Rose Bowl Aquatic Swim Club relies on local talent on national stage

When the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center women’s club swimming team took to the National Club Swimming Assn. Summer Championships, it relied on five locals to guide them near the top of the standings Saturday.

Three Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and two Crescenta Valley High swimmers keyed the Rose Bowl’s runner-up finish on the women’s side at the week-long event at Indiana University. The quintet provided three victories in the club’s national win.

Glendale High graduate Mickey Mowry helped the men’s Rose Bowl team take seventh at the prestigious meet.

It was Kate Herrill who provided the biggest boost for the Rose Bowl Aquatic Swim team, as she provided her club squad with a pair of top-two individual finishes and was a part of a winning relay team.

The incoming Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy sophomore won the 100-meter breaststroke Wednesday and finished runner-up in the 50 breast Thursday in one minute 10.93 seconds and 33.24, respectively.

Herrill also teamed with Crescenta Valley sophomores Heather MacDougall, Tiare Coker and San Marino High’s Kailyn Koh to win the final race of the meet, the 400-medley relay, in 4:21.32 on Saturday.

“This is actually the first time I have won at this high level of a meet,” said Herrill, whose 100 breast time set a meet record. “I have won at Junior Olympics and all that stuff, but nothing like Junior Nationals, that was great.”

Herrill dropped more than half a second off her prelim time of 1:12.44 earlier that day to win the 100 breast.

“I knew what I needed to improve for finals, so I just worked that out with my coach and we talked about what we needed to change to get the win. I just made the improvements and it worked,” she said. “That race wasn’t my fastest time and it wasn’t the time I wanted to go, but I was just happy to get first. I was able to go out fast. I touched first and was able to bring it home.”

In doing so, Herrill topped a teammate two times over in Kirsten Vose. The fellow Rose Bowl and Tolog swimmer was fourth in the 100 (1:12.54) and 12th in the 50 breast (34.37).

It was quite the feat for Herrill, considering Vose won the 100-yard breaststroke at this past CIF Southern Section Division I finals in 1:02.57. Herrill took fifth in 1:03.81.

“Kirsten and I, we are always racing each other in every event basically,” Herrill said. “Sometimes she wins, sometimes I win, it just switches off.”

Vose, a soon-to-be junior, had her fair share of strong swims. Her 400 freestyle relay team of MacDougall, Coker and Koh was victorious with a meet- and team-record time of 3:52.58.

Rose Bowl’s other victor was UC Santa Barbara’s Mowry, who won the 200-meter butterfly in 2:02.85 on Wednesday. The second-place swimmer didn’t clock in until 2:04.50.

“I am always first or second at prelims, but at finals I always slide to like sixth or seventh, but this time was different,” said Mowry, who’s finishing up his last summer with the club team. “I wanted to leave Rose Bowl on a good note.

“I was really happy to take first. It’s my first time ever winning at a national championship meet. It honestly inspires me to train harder at UCSB next year.”

Mowry’s time set a personal and Rose Bowl record, which was additionally impressive considering Mowry did so after his goggles came unhinged on the dive and the right side filled with water.

“All I could do was just smile,” said Mowry, who also took sixth in the 100 fly (56.45) Friday. “It was like a dream, I honestly couldn’t believe it.”

Vose also took third in the 100 freestyle (57.57) Wednesday. MacDougall was not far behind in a consolation 100 free race, taking 10th in a personal-best time of 57.97, which would have given her seventh had she qualified for finals.

Vose then finished fourth in the 200 breast (2:37.12) Friday; Herrill was ninth (2:36.96).

On Tuesday, MacDougall, Herrill, Koh and Sacred Heart’s Katie Altmayer finished runner-up in the 200-medley relay (1:58.65). MacDougall, Coker, Herrill and Koh took fourth in the 200-free relay (1:47.60).

Mowry, Michael Forbes, Javier Lopez and Corey John finished sixth in the 800-free relay (7:52.76) Friday. Maarse, Mowry, John and Forbes took ninth in the 200-medley relay in 1:48.78 on Tuesday.

MacDougall also placed 18th and 20th in the 50 (34.73) and 100 breast (1:15.57). Altmayer took 19th in the 50 fly (29.12).

Vose, MacDougall, San Marino’s Tiffany Warmuth and Altmayer took 20th in the 800-free relay (8:45.31) Wednesday.