SOUTHERN SECTION SWIMMING PRELIMS : Wild Paddles the Competition : Freestyle: Hart junior posts best time at 50 yards and makes strong showing in 100-yard event.

While other Valley-area swimmers were left in the wake of bigger, faster and better Orange County swimmers in the Southern Section 3-A swimming preliminaries Thursday night, Evy Wild churned to the fore.

The junior from Hart High turned in the best time in the 50-yard freestyle (24.47) and the second-best time in the 100-yard freestyle (53.23) at Long Beach’s Belmont Plaza.

The time in the 50 qualified her for consideration as an All-American. Both marks qualify her as a strong candidate to be a double Southern Section champion in the finals Saturday night.

Such a feat would wash away ugly memories of last year’s championships.

“Last year, I got psyched out,” the bubbly Wild admitted. “I got to finals and I was so nervous. But this year, I have more experience and I’m more mature. I swam at junior nationals and I’ve seen some tough competition.”

Lingering in the wings Saturday will be Beverly Hills’ Meredith Booker, a familiar rival of Wild’s who turned in a personal-best 52.01 in the 100 free to qualify for All-American consideration.

“I’m waiting until Saturday to really push it,” Wild said. “I think maybe I can sneak up and surprise her.”

On the subject of surprises, consider the Thousand Oaks girls’ 200-yard medley relay team.

Earlier Thursday in the 4-A prelims, the Lancer team of Sarah Moskowitz, Lauren Droshe, Elizabeth Zehr and Mandy Nickoloff swam a blistering 1:51.27 to record the best time in the prelims, ahead of traditional Orange County powers Foothill, Mission Viejo and Marina.

In the process, the Lancers dropped nine seconds off their season-best time and qualified for All-American consideration.

The relay team led a Lancer charge into tonight’s 4-A finals. Precocious freshman Valery Calkins qualified for the championships in the 200 free, swimming a 1:53.3 to shave four seconds off her season best, qualify for All-American consideration, and take second overall. Calkins also qualiifed for the consolation finals in the 500 freestyle.

Others who will try to help lift Thousand Oaks in team standings tonight include Droshe in the 100 backstroke, Nickoloff in the 50 freestyle and Moskowitz in the 100 backstroke. Zehr qualified for the consolation heat of the 100 butterfly.

The Buena girls’ team also swam well in the 4-A prelims. Cathy Lory and Melissa Walker both qualified in the 200 and the 500 freestyle events and will swim on the 400 free relay in the consolation finals tonight.

Buena’s boys will be represented in tonight’s finals by the 200-medley relay team of freshman Charles Girolestone, sophomore Joel Gustafson and seniors Mark Schmidt and Jim Werland.

Other area swimmers in tonight’s 4-A finals include Camarillo junior Lydia Barbie, who swam an All-American time in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.58) and just missed an All-American time in the 100-yard butterfly (58.70). She will swim in the championship finals of both events.