All-Area Girls’ Swimmer of the Year: There wasn’t much Crescenta Valley’s MacDougall didn’t accomplish

Throughout her four years at Crescenta Valley High, senior Heather MacDougall accomplished quite a lot.

Her Falcons won four straight Pacific League titles in what has been an overall streak of nine consecutive crowns. Crescenta Valley has improved its standing in each of the last four CIF Southern Section Division II championships, including tying for fourth this year with 175 points.

Individually, MacDougall won 14 Pacific League championships (either individually or as part of a relay team) in her four years, while she leaves with five league records.

The Rose Bowl Aquatics swimmer also won an individual Division II championship in the 100-yard freestyle her freshman year in a time of 50.92 seconds.

“She’s an exceptional swimmer, there’s no doubt about that, and a privilege to coach,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Peter Kim, the All-Area Girls’ Swimming Coach of the Year. “I’ve seen many talented swimmers throughout the years, but Heather’s done some things that I’ve never seen.”

Kim’s comment carries extra weight considering he coached arguably the greatest team in Crescenta Valley girls’ swimming history — the 2001 Division II champion.

That year, the Falcons outlasted Peninsula, 198-173, and claimed a victory in between runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2002.

Though all three units turned in a better finish than this year’s fourth-place Falcons did, this latest Crescenta Valley squad secured special acclaim that neither of those other squads did, thanks in part to MacDougall.

The 17-year-old senior swam anchored the Falcons’ 400-yard freestyle relay team that included senior Tiare Coker, sophomore Yvette Kim and senior Samantha Kohn.

That squad captured the school’s first-ever relay championship by just nipping Ayala, 3:25.91-3:25.95.

“For all the success we had in the early 2000s, those great teams never did what that group did,” Kim said. “It was an awesome accomplishment.”

That effort capped a dominant season for MacDougall, who was voted the 2016 All-Area Girls’ Swimmer of the Year by the sportswriters of the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun.

“I loved my experience at CV, everything,” said MacDougall, who’s heading to Penn State University in the fall. “From the coaches, to my teammates, I have a lot of pride for Crescenta Valley and La Crescenta. It was a wonderful senior year and every moment was special.”

There was no question that MacDougall had a presence on and off the pool deck that often translated into a mesh of fear, admiration and respect.

“When you see Heather MacDougall and the CV girls, you know that they’re the best in league and probably the area,” said Hoover swimmer Lauren Warshaw, a Rose Bowl Aquatics teammate who finished second to MacDougall in the Pacific League 100-yard backstroke championships. “If you want to win a league title, you almost always have to go through them.”

Perhaps if there was one event that would serve as a harbinger for MacDougall’s future success, it was the highly competitive Mt. San Antonio College Spring High School Meet of Champions in Walnut from April 15-16.

There, MacDougall won the 200 freestyle in 1:49.83, took third in the 100 free (51.73) and helped the 400 free relay team set a new Mt. SAC record time of 3:28.57 in victory.

“Mt. SAC was pretty intense and probably the second-toughest meet we had all year,” MacDougall said. “You’re thankful to have an opportunity to compete in those types of meets because they get you ready.”

While that level of competition would not be matched until the Southern Section finals, MacDougall and Crescenta Valley had to first reassert their grip over the Pacific League at the league finals at Burbank High on May 5.

Even though the Falcons went unbeaten in head-to-head matchups with league opponents and had already clinched a share of the crown, that did not take away from the team’s zest in an emphatic 544-372 victory over Arcadia.

“It’s always fun to beat your rival and go out on top,” MacDougall said. “You can’t really talk about winning CIF or anything like that before you talk about winning league.”

As for MacDougall, the senior was a four-time winner for a third straight year, claiming individual victories in the 100 freestyle (51.14) and 100 backstroke (57.14) and team wins in the 200 medley relay (1:49.56) and 400 free relay (3:40.48).

With the triumphs, MacDougall advanced to the season-ending Division II championships at Riverside City College from May 13-14.

After qualifying past the preliminaries on Friday, MacDougall put on a show at Saturday morning’s final.

Individually, she contributed 35 points to her team’s cause, which included a fifth-place finish in the 100 free with an All-American automatic time of 50.61.

Her best individual effort, though, came when she finished runner-up in the 200 free with an All-American consideration time of 1:47.46, trailing only Ayala’s dynamic Kenisha Liu (1:45.89).

As for team competition, MacDougall and Crescenta Valley started Saturday by taking fifth in the 200 medley relay competition with a time of 1:47.46.

The pièce de résistance came last for MacDougall and the Falcons.

The Crescenta Valley 400 free relay team entered with a seeded mark of 3:28.57, which was dropped to 3:26.07 at Friday’s prelims.

On Saturday, the Falcons cemented their spot in history with a winning time of 3:25.91, which just outlasted Ayala and its closer, Liu.

“It means a lot and it’s really cool we’ll go down in the Crescenta Valley history books as that first relay team to win,” MacDougall said. “It’s pretty cool and an awesome feeling. I know that the girls did well in 2001 and 2002 with coach Kim and it’s cool to get the program back up with those teams.”

The victory wasn’t easy, as the hard-charging Liu nearly erased all of the Falcons lead just before MacDougall edged her at the end.

“We were in first place the whole time,” MacDougall said. “I didn’t think it was that close until I saw the girl from Ayala catching up to me and that was so intense. That last lap, people were going crazy. I could hear my teammates screaming at the top of their lungs at the end and I just out-touched her.

“It was an unbelievable feeling. I thought I had experienced it all until then.”