Buena Pools Its Talent, Wins 3rd Section Title

LONG BEACH — The individual accomplishments weren’t as great, but Buena High’s third consecutive Southern Section Division I girls’ swimming title might be the most impressive of the bunch.

Especially considering the surge in talent Buena had to compete against this time around.

The Bulldogs defeated second-place Irvine, 307-216.5, Friday night at Belmont Plaza, but Buena had to compete against freshmen such as U.S. Olympian Amanda Beard of Irvine and L.A. Baptist’s Jennifer Parmenter.

Their presence meant fewer individual titles for Buena, but the Bulldogs still had more depth than any rival school.

Junior Rebecca Gilman led Buena with victories in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles and anchored the victorious 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Gilman, who has won both individual events the past three years at the section finals, was slightly disappointed after her 200 time of 1:49.43, the second-fastest in the nation this year.

“I was hoping to do a little better,” Gilman said.

Gilman timed 4:50.18 in the 500, defeating Alexis Binder of Santa Barbara by just more than a second.

Parmenter set a division record in the 200 individual medley, blowing past the field in the first 50 yards and finishing in 2:00.82. It was the fastest time in the nation this year.

In the 100 backstroke, Parmenter caught defending champion Nicole Beck of Buena in the final 15 yards to win in 56.48.

L.A. Baptist does not field a swim team, so Parmenter was placed in Division I instead of against smaller schools in Division III because her times are comparable to the section’s elite swimmers.

Liah Kim (56.08) defeated Beck (56.91) in the 100 butterfly, reversing their positions from last year.

The Buena boys’ team placed fourth behind brothers Justin, Troy and Brice Dumais, who swept the top three positions at the diving finals earlier this week. Junior Matt Carter placed second in the 500 freestyle (4:32.03).

In the 100 breaststroke, Beard made a run at Kristine Quance’s national high school record, equaling the former Granada Hills standout at 1:01.79.