By Pete Borello

Several members of swim club set personal records at league meet

The Covington Swim Team’s whirlwind season came to a satisfying end July 27 at the West Bay Swim League Championships.

The Los Altos-based club finished second out of six teams and most of its competitors set personal records at the meet.

“It was a very intense six weeks,” Covington coach Alexandra Desmond said “but I’d do it again.”

The youth swim team, which has been without an aquatic center since the demolition of Covington Pool in February 2001, last season adopted the rallying cry “Homeless… but still dangerous!”

Covington lived up to the slogan. The squad proved a worthy opponent at the league meet despite a drop in membership (down 80 swimmers from two years ago) and having to practice outside of Los Altos (Gunn High and Rengstorff Pool) at inconvenient times (7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.).

Covington had 102 swimmers at the league meet, held at Sequoia High in Redwood City. Winning team Peninsula Covenant Aquatics entered 201 swimmers, helping it outscore host Covington 2,193.5 to 1,317. Peninsula went undefeated this season.

Although Covington didn’t claim the championship, Desmond said she couldn’t be more proud of the way her team performed.

“The team did very well,” the first-year coach said. “Almost all the kids made personal-best times - a lot of them by three or four seconds.”

No one swam better than Luke Powers, the only participant to win three events at the meet. Powers, competing in the 7-8 boys division, won the 25-yard freestyle (15.83 seconds), the 25 backstroke (19.11) and the 25 butterfly (17.35).

“Luke was outstanding,” Desmond said. “He just did so well at this meet.”

In the 11-12 boys division, Covington’s Nick Trowbridge and James Thivierge both won events in record-breaking times. Trowbridge set a new standard in the 50 back (31.49) and also placed third in the 50 free (29.01). Thivierge established a new record in the 50 fly (28.23).

On the girls’ side, Covington posted wins in a pair of 11-12 division events. Megan Maurano captured the 50 breast (35.90) and Veronica Tse placed first in the 50 back (32.05).

Covington’s most dominant performance came in the 13-14 girls 50 back, where it secured five of the top six spots. Julia Fish came in first (32.29), followed by Jordyn Sims (33.85), Janice Miyagi (34.75) and Erin Renner (36.33); Heather Bridges came in sixth (37.35).

“That was very impressive,” Desmond said. “I was very happy with how they did.”

The coach also seemed elated by Emily Redfield’s effort in the 6-and-under girls 25 fly. Redfield placed fourth with a time of 34.18, which was more than twice as fast as her previous best (1:10).

“It was the last race of the day, and it was such a riot,” Desmond said. “She was so fast.”

Desmond, who plays water polo at Foothill College and coaches the sport at Homestead High, said she will look back on this Covington season fondly.

“We did awesome, and it was a really fun season,” the Homestead graduate said. “It was a great team - the kids were great and the parents were, too.”