ANOTHER `BIG-GAME JAMES': CHANNELING A KINDRED SPIRIT CRESCENTA VALLEY'S JAMES MARTIN KEEPS LATE SWIMMER'S MEMORY ALIVE.Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News LONG BEACH - James James, person in the Bible James, in the Gospel of St. Luke, kinsman of St. Jude. The original does not specify the relationship. James, rivers, United States James. Jenkins Jen´kins n. 1. A name of contempt for a flatterer of persons high in social or official life; as, the Jenkins employed by a newspaper s>. captivated cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. audiences every time he competed in the Belmont Plaza pool. Whether it was his strong starts, his explosiveness off the walls or how he cut through the water with his powerful stroke, the 6-foot-7 Jenkins was a dominant presence during four years at Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. High of La Crescenta. Five years ago, James Martin James Martin or Jim Martin may refer to: Politicians:
``I remember seeing him his senior year and watching him carry the team almost single- handedly on his shoulders to a third-place finish Noun 1. third-place finish - a finish in third place (as in a race) finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the winner is the team with the ,'' said Martin, a Crescenta Valley senior. ``That's the memory I have of James.'' Jenkins clocked program records of 20.47 and 44.65 seconds to defend his titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and rallied the Falcons to third-place finishes in the 200 and 400 free relays as C.V. finished third to Damien of La Verne La Verne (lə vûrn), city (1990 pop. 30,897), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1906. La Verne, which began as a citrus-processing center, now has varied manufacturing, including electronic components, apparel, hand and Riverside Poly (language) Poly - 1. A polymorphic, block-structured language developed by D.C.J. Matthews at Cambridge in the early 1980s. ["An Overview of the Poly Programming Language", D.C.J. Matthews, in Data Types and Persistence, M.P. Atkinson et al eds, Springer 1988]. 2. in the 2001 team competition. That was the last time Martin, or anybody else, would watch Jenkins swim competitively. After playing basketball his freshman year at San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. State, Jenkins died in May 2002 while vacationing with his family in Mammoth mammoth, name for several large prehistoric elephants of the extinct genus Mammuthus, which ranged over Eurasia and North America in the Pleistocene epoch. Lakes. The two-time Daily News Swimmer of the Year was hiking hiking Walking, often among hills or mountains, as recreational sport. It represents an activity in its own right and also figures in backpacking, camping, hunting, mountaineering, and orienteering. near the top of Rush Creek Falls, and a cliff gave way. He fell more than 150 feet, to the bottom of a waterfall waterfall, a sudden unsupported drop in a stream. It is formed when the stream course is interrupted as when a stream passes over a layer of harder rock—often igneous—to an area of softer and therefore more easily eroded rock; the edge of a cliff or near Agnew Lake. Martin pays tribute to Jenkins at every meet by wearing a memorial ring around his neck. ``I'm just really glad that I had the opportunity to watch him and learn from him, because you don't get much better than James,'' says Martin, who will swim in his final high school competition today at the inaugural Southern Section Masters meet at Belmont Plaza. ``I grew up idolizing James Jenkins,'' Martin says. ``I'm not quite as good as him, but I try to live up to his name. I don't have the same amount of talent as he did, but I've worked as hard as I can to get to where I am. Just to be considered in the same (way) as him is an honor As a verb, to accept a bill of exchange, or to pay a note, check, or accepted bill, at maturity. To pay or to accept and pay, or, where a credit so engages, to purchase or discount a draft complying with the terms of the draft. .'' Jenkins' mother, Mary, and his older brother, John, and sister, Mary Ellen -- both former section champions -- visited Belmont Plaza during Wednesday's Div. I prelims to dip the head of Mary Ellen's son, Michael, in the ``sacred'' water of the Belmont pool. Mary Jenkins expressed great pride in what Martin has accomplished. ``It's so exciting to see him carrying on the tradition of great C.V. swimmers,'' she said. ``Just seeing James and a number of old friends brings back a lot of good memories.'' Martin turned in two of the most memo- rable performances of his career at Friday's Div. I finals, clocking an area-leading 52.09 to finish third in the 100 backstroke and 58.74 -- the area's second-fastest mark -- to finish fourth in the 100 breaststroke. ``He made a decision three years ago to make this commitment (to concentrate only on swimming), because he wanted to do something great,'' said Crescenta Valley boys' coach Jan Sakonju, who also coached Jenkins. ``As a coach, it's very rewarding to see him say, `I want to achieve this,' and then go out and make it happen.'' Martin's accomplishments are more impressive in that he's competing in consecutive events, doing so against some of the top swimmers in the nation. ``James wants to test himself -- he wants to go after the best,'' Sakonju said. ``What a phenomenal feat to be able to do that in back-to-back events. Even if he doesn't win, there's no shame in the attempt.'' Martin is looking to qualify for the championship heat tonight in both events -- and set program records. ``I have to stay focused and stay hungry,'' said Martin, who is aiming to break Kenny Carpenter's backstroke (51.85) and Steve Kim's breaststroke (58.25) marks, set in 1997. ``I want my name on that wall, along with James.'' Sakonju says Martin's legacy at Crescenta Valley is secure. ``The spirit of James (Jenkins) was about competition,'' he said. ``(Martin is) `Big-Game James,' just like James Jenkins was `Big-Game James' before him. The bigger the stage, the better James (Martin) performs. And I think he's capable of doing the same thing (today). ``When they tell James Martin stories, they're going to talk about how he was going after those records when he was doing back-to-back events. That's the kind of stuff that becomes the story of legend.'' erik.boal@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Crescenta Valley High senior James Martin draws inspiration from the exploits of the late James Jenkins, a two-time Daily News Swimmer of the Year. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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