Malden High swim has strong season opener, topping Bishop Fenwick, 84-77

Relay teams, Captain Nathan Nguyen lead the way in great start for Golden Tornados

  Malden High coed swim team Head Coach Jess Bisson was not exactly sure what she had in the preseason practices, with so many new swimmers on the roster this winter season. But the rookies mixed in just fine with the more experienced Malden swimmers in the season opener last Thursday, Dec. 15 as the Tornados took an 84-77 win at the Barry Fitzpatrick Pool at Malden High. The win put Malden at 1-0 to start the season.

  The Tornados team was back in action Tuesday on the road at Medford in its Greater Boston League (GBL) opener.

  “It was a very good start to the season with a win over a strong non-league team like Bishop Fenwick,” Coach Bisson said. “We got some solid performances with some of our swimmers already qualifying for Sectionals and one swimmer qualifying for States with their times.”

  Malden got off to a big start by winning the 200-yard medley relay with senior co-captain Nathan Nguyen, seniors Nimon Jusufi and Kyle Lee and sophomore David Xu coming in at 1:56.15. The team of Jocelyn Nguyen, Hailey Tran, Sophie Tran and Wara Ramirez Morales took third place (2:04.51), and the team of Christina Mui, Danielle Harrington, Tiffany Pham and Justina Lim was fourth at 2:45.02.

  Malden had a solid showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1-2 and 4th) and in the 100-yard freestyle (1-2-3 sweep) to extend their lead and eventually help carry the day. Sophomore Karim Ammar led the way in the sweep of the 100 free with a time of 1:04.86. Lee was second at 1:05.16. Pham was third at 1:06.7.

  In the 200 freestyle relay, Malden won that event as well, which put the Tornados over the top. The home team also took second and fourth places. Nathan Nguyen, Nimon Jusufi, Kyle Lee – all seniors – and sophomore David Xu combined for the winning time of 1:52.72. Taking second was the four of sophomore Hailey Tran, freshman Danielle Harrington, sophomore James Zhou and sophomore Jocelyn Nguyen. Fourth-place finishers were Malden’s Stephanie Wong, a sophomore, senior Leo Chen, junior Justina Lim and sophomore Lanyu Liang.

  Co-captain Nathan Nguyen came up big for Malden with a win in 50-yard freestyle at 25.42 seconds. Kyle Lee was third (27.68 seconds) and Joao Victor Santos fourth (30.22 seconds).

  Jusufi won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:17.04. Hailey Tran was third at 1:18.37 and the seventh-grader Sophie Tran fourth (1:19.78).

  Another key reason Malden was able to pull out the overall meet win was that the Tornados filled in either two or three other places in the events they did not win. Malden took 3-4-5 in the 200-yard freestyle. Kyle Ammar was third (2:30.79), Joyce Zhou was fourth (2:49:10) and Ryan Li was fifth (3:01.17).

  Bishop Fenwick won the 200-yard medley, but Malden took 2-3-4; Hailey Tran was second at 2:28.43, David Xu was third at 2:35.55 and Jusufi was fourth (2:55.59).

  Malden also went 2-3-5 in the 100-yard backstroke. Nathan Nguyen was second at 1:08.63. Senior Allen Xaio, swimming in his first-ever event as a first-year swimmer for Malden, finished third at 1:22.19, and Ryan Li was fourth at 1:39.21.

  The Tornados went 2-4-5 in the 100-yard butterfly. Malden seventh-grader Sophie Tran placed second, qualifying for the 2023 MIAA State Swim Tournament with a 1:05.49 finish. David Xu was fourth at 1:08.03 and senior Liam Bloom fifth at 1:08.73.

  Malden went 3-4-5 in the 500 freestyle. Joslyn Nguyen was third (6:41.28), Bloom fourth (6:53.96) and co-captain Wara Ramirez Morales fifth (7:16.42).

  The Tornados were second in the final event, the 400-yard medley relay. Bloom, Santos, Ammar and Sophie Tran finished at 4:28.69.