Quance Splashes Routinely to Two National Swimming Marks

Kristine Quance of Granada Hills High made the extraordinary seem strangely commonplace Wednesday night.

She was the model of restraint in setting two national high school records, in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 breaststroke, at the City Section swimming championships.

After Quance’s individual medley swim, the composed senior climbed unemotionally out of the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach and looked almost sad talking with her club team coach, Bud McAllister.

Quance then explained that, sure, she was pleased to break Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans’ four-year old record, but she wanted to swim even faster than the 1 minute 59.53 seconds she clocked.

“I was actually looking to go 1:58,” said Quance, a senior. “I’m happy I got (the record) but I always figure I could have gone faster.”

Just another day in the life of a six-time national champion, whose picture was on the cover of Swimming World? Well, maybe it was a little special.

“Going under two minutes is a big thing,” Quance said. “The record was my goal. I couldn’t have imagined if I had just missed it by 1/100th of a second or something.”

Quance shaved nearly a half second off Evans’ national high school record (1:59.96, set in 1989 when Evans swam for El Dorado).

She also set the 100 breaststroke record in 1:01.79, breaking the mark of 1:01.88 set by Mary Ellen Blanchard of Norcross (Ga.) High in 1989.

And Quance teamed with her two sisters, Keri and Julie, and longtime friend Erin Shaw to set a new City record, 1:55.75, in the 200 medley relay. Palisades set the previous record, 1:55.86, in 1985.

The quartet also won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:43.98.

But Granada Hills finished third in the girls’ team competition with 182 points. Palisades won the title with 294.5 points.

Birmingham’s Heather Ballard set City records in the 50 freestyle (24.04) and 100 freestyle (51.86).

Birmingham won the boys’ competition with 236 points, thanks to winning relay teams in the 200 medley (1:46.80) and the 400 freestyle (3:28.89).

Braves swimmer Joshua Pepper won the 100 butterfly in 56.32 and finished third in the 200 individual medley in 2:07.27.

El Camino Real’s Aaron Robinson won the 200 freestyle in 1:53.02.

Birmingham’s Chris Costales was second in 1:53.31.

Robinson also took second in the 500 freestyle (5:01.60).

Rebekah Baylis of El Camino Real was second in the girls’ 500 freestyle in 5:23.37.

Granada Hills’ Shaw was second in the girls’ 100 butterfly (1:01.37) and third in the 200 IM (2:20.13).

Julie Quance finished third in the 200 freestyle in 2:06.15.