HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW : Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming : Stressing Sprint Workouts Might Be the Master Stroke

While Santa Monica High was dominating the Southern Section 3-A Division swimming finals last season--particularly in the sprint events--Crespi Coach Jeff Thornton asked several Santa Monica swimmers their secret.

Thornton learned that Santa Monica’s practices consisted of nothing more than 25-yard sprints--a radical application of an old philosophy that has gained popularity: quality over quantity.

Santa Monica’s success set Thornton at ease, because he recently had begun conducting similar workouts for his team.

“I looked at the great teams and they had strong sprint relays,” he said. “We just have three distance kids where I let them go. The others are doing a lot of 25- and 50-yard sprints and don’t go over 200 yards in an interval set.

“The workouts are shorter and more intense. The kids are not as tired, but their muscles are getting sorer.”

Such an approach works well for high school swimmers in particular. Olympic events include the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyles, but the longest individual event in high school competition is 500 yards. Of 11 events in a high school meet, two are of 200 yards and one is of 500. The rest are sprints.

Pool availability can be a problem for high school teams, few of which have their own pools. Many train at local colleges. That gives greater value to a shorter, sprint workout.

“Some pools are not on campus,” Royal Coach Steve Snyder said. “That limits pool time, so you create workouts based on how much pool time you have.”

Even if the pool is available, that does not mean the swimmers will be. Some coaches find it challenging to occupy young athletes in an age of Short Attention Span Theatre.

There is also the Bo Jackson influence, as Grant Coach Frank Ortiz can attest; one of his swimmers, Dimitris Ion, is also on the track team.

“I think the high school athlete has changed over the last several years,” Calabasas Coach David Hershman said. “There are so many other things for them to do, and it’s a lot more difficult for them to commit to staying after school. As a coach you have to make it more attractive and more interesting.”

Darlene Bible of Harvard-Westlake has used that idea to establish one of the top girls’ programs in the area.

“I’ve never believed in over-distancing,” she said. “I swam myself and remember the monotony. So I try to make practices as exciting as possible.”

TEAMS TO WATCH

Agoura girls (Marmonte League): Most of last year’s league champion team returns. The top four swimmers are sophomores.

Christine Dispaltro is competing in the Junior Nationals West this week in Dallas. Her best events are the 500 freestyle and 200 individual medley. “But she can swim any event,” Coach Jason Rosenthal said. “She’s just a phenomenal swimmer.”

The other top swimmers are also versatile: sophomores Dorian Reese (butterfly and the 200 individual medley), Vivian Shu (200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke) and Krista Hanson (200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke).

Agoura boys (Marmonte League): Agoura’s boys also won the league title last season--in their first year after switching from the Frontier League--but have fewer returning swimmers than the girls.

Freshman Harvey Wilford (200 individual medley and 100 backstroke) also is competing in the Junior Nationals. “He’s a phenomenal swimmer,” Rosenthal said. “We could probably put him in any event and he’d win it.”

With a 500 freestyle time of 4:49.34, Wilford already owns one school record.

Others to watch are sophomore Chris Sendejas (200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke) and senior Jeff Bissell (100 and 200 freestyle).

Buena girls (Channel League): The Bulldogs are looking for more after placing third in the Southern Section 4-A finals last season.

“We should do equal or better,” Coach John Siman said. “We only lost two girls. We’ve never finished higher than third. Maybe this could be the year we bump to second.”

Team depth could create an enviable problem. “I’m not sure where we’ll put everybody,” Siman said. “They all (are comparable.”)

That might be expected in the case of two sisters: junior Melissa Walker (fifth in the 200 freestyle and second in the 500 freestyle in the 4-A finals last season) and sophomore Danielle Walker (10th in the 200 individual medley).

Family ties do not stop there. Early this season, sophomore Mandy Walz broke sister Amber’s school record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.04. Amber graduated last year. Mandy finished 12th in the 100 fly as a freshman.

Sophomore Abby Gustafson--whose brother Joel is a senior on the boys’ team and whose father Eric is swim coach at Rio Mesa--competes in the 100 breaststroke and is the team’s top sprint freestyle swimmer.

Buena boys (Channel League): Overshadowed by the Buena girls, the boys finished second in the league to Dos Pueblos.

Joel Gustafson has placed in the 4-A finals two years in a row. He finished 10th in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 breaststroke last year and was a member of the 10th-place 400-freestyle relay team. That relay team is back intact: Gustafson, John Lory, Danny Slaton and Chris Pelant. Pelant, a junior, placed third in the 100 freestyle and fourth in the 200 freestyle.

Harvard-Westlake girls (Sunshine League): Bible, in her 10th year at Westlake, views this as a landmark year. “We should have an incredible year. I think we have more talent here than in a long time,” she said.

An added benefit is that practices have been moved from the old Westlake High in Los Angeles to the main campus of Harvard-Westlake. The team has 46 swimmers, more than usual, because of the upgrade in facilities.

Sophomore Alexis Larsen is one of the top swimmers in the area. At the Olympic trials in Indianapolis earlier this month she finished second in the 1,500 freestyle. The event was run merely to determine a national champion and is not an Olympic event for women.

Larsen also placed sixth in the 800 and ninth in the 400 freestyles. She is considered a strong candidate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.

Harvard-Westlake boys (Sunshine League): This is a young team, but thanks to club activity there is plenty of experience. “Many of these kids compete eight months a year in different club meets,” Coach Rich Corso said. “They have plenty of competition and experience by the time they become freshmen in high school.”

That makes Harvard-Westlake a favorite to win its sixth consecutive league title.

Three Southern Section 2-A qualifiers return: sophomore Ron Scott (100 butterfly), junior Matt DeFronzo (200 individual medley) and junior Jim Toring (200 individual medley).

Thousand Oaks girls (Marmonte League): In 19 years since girls’ swimming was established at Thousand Oaks, the Lancers have won or shared 16 league titles.

Returning are two juniors of note. Elizabeth Zehr is the defending league champion in the 100 butterfly. She placed fourth in the 100 butterfly in the Southern Section 4-A finals and seventh in the 100 backstroke. And Valery Calkins, who did not swim with Thousand Oaks last year because of an injury, is competing in the 100 and 500 freestyles in the Junior Nationals.

Five seniors return: Lisa DeFazio (100 breaststroke), Cathy Hendrixson (100 butterfly), Erin Peters (100 backstroke), Susan Kohler (50 and 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly) and Jenni Sliester (sprint freestyle).

Thousand Oaks boys (Marmonte League): The perennial power slipped to second in the league last season but won the league meet, and Coach Bill Gemberling likes his team’s chances of unseating Agoura.

Top returnees are juniors Eddie Ruth, a 4-A qualifier in the 200 individual medley last season, and Mark McKenna. Ruth also is expected to qualify in the 100 breaststroke, and McKenna competes in the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle.

Also returning is sophomore Dan Burbach (100 breaststroke)--the varsity’s rookie of year last season--senior Ryan Smith (100 backstroke), Matt Haggenmiller (100 backstroke) and senior Ryan Stead (diving).

INDIVIDUALS TO WATCH

Sophomore Lindsay Gassner of Hart won the 50- and 100-yard freestyles in the Southern Section 3-A finals last year. She was 20th in the 50 freestyle in the Olympic trials in Indianapolis.

Matt Dahl of Calabasas, a junior, is two-time Southern Section 2-A diving champion.

Senior Ryan Duncan of Royal is competing in the Junior Nationals. His top events are the individual medley and breaststroke.

The Rio Mesa boys’ team includes Senior National swimmer Ben Swartout and Junior National swimmer Ben Pecht--each with impressive credentials. “For us to have two swimmers of their caliber, that will never happen again,” Gustafson said.

Swartout placed seventh in the 800 freestyle in the Olympic trials. In last season’s Southern Section 4-A finals, Pecht won the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.39.

Rio Mesa freshman Sarah Nichols also is in Dallas. Nichols qualified for the 500 freestyle in her first high school meet.

Kristine Quance of Granada Hills is the area’s top swimmer. In the Olympic trials, she finished third in the 200 breaststroke (the top two qualify for the Games) and seventh in the 100 breaststroke. Quance competed despite suffering from mononucleosis. She will miss most of the season.