around against the section’s best. He’ll focus on the 100 breast.
“That’s my best,” said McGuckin, who hopes to break 58 seconds in the event in two weeks’ time. “I love the breaststroke.”
McGuckin and Clarke were the Mariners’ only male winners on the unusually cloudy and windy day among the Felton trees.
Senior Alex Estrada was second in the 100 free (49.63), and 100 backstroke (57.11).
Soquel won five of the 13 events, but the Mariners’ depth helped them edge the Knights once again. They had 21 swimmers place in the top eight, and all three of their relay teams finished within the top 3.
On the girls’ side, youthful Soquel held off Aptos’s army of swimmers to end the Mariners’ streak of SCCAL team titles at seven. They trailed by 11 points heading into the final event of the afternoon, and needed a miracle to stay atop the league. Instead, the Knights punctuated their championship with a 17-second win in the 400 free relay.
“They had too much for us to overcome,” Triplett said. “We had decent depth. I was pleasantly surprised that we stayed pretty close. It came down to the last relay. I can’t be disappointed. The girls were in it.”
Sophomore Madi McBride won the 100 back in 1:02.94, just five hundredths of a second under the CCS at-large qualifying time. The Mariners’ 200 free relay picked up the team’s only other win on the girls’ side.
“Aptos, we tried our best, and Soquel did, too,” McBride said. “There was all this talk about, ‘who’s going to win?’ I think everyone did so good. There was a lot of good vibes going around, which was really nice.”
Clarke last year placed eighth in the 200 I.M. and 12th in the 500 free at the CCS meet, but said he is more mentally prepared for his final try at the section championships. In the past, he swam tight, stressed and anxious. After his “disappointing” performance at last year’s CCS meet, Clarke improved his mindset in the water by taking up yoga, mental practice and poring over books that dealt with accepting anxiety and not fearing failure.
“My coach would always tell me, ‘don’t fear failure,’” Clarke said. “You will fail, but just accept that you will have days like that. If you can accept that, then you don’t have to go in worrying about it.”
Recently committing to a school also helped lift a massive weight off his shoulders.
“It’s my last year, and I’m not going to go in with that stress,” Clarke said. “I’m just trying to remind myself that the hard work that I put in, that’s what is going to give me the confidence. I’m having fun with it.”
St. Francis High sophomore Giovanni Garcia was the Sharks’ highest finisher on the day. He took second in the 100 butterfly (59.26), and placed fourth in the 500 free (5:37.97).
