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Local swim teams will be happy to have some of their top swimmers back this week as the spring season gets fully under way. Most of those top swimmers spent last weekend in Texas, competing for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics at the Speedo Champion Series/Southern Zone meet in College Station.

Based on the PASA performances, local teams like Palo Alto, Sacred Heart Prep and St. Francis can't wait to get their aces back for meets this week.

PASA swam off with the combined team title (boys and girls) with 654 points, winning that title by 15 points. PASA swimmers won 14 events, including a pair of relays.

The big winners were Ally Howe (Sacred Heart Prep) and Curtis Ogren (St. Francis), with Andrew Liang (Palo Alto) just a few strokes back in terms of point production. All three are juniors.

Howe won five individual titles and swam on the winning 400 medley relay team on Sunday's final day. She opened by winning the 200-yard free (1:53.52) and taking the 100 free with a time (49.59) faster than the existing SHP record. School marks, however, can only be set during high school meets.
Howe also swam on the sixth-place 400 free relay.

On Saturday, Howe won the 100 fly (54.43), took second in the 200 free in a sizzling 1:47.59 (also faster her school record) and swam on the eighth-place 800 free relay.

On Sunday, Howe took the 100 back in 53.01 (faster than her existing CCS record of 53.11), won the 50 free in 22.82 (which would have set a school record), took second in the 200 IM (2:00.91) and led off the winning 400 medley relay that won in 3:43.07 and included Heidi Katter, M-A's Kindle Van Linge and Palo Alto's Jayna Wittenbrink.

Ogren also won five individual events and swam on the winning 400 free relay on the final day that included Palo Alto's William Lee, Liang and Joe Kmak from Serra. The foursome clocked 3:20.96.

Ogren opened his three-day effort by winning the 500 free in 4:22.25 before adding a third place in the 200 fly (1:47.86) and anchoring the 400 free relay to third in 3:05.22. On Saturday, he won the 200 breast in 1:58.11 and took the 400 IM in 3:45.34. Sunday saw Ogren win the 100 breast in 55.02 (faster than the existing CCS record of 55.29 by Paly's Byron Sanborn) and take the 200 IM in 1:46.95 (also faster than the existing CCS record).

Palo Alto's Liang won the 100 back in 48.81, won the 100 fly in 48.06 (faster than his school record of 48.15), finished second in the 200 fly (1:46.47), took third in the 200 free in 1:38.39 (also faster than the Paly record), and finish sixth in the 50 free (20.81, faster than his 20.92 SR) and 200 IM (1:51.43).

Other PASA finalists included Lee in the 200 back (seventh in 1:48.84), Kmak in the 200 breast (fourth in 2:02.07), Wittenbrink in the 100 fly (fifth in 56.18), Van Linge in the 100 fly (sixth in 56.21) and Katter in the 100 breast (third in 1:03.36).

Other PASA contributors on the relays included Daichi Matsuda for the boys plus Lilly Nelson and Maddie Pont for the girls.

— Keith Peters/Palo Alto Online Sports

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