Ally Howe and Curtis Ogren set national private school swim records this past season, Howe in the 100-yard backstroke and Ogren in the 200 IM.
While the two were big fish during their final high school seasons at Sacred Heart Prep and St. Francis, respectively, this week’s Speedo Junior National Championships is another story.
Nearly 1,100 of America’s top up-and-coming swimmers are participating at the meet, which began Wednesday at the William Woollett, Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.
It was a slow start for Howe and Ogren, both of whom compete for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics.
Ogren had the best local finish as he splashed to a sixth-place finish of 1:03.13 in the 100-meter breaststroke finals. PASA teammate Joe Kmak was 11th in 1:03.60.
Ogren was seeded only 24th with a qualifying time of 1:04.62, while Kmak was No. 28 at 1:04.99.
Howe opened her busy schedule by clocking 2:15.81 in the 200 fly prelims. That got her 21st overall and did not advance her to the evening swims. She came into the event with the No. 4 qualifying time of 2:11.96.
Howe, who will join Ogren at Stanford this fall, will be back in the pool Thursday as the No. 4 seed in the 200 back. Ogren also is seeded No. 4 in the men’s 200 back. His best events should be the 200 IM and 400 IM, where he is the top seed.
Other PASA swimmers with high seeds this week include Gunn’s Jennifer Campbell in the 200 free (No. 5) and Palo Alto grad Andrew Liang in the 100 fly (No. 9).
The five-day meet, which runs through Sunday, will consist of daily prelims at 9 a.m., followed by finals at 6 p.m.
In addition, Team USA 2014 Youth Olympic Team member and incoming Stanford freshman Patrick Conaton (Larchmont, N.Y.) is expected to compete in preparation for next month’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Incoming Cardinal freshman Janet Hu (Vienna, Va.) is the No. 2 seed in the women’s 50-meter free.
A live stream of the entire meet will be made available online at usaswimming.org.
All competitors at Speedo Junior Nationals must be age 18 or under on the first day of the competition, and each participant met qualifying standards to earn a spot in the meet.
Coaching openings
Castilleja is looking for a head cross-country coach for the fall and a head coach for track and field in the spring. Those interested should contact Castilleja Athletic Director Mary Jo Pruitt at mpruitt@castilleja.org.
Golf
Palo Alto’s Anthony Marini, 13, registered a hole in one on the par-3 17th hole at Stanford Golf Course last week, using a 4-hybrid to score his ace.
In the professional ranks, former Stanford All-American Patrick Rodgers will be competing in the Barracuda Championship (formerly the Reno-Tahoe Open) beginning Thursday. Rodgers had made the cut in four of his first five starts and has earned $62,204 to rank 278th on the PGA Tour money list.
Tennis
Former Stanford player Bill Maze, Cardinal graduate Rich Anderson and ex-Foothill College standout John Hubbell will be inducted into the USTA Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame at Stanford on Thursday.
Maze (Class of ’78) played singles and doubles at Stanford, which won the NCAA title his junior and senior seasons.
Maze played doubles with then-freshman John McEnroe. The two lost in the NCAA semifinals their one season together.
Maze played six years in the ATP tour before leg injuries sidelined his career. Maze starts his 20th year coaching women’s tennis at UC Davis this fall.
Anderson earned his master’s degree at Stanford and later coached at Canada College. He also is a Hall of Famer for California Community College Tennis, San Jose State and Canada College.
Hubbell played at Foothill College for veteran coach Tom Chivington before heading to Cal. He later coached at San Jose State for 17 years.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports