Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now
ALL-COUNTY GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING TEAM 2024
Teagan O’Dell of Santa Margarita High School competes in the girls 200-yard individual medley for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 swimming championships, beating her own record on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at the Mt. San Antonio College Aquatic Center. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
GIRLS SWIMMER OF THE YEAR
Teagan O’Dell, Santa Margarita, Junior
Santa Margarita swimmer Teagan O’Dell balanced more than usual this high school season, and made a few hard decisions.
As the junior geared her training toward the upcoming Olympic Trials, she didn’t rest much for the CIF-SS Division 1 finals in early May. She also didn’t race at the CIF State championships so she could remain focused on preparing for Indianapolis next month.
“What was so wonderful in a way,” Santa Margarita co-coach Ron Blanc said, “was that she was nervous about telling us that she couldn’t go to state. We obviously told her that we 100 percent supported (her) … but it told us how much her team and her teammates meant to her.”
And so did O’Dell’s racing.
Despite the challenges of training for the Olympic Trials, she delivered another dominant high school season and remained a positive force for the CIF Southern Section and state juggernaut.
O’Dell posted county-leading times in five events en route to being selected Orange County girls swimmer of the year for the third straight season.
The 200-yard individual medley at the Division 1 finals provided a peek into O’Dell’s drive.
With limited rest, the Cal commit still challenged her national high school record by touching in a meet-record 1 minute, 53.63 seconds, less than three-tenths of a second off her standard from last spring at the state meet.
“I think she was surprised how fast it was,” Blanc said.
O’Dell’s list of highlights was again long as she remained arguably the county’s best high school swimmer since the legendary Janet Evans at El Dorado in the late 1980s.
She also won the 100 butterfly at the Division 1 finals in a swift 52.12. In prelims, she clocked a lifetime-best 51.99 that ranks second in county history only to Olympian Katie McLaughlin (51.53).
O’Dell saved plenty of speed for her teammates. In the 400 free relay, she led off in 48.37 — an Orange County record for the 100 free — to help the Eagles cap their 10th consecutive Division 1 crown with a victory.
And at the Trinity League finals, O’Dell shifted to the 200 freestyle and challenged McLaughlin’s school and county record. O’Dell blazed to a lifetime-best time of 1:43.26, about two-tenths of a second off the record.
“Definitely something that I’m going to chase next year,” she O’Dell, who also won the 100 backstroke (51.38) at league finals.
And while O’Dell felt “really sad” to miss the Eagles’ title defense at state, she cherished her time with the team this spring. O’Dell again painted her nails bright orange for the postseason.
“I just wanted to show up for my team and get as many points as I could,” she said. “I was just happy all the girls were excited.”
Villa Park’s girls swimming team and coach John Carcich, far left, won the CIF-SS Division 2 championship over the weekend at Mt. SAC in Walnut. It was the school’s first section title in girls or boys swimming. (Courtesy of Tom Fox)
GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR
John Carcich, Villa Park
Villa Park seemed to have several ingredients for a special girls swimming team this season.
The Spartans returned standouts Allison Mann and Lucy Flynn. They added swift freshman Chloe Teger. And they were slotted for CIF-SS Division 2 after racing in Division 1 in 2023.
On the pool deck, there was one more important factor at work. Successful veteran John Carcich entered the second year of his second tenure as the girls coach.
Villa Park had all it needed.
The Spartans combined their strengths to capture Division 2 for the first section swimming championship in school history.
“The kids work really hard,” said the coach, who has guided Villa Park to an impressive 40 league titles in aquatics.
At the Division 2 finals, the Spartans scored 226 points to outdistance Mark Keppel by 45 points for the title.
Mann, a senior bound for San Diego State, and Flynn, a sophomore, each won two events.
Flynn and Teger helped Villa Park put its signature on the meet by placing first and second, respectively, in the 500-yard freestyle. The duo’s times finished as the two fastest in Orange County.
Villa Park’s historic campaign included setting school records in 10 of the 11 events. Mann established five individual records while Flynn set the other three.
The Spartans also finished 8-0 in dual meets, including their first victory against rival Foothill in 12 years, and captured the North Hills League title.
ALL-COUNTY TEAM
(All distances in yards)
200 medley relay: Santa Margarita (Teagan O’Dell, Jr., Eileen Song, Fr., Chloe Stinson, Jr., Gracyn Aquino, Jr.) 1:40.07; Fountain Valley (Alyssa Ton, Fr., Kaitlyn Nguyen, Jr., Jiana Balta, Sr., Leyna Nguyen, Jr.) 1:44.04
200 freestyle: Teagan O’Dell (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 1:43.26-TL; Alyssa Ton (Fountain Valley, Fr.) 1:45.96
200 individual medley: Teagan O’Dell (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 1:53.63-D1; Kaitlyn Nguyen (Fountain Valley, Jr.) 1:58.59-SC
50 freestyle: Gracyn Aquino (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 22.65; Allison Mann (Villa Park, Sr.) 22.96
100 butterfly: Teagan O’Dell (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 51.99; Zara Masud (Woodbridge, Sr.) 53.82
100 freestyle: Teagan O’Dell (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 48.37r-OC; Allison Mann (Villa Park, Sr.) 49.77
500 freestyle: Lucy Flynn (Villa Park, So.) 4:52.31; Chloe Teger (Villa Park, Fr.) 4:52.54
200 freestyle relay: Santa Margarita (Victoria Mori, Jr., Morgan Hoppe, Jr., Ariel Lin, Sr., Chloe Stinson, Jr.) 1:33.35-CA; Corona del Mar (Sofia Szymanowski, Fr., Taylor Park, Sr., Alexandra Milisavljevic, Jr., Nikki Lahey, Jr.) 1:36.60
100 backstroke: Teagan O’Dell (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 51.38-TL; Alexia Duncan (Irvine, Sr.) 55.50
100 breaststroke: Bianca Nwaizu (Liberty Christian, Fr.) 1:00.23-CA; Teagan O’Dell (Santa Margarita, Jr.) 1:00.75
400 freestyle relay: Santa Margarita (Victoria Mori Jr., Audrey Lee Jr., Gracyn Aquino, Jr., Teagan O’Dell, Jr.) 3:20.18-TL; JSerra (Caroline Powell, Jr., Elle Treska, Jr., Ava Withey, Jr., Sydney Willson, Jr.) 3:27.57
Diving: Taylor Fox (San Juan Hills, Sr.) 582.20; Gianna Kenrick (Mater Dei, So.) 544.00
All-County legend: r: relay leadoff; OC: Orange County record; D1: CIF-SS Division 1 record; TL: Trinity League record; SC: Sunset Conference record; CA: state champion
Note: Diving selections based on CIF-SS division, CIF State finals
Related Articles
Santa Margarita’s Daniel Verdolaga is the Orange County boys swimmer of the year
Orange County girls athlete of the week: Bianca Nwaizu, Liberty Christian
Santa Margarita girls and boys swimming sweep CIF State championships for second straight season
Capistrano Valley Christian diver Grant Schneider soars to CIF State championship
Santa Margarita’s boys and girls to be challenged at CIF State swim meet this weekend
Leave a Reply