SWIMMING: `PARADIGM SHIFT' IN VALENCIA POOL NEWCOMERS THE DIFFERENCE AS VIKINGS CHALLENGE RIVAL HART FOR SWIM SUPERIORITY.Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News At this time last year, Kasey Hartsock was living in North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , Megan Machynia was still developing her skills in the pool after years of playing soccer, and Kaitlyn Salovich was largely unaware of the magnitude of the rivalry between Valencia and Hart highs. With Valencia losing only Sara Peever to graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. from last year's second-place girls' swimming team, the stage was set for the Vikings to challenge the Indians this season for the Foothill League title. Then Valencia coach Kathleen Perdisatt learned about Hartsock -- a junior transfer from Southern Pines, N.C. -- and two of the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Valley's most promising freshmen. A ``paradigm shift A dramatic change in methodology or practice. It often refers to a major change in thinking and planning, which ultimately changes the way projects are implemented. For example, accessing applications and data from the Web instead of from local servers is a paradigm shift. See paradigm. ,'' in Perdisatt's words, was about to take place. No longer would the Vikings be competing in Hart's shadow. No longer would it be only the Indians and Saugus battling it out for Foothill supremacy SUPREMACY. Sovereign dominion, authority, and preeminence; the highest state. In the United States, the supremacy resides in the people, and is exercises by their constitutional representatives, the president and congress. Vide Sovereignty. . And no longer would Valencia be content to simply qualify for the Southern Section Div. I prelims. ``I heard that Hart was the thing, and it made me a little nervous, but I thought we had a good chance this year,'' said Hartsock, a junior who moved to California when her father got a job in Northridge. ``There are a lot of good swimmers at Valencia right now.'' Hartsock had heard of the Indians' impressive tradition -- the Indians have won 25 league titles -- and first considered Hart before settling on Valencia. ``Obviously, Hart was the best team,'' said Hartsock, who will compete in the 50-yard freestyle The code name for the MCE version of Windows. See Media Center Edition. tonight at the Southern Section Div. I finals at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. ``But I liked the people that my parents met, and I thought Valencia would be a good fit. ``I don't understand the Hart rivalry, and it will probably take me years to understand. But I was really confident throughout the season. I thought it was going to be our year.'' Hartsock was one of the catalysts in the Vikings' 91-79 dual meet victory over the Indians, which helped snare snare (snar) a wire loop for removing polyps and tumors by encircling them at the base and closing the loop. snare n. a share the league title. Valencia emerged as an elite team this year with the addition of strong sprint freestyler Hartsock, butterfly specialist Machynia and versatile Salovich to to a group that returned of Kroll, Katie Boring, Lexy Graham, Erin Donnelly, Tracy Harada and sisters Jasmine jasmine (jăs`mĭn, jăz–) or jessamine (jĕs`əmĭn), any plant of the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae (olive family). and Stephanie Henderson. Their arrival help Perdisatt address needs in individual events and strengthened the Vikings' 200-yard medley med·ley n. pl. med·leys 1. An often jumbled assortment; a mixture: "That night he dreamed he was traveling in a foreign country, only it seemed to be a medley of all the countries he'd ever been to and and 400 freestyle relays. ``It feels good to know that I've chipped in,'' said Machynia, who will team tonight with Jasmine Henderson, Graham and Hartsock in the 200 medley relay. ``It's been a whole team effort the entire way.'' Machynia, who gave up soccer for swimming when she was 12, has made remarkable progress. The 14-year-old freshman has accelerated her learning curve and has been able fast to compete against the top swimmers in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``I'm a late bloomer This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. , so it's all still kind of new to me,'' said Machnyia, who led Valencia over Hart in the annual Santa Clarita Relays, rallying the Vikings to win the 200 butterfly relay. ``I just try to keep up with all of it. It's kind of overwhelming, so I'm taking it day by day.'' The nucleus of this year's team returns next season, when the Foothill League will return to Div. II following four seasons in Div. I. The Vikings could immediately become a contender for a divisional title. ``We're just all getting better with each race and gaining more confidence,'' said Salovich, who teamed with Hartsock, Kroll and Machynia to finish 17th in the 400 free relay in Wednesday's prelims, missing the final qualifying spot by 11-hundredths of a second. ``Since this was my first year, I didn't know what to expect. But we have a great team and I'm really excited about (the future).'' erik.boal(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Megan Machynia, Kasey Hartsock, and Kaitlyn Salovich, from left, led Valencia to a sgare of the Foothill League title. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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