In the Water, Beard Is in Class by Herself

Quiz time. She’s almost a household name. She’s 14, and in the last three months she has been in Sports Illustrated, on the NBC News, on The Tonight Show and she’ll be representing the United States in the Olympics this summer when she’ll be swimming the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke.

Of course, it’s Irvine High freshman Amanda Beard, The Times Orange County swimmer of the year. And as her Olympic teammate Janet Evans did back in 1988, Beard put an indelible stamp on the Southern Section swimming finals.

Last year, choosing a swimmer of the year was difficult. But with Beard in the water, it was easy. True, there were other great swims at the Southern Section finals. But once in a while, a swimmer comes along who is a Wunderkind in a higher class. Beard is residing there now.

There’s no telling how long she’ll remain there. But what a treat it was having her swimming her heart out at the dual meets, the Sea View League finals and finally at Southern Section finals.

Throughout the season, Beard, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the world in the 200-meter breaststroke and second in the 100 breast, broke records. And there’s no doubt her presence in section finals stepped up the level of competition. Ask Amber Wines of Santa Ana Valley--who was the only Orange County swimmer to beat Beard in the event during the season--or Jessamyn Miller of Mater Dei, who swam extraordinary races in the 100 breaststroke final against the 98-pound prodigy.

The 100 breaststroke was a phenomenal race at Belmont Plaza with three swimmers finishing faster than 1 minute 3 seconds at Southern Section finals. Beard won in 1:01.79, setting a Division I record and tying Kristine Quance’s national high school record. Her pace pushed Miller to a personal-best 1:02.82. Wines finished in 1:03.10, .20 seconds faster than the record she set last year at section finals.

Beard could have opted to stay out of high school meets and swim only for her club while she focuses on the Olympics. But she decided to take part with her high school teammates and compete for her school. And judging from her reaction, it was apparent she and her teammates had a great time doing it.