Swimming All-Area: Walnut’s Derek Kao, Glendora’s Alexis Margett earn top awards

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TRIBUNE SWIMMING ALL-AREA
SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
BOYS
DEREK KAO, WALNUT, SR.

Walnut has had a strong swimming tradition and Kao added to it with a solid effort at the Division 2 championships in Riverside.
He had one of the divisions best-ever efforts, scoring the 100 breaststroke title with a meet-record time of 54.91 seconds. The senior also finished third in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:52.65. He helped the Mustangs’ 200 medley relay team to a third-place finish with a time of 1:35.07.
“Going into the race, I thought, just rely on my training,” Kao said. “I had to focus on what I had to do and just go for it.”

GIRLS
ALEXIS MARGETT, GLENDORA, FRESHMAN

Margett had the top performance by area swimmer at the Division 2 championships in Riverside.
She was the lone area competitor to score a title, winning the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.52. The freshman also helped the Tartans to wins in the 200 medley (1:47.63) and 400 (3:32.12) freestyle relays, keying the Division 2 title. Margett also finished 10th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:07.18.
“I feel really accomplished,” Margett said after winning her event. “I feel like I applied the right technique to get that time, so it’s great.”

BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR
E.J. GAUTREAU, WALNUT

Gautreau has kept the winning tradition going for Walnut.
He guided Walnut to a fifth-place finish at the Division 2 meet, which was keyed by one champion, four competitors in the finals and two third-place finishes in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. Swimmer of the Year Derek Kau set a meet record while winning the 100 breaststroke. Other finalist were Richard Teng, who was fifth in the 500 freestyle; Jerry Chen, who was fifth in the 100 backstroke and Derek Wan, who was sixth in the 100 backstroke.

GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR
JANET POLLARD, GLENDORA

Pollard is arguably the area’s top coach, building a mini dynasty with two titles over the past four seasons, including this season.
The Tartans, with a team that featured two freshman and two sophomores, dominated the Division 2 meet in May. Glendora’s Alexis Margett won an individual title with the 200 individual medley and 400 freestyle relay teams winning championships. Glendora also had seven finishes in the top 9. Glendora also won a team title in 2011.

FIRST TEAM
BOYS
MICHAEL WANG, Rowland, Jr

Wang, who did not compete last season, keyed Rowland to a top 10 finish at the Division 2 championships. He joined Kao as the only two area competitors to score an event title. Wang won the 100 freestyle with a time of 45.26 seconds, which was just off the meet record. He was also third in the 200 free at 1:40.22.

ANDREW PHAN, Rowland, Jr.
Phan helped Rowland to a top 10 finish with two solid efforts at the Division 2 championships. He was one of four area swimmers to place in the top 9 in two events. Phan was fifth in the 100 butterfly at 50.79 and seventh in the 100 backstroke at 53.44.

RICHARD TENG, Walnut, So.
Teng helped Walnut to a fifth-place finish at the Division 2 championships. The area’s fastest competitor, he finished fifth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.83 seconds. He also anchored the Mustangs 200 medley relay team, which finished third.

SIMON WONG, Los Altos, Sr.
Wong was one of four area competitors to finish in the top 9 in two events. He was fifth in the 200 with a time of 1:53.47 and was sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.70.

ADAM BEARD, San Dimas, Jr.
Beard was the area’s top diver and one of four area competitors to win a division title. He was the area’s only Division 4 champion, scoring a diving title with a score 303.10. San Dimas finished 11th.

GIRLS
FIRST TEAM
CATHERINE SANCHEZ, Glendora, So.

Sanchez was one of four area competitors to place in the top nine in multiple events. She was fourth in the 200 freestyle at 1:50.34 and third in the 100 freestyle at 51.32. She was also on the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams that won titles.
GISEL OLVERA, Glendora, Fr.
Olvera, along with Margett, was part of Glendora’s fantastic freshmen that helped win the Division 2 title. She enjoyed a nice double at the championship meet, placing fourth in the individual medley at 2:07.72 and sixth in the 100 butterfly at 57.51.
AMELIA FEICK, Glendora, So.
Feick was another key component for the Tartans’ swimming machine that scored the Division 2 title. She had two top-nine finishes, placing sixth in the 100 breaststroke at 1:06.70 and taking ninth in the 200 individual medley at 2:10. 53. She was also on the 200 medley relay team that took first and the 200 freestyle relay squad that finished eighth.
THERESA LO, Walnut, Jr.
Lo helped Walnut to a No. 12 finish with two top-nine efforts. She was eighth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.96 before taking ninth in the 500 freestyle at 5:02.87. Lo was also on Walnut’s 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams that finished fifth and 15th, respectively.

EMILY HONNG, Walnut, Fr
.
Honng was another key piece for Walnut, which finished No. 12 at the Division 2 meet. She had two solid efforts, placing seventh in the 100 breaststroke at 1:06.79 and was 15th in the 200 individual medley at 2:12.13.

SECOND TEAM
BOYS

Jerry Chen, Walnut, So.
Derek Wan, Walnut, So.
Chase Travisano, Damien, Fr.
Mac Quinn, Damien, So.
Dante Bush, Damien, Sr.

GIRLS
Kathleen Gani, Diamond Bar, Fr.
Tiffany Cheng, Diamond Bar, Sr.
Natalie Rivas, Bonita, Sr.
Jenna Lloyd, Diamond Bar, So.
Samantha Liu, Los Altos, Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION
BOYS
Grant Farias, Damien, So
David Goodfellow, Damien, Sr.
Austin Jiang, Damien, Sr.
Greg Lee, Diamond Bar, Jr.
Timothy Chu, Rowland, Sr.
Ryan Tse, Diamond Bar, So.
Seth Ireland, San Dimas, So.
Brandon Howell, San Dimas, Jr.
Prestin Li, Diamond Bar, Fr
Noah Luna, Damien, So.

GIRLS
Brooke Gautreau, Glendora, So.
Sarah Le, Walnut, Jr.
Kristina Unland, Bonita, So.
Allyssa Rasch, Glendora, So.
Audrey Valbuena, Glendora, Fr.
Victoria Pena, Northview, So.
Brittany Anderson, San Dimas, Sr.
Nailah Ochoa, Sierra Vista, Fr.
Haley Service, San Dimas, Jr.
Kayla Smith, San Dimas, So.

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