Jason Weber

Maureen Farrell got the hard part out of the way early. The Alemany High sophomore qualified for the U.S. Swimming National Championships next week by posting the fastest time in the 100-meter backstroke preliminaries Tuesday morning at the Junior Championships West meet in San Jose. The junior meet, which ends today, brings together the best 19-and-under swimmers west of the Mississippi River who have yet to qualify for the Nationals.

Chris Adamick missed out on the fun at the Southern Section Division I swimming finals last year, although he did have a pretty good time at the Westlake High Prom. Adamick qualified for two individual finals and two relays as a junior during the preliminaries last year, but he missed the finals the next night to attend Westlake's prom.

It's hard to tell which was the biggest thrill for Kenny Carpenter of Crescenta Valley High. Carpenter, a junior, won his first individual Southern Section swimming title in the 200-yard freestyle, set a Division II record in the 100 butterfly and led the Falcons to a section championship for the first time since 1993. All were accomplished within two hours. Winning the 200 freestyle was the most satisfying because it came against the best competition.

Leave it to Aron Gyuris to be the exception to the rule for the Thousand Oaks High boys' swimming team. With blond hair that sticks out in several directions, Gyuris looks very much the individualist. So it was only appropriate that Gyuris, a sophomore, would be the only individual winner for Thousand Oaks as the Lancers claimed a share of the Marmonte League title Friday afternoon at Rancho Simi Community Pool.

Smiling and appearing rejuvenated, four freed American oil workers headed for home late Friday as Ecuadoreans expressed concern that the reported $13-million ransom for the release could set off a kidnapping industry in their unstable country. The Americans, held hostage along with three others for months, had been recovering from their ordeal at a five-star hotel in Quito, the capital. They left for the airport just before dark and boarded a jet that took off for the United States.

It wasn't long ago that Ian Prichard was just one of millions of American kids involved in age-group swimming through youth clubs. But in a sport in which one-hundredth of a second often separates winning and losing, Prichard has become a one-in-a-million swimmer almost that quickly. "A year and a half ago, nobody except people around here knew who he was," said Rob Mirande, coach of the Ventura-based Buenaventura Swim Club for which Prichard competes.

Eric Shafer is trying to break ranks--and tradition. Each year, it seems, the Marmonte League has several talented swimmers scattered among its seven teams, a balance that has contributed to close dual meets, hotly contested league races and all-out performances in the league finals. But by the time the Southern Section Division I championships roll around, most of the league's top swimmers are nowhere to be found.

OFFENSE FIRST TEAM: WR--Drew Amerson, CS Northridge, 6-0, 170, So.; DeRonn Finley, Idaho State, 5-8, 180, Sr.; Jim Farris, Montana, 6-0, 190, Sr.; Orshwante Bryant, Portland State, 5-10, 173, Sr.; Lamont Webb, CS Sacramento, 5-9, 165, Sr.; Jon Jefferson, Weber State, 6-2, 210, Sr. T--Luke Fritz, Eastern Washington, 6-4, 296, Sr.; John Andreas, Portland State, 6-4, 285. G--Thatcher Szalay, Montana, 6-5, 295, Jr.; Saga Tuitele, Portland State, 6-2, 305, Sr.

Brea-Olinda and Los Alamitos high schools, teams with contrasting styles, will meet tonight in the second round of the CIF Southern Section 3-A division playoffs at Millikan High in Long Beach. Brea-Olinda (23-4) is a methodical team that relies on the scoring of 6-foot 10-inch center Kevin Walker, who averages 26.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Walker's contribution is significant considering the Wildcats are 23-0 when he's been in the lineup for an entire game.

During an era when Verbum Dei, Long Beach Poly and Pasadena dominated boys' high school basketball, Leo Klemm demonstrated that a small school known more for its academics could compete with big-time basketball programs. Klemm helped build St. Monica into a Southern Section title contender from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s and developed several outstanding Division I players while maintaining a high level of sportsmanship.