U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : VALLEY-AREA ROUNDUP : Nichols Hits Wall First, Then Touched by Emotion

As she touched the wall to win the first U.S. Olympic Festival swimming gold medal, Sarah Nichols’ emotions were so powerful that she couldn’t handle them all at once.

“It all hits you at the same time, the people screaming, the camera man zoning in on your face,” Nichols said of her victory Saturday night in the 800-meter freestyle at the Palo Alto Natatorium.

Nichols, 15, of Camarillo, finished in 8 minutes 48.38 seconds, a personal best by 10 seconds.

Chris Pelant of Camarillo and the East was fourth in the 200 butterfly in 2:05.28. Pelant also swam on the fourth-place 400 freestyle relay.

Joel Gustafson of Buenaventura placed fifth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:26.50.

Charles Girdlestone of Ventura and the Conejo-Simi Aquatic team, was sixth in the 200 backstroke in 2:08.20.

Other Sports

ARCHERY: Midway through qualifying, Justin Huish of Simi Valley is in fourth place with 614 points, 12 behind the leader. Mark Hainline of Simi Valley has 552 points and is 19th in the men’s competition. Teri Chang of Northridge is 22nd among women with 535 points.

CYCLING: In the 27-mile women’s criterium, Pam Schuster of Northridge was 10th in 1 hour 4 minutes 11.8 seconds. Neither Shawn Cronkhite of Quartz Hill or David Clinger of Woodland Hills finished the 36-mile men’s race.

SHOOTING: Troy Baker of Glendale was 12th in men’s air rifle competition.

WOMEN’S SOFTBALL: Debby Day of Sylmar allowed 13 hits and took the loss as the West beat the North, 4-2, in eight innings. An error by shortstop Jennifer Dalton of Glendale allowed the South to defeat the East, 2-1, in eight innings.

TEAM HANDBALL: Jim Hop, Denny Fercho and Kurt Stone, all of Camarillo, each scored twice for the West in a 24-14 loss to the East. Kevin Withrow (Thousand Oaks) also scored for the West.

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Ania Bleszynski of Thousand Oaks won two matches.