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    Edison’s swimming relay slotted as CIF-SS alternate after entry issue
    • May 8, 2025

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    Edison’s boys 200-yard freestyle relay displayed impressive speed at the Sunset League finals.

    Racing at Golden West College on Friday, the all-junior team of Matthew Langford, Coulter Dilts, Micah Baltzer and Holden Lee finished second in a time of 1 minute, 25.65 seconds. The time dipped well under the automatic qualifying time for the CIF-SS Division 1 championships and narrowly missed Edison’s 2014 school record.

    But when the Division 1 prelims begin Thursday morning at Mt. SAC, Edison will be listed as the No. 3 alternate in the 200 free relay and hoping for a chance to race due to an issue with its meet entry.

    Edison’s official entry time is 1:33.86, which ranked No. 39 and outside of the Top 36 need to race in the 9 a.m. prelims.

    Veteran Edison coach Matt Whitmore described the issue as a “computer glitch.” CIF-SS assistant coach Kristine Palle, who also is a former swimming coach, explained it as a clerical error that wasn’t corrected in time.

    Whitmore said he entered the Chargers’ swift relay time from the league finals online but a slower time from earlier in the season “auto-filled” as the Edison entry.

    Whitmore said he learned after the 9 a.m. deadline for entries on Saturday that there was a problem.

    The CIF-SS alerts coaches of the deadline and states on its postseason bulletin “NO EXCEPTIONS!”

    “Once we close after the deadline, we have to accept what was entered,” Palle said. “It’s unfortunate. (This) happens occasionally. That’s the tough part of the entry process.”

    “The deadlines are really important and we kind of have to hold the line,” she added.

    Whitmore called the alternate status for Edison’s relay “an injustice” because of the boys’ time. The team’s Sunset League time placed second to Newport Harbor (1:24.82) and was fast enough for the No. 6 seed in Division 1.

    “They’re bummed,” Whitmore said of his swimmers.

    The coach hopes his athletes can use the situation as a life lesson on how to deal with unexpected setbacks. “You just got to more forward,” he said.

    ​ Orange County Register 

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