Breaststroke

GLENDALE — In one respect, it's been a difficult week for the trio of area girls' swimming standouts currently in Indianapolis for the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships. But while Sara Sun, Yumi So and Andrea Kropp have been unable thus far — whether as individuals or in relay collaboration — to advance to a final swim in any event, the last four days have been an invaluable opportunity to compete among some of the toughest competition the sport has to offer.

Their paths have seemed so effortless this season, the end result simply felt like a natural progression. The dominance with which Andrea Kropp and Yumi So ruled their respective events, from their league seasons through last week’s CIF Southern Section Division II championships, made them favorites to capture titles in inter-divisional competition at Tuesday night’s Southern Section Masters Meet. That dominance was on display one final time this year and it made them champions on the highest stage.

LONG BEACH — Their paths have seemed so effortless this season, the end result simply felt like a natural progression. The dominance with which Andrea Kropp and Yumi So ruled their respective events, from their league seasons through last week's CIF Southern Section Division II championships, made them favorites to capture titles in inter-divisional competition at Tuesday night's Southern Section Masters Meet. That dominance was on display one final time this year and it made them champions on the highest stage.

CRESCENTA VALLEY COACH: Jan Sakonju, seventh year. E : Pacific LEAGU SWIMMERS TO WATCH : Mason Hawthorne, senior, sprint freestyle; Vinh Doan, junior, freestyle; Jesse An, senior, distance freestyle; Ted Gonder, junior, freestyle/breaststroke; Zach Taylor, sophomore, distance freestyle; Andrew Martinez, senior, sprint freestyle. SAKONJU'S QUOTE : "We're looking to rebuild, and we're looking for new leadership."

The CCY Dragons turned up the heat when it counted and delivered an outstanding performance at the Southern California Long Course Junior Olympics at the Canyons Aquatic Center on Aug. 2-5. Eighteen Dragon swimmers had times fast enough to qualify in either individual or relay events and many went on to the championship or consolation rounds, racking up points which placed them 13th overall among 47 participating teams. The 18 swimmers representing CCY were Alex Park, Harrison Thai, Kyle Otazu, Joshua Lo, Edward Yi, Matthew Riek, Alexander Najarian, Chris Kang, Young Tae Seo, Tricia Dobson, Michelle Du, Ashley Kang, Rachel Ku, Raya Choi, Robin Yi, Ho Jean Yoon, Gabriel Perez and Jake Ksendov.

The way Christian Lawrence saw it, there weren't going to be any errors. A year after the La Cañada High boys' swim team had its CIF Southern Section Division II championship stripped for using an ineligible swimmer, Lawrence made sure the Spartans would take care of business in 2006. The Spartans did so in fine form, culminating with the program's first CIF crown on May 13 at Long Beach's Belmont Plaza pool. Lawrence played a large role in helping La Cañada reach its apex with a division-record 329 points.

The CCY Dragon boys and girls lived up to expectations at the 20th annual Dragon Invitational Meet, held Nov. 3/4 at the Commerce Aquatorium. Jason Kim swam for two YMCA National qualifying times in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, setting new meet records along the way and going for gold in the 50 and 200 freestyles, 100 and 200 backstrokes, and 200 individual medleys. Nam Hee Kim, won all of her events in the girls' 15 and older division (100 and 500 freestyles, 100 backstroke, 200 individual medley )

They came, they swam, they left with an armloads of honors. The CCY Dragon Swim Team turned up the heat when it counted and delivered a stellar performance at the Southern California Long Course Junior Olympics in Mission Viejo, held Aug. 2-7. Twenty-one Dragon swimmers had times fast enough to qualify in individual and relay events. Most went on to the championship or consolation rounds, racking up points for their team and honors for themselves during the five-day meet where they competed against more than 800 of the best young swimmers representing 43 teams from the Southland.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan After Thursday's opening day of the 12th annual Janet Evans Invitational at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium, no area swimmer had qualified for an individual championship heat. With a field that consisted of Olympic medalists, CIF titlists and plenty of other awesome athletes, most of the area swimmers had a difficult time cracking the top-24 cut needed to qualify for a championship heat in the evening. But on Friday, Crescenta Valley High senior James Martin, representing California Aquatics, finished 15th in the 200-meter backstroke in 2 minutes 9.85 seconds to become the first local to qualify for a final.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan Two CIF Southern Section Division II 100-yard breaststroke titles, 14 Rio Hondo Leagues championships and one unforgettable career. La Canada High girls' swimmer Maryann Boosalis capped a decorated career Saturday at the division final at the Belmont Plaza Pool with a third-place finish in the breaststroke, a seventh-place showing in the 400 freestyle relay and a 10th-place effort in the 200 medley relay. "I'm going to miss this," said Boosalis, who will swim this fall for the University of Washington.