PREP SWIMMING NOTEBOOK: VALENCIA TAKES ITS PLACE VIKING SWIM TEAM READY TO CHALLENGE BEST IN FOOTHILL.Byline: Nevin Barich Nevin Barich (born August 6, 1979) is a former American sports journalist now working as the Senior Editor of The National Notary, a trade magazine based in Los Angeles with a circulation of more than 300,000 nationwide. Staff Writer The Valencia girls' swim team is off to a strong start in Foothill League competition with victories over Burbank and Burroughs of Burbank. But the Vikings have yet to face powerhouses Hart and Saugus, and coach Kathleen Perdisatt knows her team will have to be at their best just to salvage a split. Perdisatt, as the other league coaches, already has conceded defeat to Hart but said defeating Saugus for second place in league was possible. ``I certainly hope we can beat Saugus,'' Perdisatt said. ``On paper there are really strong, but in competition they might be different. We'll see.'' --Youngsters getting better: The Valencia girls have been getting strong performances from some of their younger swimmers. Junior Sam Milner, who took a year off from the team after competing as a freshman, has improved in the 200 freestyle The code name for the MCE version of Windows. See Media Center Edition. . In that event, Milner has been putting up times similar to when she was first on the team. Also, sophomore sprint freestyler Natalie Hand has been doing well as of late, bringing her experience into play. Hand transferred from Hart and was on its junior varsity team For the American rock band, see . In sports, usually at the high school and college levels, members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as a football or basketball game) are called junior varsity players. last year. --Stepping up: The Valencia boys continue to be rattled rat·tle 1 v. rat·tled, rat·tling, rat·tles v.intr. 1. a. To make or emit a quick succession of short percussive sounds. b. by injuries. Brian Edwards, who is also the setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. for the varsity volleyball team, has a sprained ankle A sprained ankle, also known as a ankle sprain, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn. . Meanwhile, Ian Riner is struggling to get over a broken hand and only earlier this week began participating in full practices. Luckily for the Vikings, some of the underclassmen have been filling the holes. Freshman Darren Slechta specializes in the 100 breaststroke but also has become a utility swimmer, filling spots when needed. Also, sophomore distance freestyler Sean Petersen has dropped more than 20 seconds in the 500 freestyle. Finally, senior Brett Geyer, in his first year on the team, is becoming one of Valencia's fastest 50 freestylers. --No promised land: Valencia never has had anyone qualify for Southern Section Division II, and Perdisatt doesn't expect any of her swimmers to be able to break the jinx jinx n. 1. A person or thing that is believed to bring bad luck. 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing. tr.v. this year. ``We won't get any automatic times,'' Perdisatt said. ``We've had some good times but the standards for Division II are just too high for us. We might get some consideration times, but that's it.'' --Heads held high: Despite a blowout Blowout The rapid sale of all shares in a new securities offering. See: hot issue. blowout The nearly immediate sale of a new security issue because of great investor demand. See also hot issue. loss to Hart last week, the Saugus girls have not let the setback dampen their spirits. ``I would say we're handling it a lot better than we did last year,'' Saugus coach Jim Klipfel said. ``Last year, when we lost to Hart, it was a lot tougher. I probably didn't prepare my team for the loss like I should have. This year, though, they were more aware of the situation and that was essential. It wasn't like we lost it in the last couple of events, so them knowing what they were up against helped them handle it really well.'' --Best marks: The Hart meet was good for Saugus in the fact that 36 percent of the team swam their best times ever across the board. ``We had a ton of kids who swam the best times of their lives,'' Klipfel said. ``It prepares us for the main goals we have this season: To have kids swim their best times, to go as far in league as we can and to get as many people possible to CIF (1) (Common Intermediate Format) A standard video format used in videoconferencing. CIF formats are defined by their resolution, and standards both above and below the original resolution have been established. The original CIF is also known as Full CIF (FCIF). .'' --Still needs improvement: Dustin Miller might have scored a huge upset for the Saugus boys' last week when he beat Hart's Mike Linn linn n. Scots 1. A waterfall. 2. A steep ravine. [Scottish Gaelic linne, pool, waterfall.] in the 100 breaststroke, but Klipfel found fault not only in Miller's performance but in the situation as a whole. ``When Dustin won the event he didn't face Hart's best breaststroker,'' said Klipfel, referring to the fact Hart's Sean Kakumu, who never has lost a breaststroke event in league, was sick against Saugus and didn't compete. ``If Dustin had competed against Sean, he probably wouldn't have won but it would've given him the motivation to swim a better time than he did.'' For the record, Miller swam the event in 1:07, two seconds higher than the Southern Section cutoff point Cutoff point The lowest rate of return acceptable on investments. of 1:05. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Paloma Vegiro of Valencia hopes to emerge as one of the area's top breast strokers. Likewise, her Vikings teammates should challenge for Foothill League honors. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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