Binder Targets Records

Adrienne Binder specializes in long-distance freestyle swimming--those races that stretch far beyond any she can compete in for Santa Barbara San Marcos High.

At the Goodwill Games, she won a bronze medal for the United States in the 800 freestyle last summer in Australia.

In the 500 freestyle--the longest event at the high-school level--Binder has finished second in the Southern Section Division I finals the last two seasons to Olympian Kaitlin Sandeno of Lake Forest El Toro.

With Sandeno now swimming for USC, Binder appears ready to carve a wake of her own through the Southland’s high school competition, though she may find herself racing uncontested for a while.

“It was a good experience racing with [Sandeno] the last two seasons,” Binder said. “I’ll kind of miss it this year.”

But Binder remains motivated by the time standards set by Sandeno. Binder’s second-place time of 4 minutes 44.04 seconds last season was more than three seconds faster than Sandeno’s winning time at the 2000 finals.

Binder aims at surpassing Sandeno’s Division I record time of 4:39.64, set at the section finals last spring.

“I’d like to do it as soon as possible,” said Binder, who is confident in her ability to push herself. She will have to. The next-fastest swimmer at last year’s finals was 11 seconds behind Binder.

Binder also finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley at the section finals the last two seasons.

She had the race of her life at the Goodwill Games, where she stayed with eventual winner Yana Klochkova of the Ukraine for the first 700 meters before tiring from the brisk pace set by the two-time gold medalist at the 2000 Olympics.

“That was the most amazing experience I’ve had,” Binder said. “I’d never been on an international trip before and never been part of a U.S. team.”

Although Binder competed at the 2000 Olympic trials in Indianapolis, she didn’t finish better than 20th in any event. But the experience will come in handy.

“I’m shooting for 2004,” said Binder, who turns 17 next month. “The 2000 trials gave me a feel for what it’s like.”

Binder’s results at the national level include a second-place finish in the 800 freestyle at the 2001 Phillips 66 Summer Nationals, along with a fourth in the 1,500 freestyle and a seventh in the 400 individual medley. At the 2001 Spring Nationals, she was third in the 1,500 freestyle and fifth in the 800 freestyle.

Over the next 18 months, Binder plans to increase her training distances weekly, but for now is more interested in the quality of her workouts.

“I don’t do that much yardage compared to other distance swimmers,” she said. “I try to do more [individual medley] work. Rather than do a freestyle set that’s real long, I do smaller sets that take more thinking and more focus on my strokes.”

Different strokes: The Century League grew even more competitive in the off-season when Ashley DePaul transferred to Villa Park from Corona Centennial. DePaul, a junior, has won three section Division III titles in the last two years. She won back-to-back titles in the 200 individual medley and was first in the 100 butterfly last season. The league already features a strong Anaheim Canyon team led by senior Erin Volcan, the defending Division I champion in the 200 freestyle.... DePaul will be hard-pressed to win a Division I title in the 200 individual medley. The defending champion is San Clemente senior Kristen Caverly, who just missed setting a national high school record in the event at the section finals last spring.... The early diving favorite is Ventura Buena junior Leanne Dumais, who finished third at the section finals the last two seasons behind graduates Allison Brennan of Huntington Beach Edison and Tiffany Manning of Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley. Dumais is the sister of former Southern Section champions Justin, Troy and Brice Dumais.