La Canada Girls Continue Stepping in Right Direction

LONG BEACH — Success comes in small steps for the La Canada High girls’ swim team.

The Spartans finished fourth--higher than any other area school and one place better than last year--in the Southern Section Division III finals Saturday at Belmont Plaza.

La Canada was bolstered by a fifth-place finish in both the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, and a fourth-place finish by junior Dana Stoddard in the 500 freestyle.

Senior Jennifer Abbey also finished fourth in the 200 individual medley for La Canada.

This after the Spartans didn’t even place in a final two years ago.

“Our team is big for us now, we’re just not as big as some of the other schools yet,” Stoddard said. “We go out and do what we can with what we have.”

Jurupa Valley and Cathedral City tied for the team title with 158 points. The Spartans finished with 123.

Louisville junior Kim Feig had the highest individual finish, placing third in the 100 backstroke in 59.12. She also finished eighth in the 200 freestyle, helping the Royals to a seventh-place finish with 93 points.

Flintridge Sacred Heart didn’t have quite the success of its 1995 section championship team, but the Tologs’ performance in the finals was a step forward.

Flintridge Sacred Heart showed off its depth in the 500 freestyle, with Kelly Evanilla finishing sixth and Melissa McPherson and Megan Jones each placing in the consolation final. The Tologs finished eighth and Harvard-Westlake was ninth.

Just two competitors advanced to the championships in the boys’ competition. Junior Yuki Osuga of Calabasas finished seventh in the 200 freestyle (2:01.99) and the 100 backstroke, timing 56.79.

Sophomore Jamie Zwick of Buckley was fourth in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 1:01.07. Palm Desert won the boys’ title by one point over Paso Robles.

Sarah Baham of Temple City broke Dara Torres’ 14-year-old record of 56.16 in the 100 butterfly, timing 55.89.