For today's Year in Review, I'm bringing out Kern's Sunday best — Emily Irvin, Stockdale's swimming extraordinaire, to be exact. Actually, she was good on any day of the week, especially on Saturdays in May.

2007-08 Kern County GIRLS SWIMMING

Overview: Emily Irvin dominated the headlines, but there were plenty of bright spots in Kern County swimming. Frontier, Bakersfield High, Centennial and Liberty all fielded strong teams, and there were good individual efforts from those like East's Karlee Grundeis and Ridgecrest-Immanuel Christian's Mary Hanson, the unknown superstar who finished second in the Southern Section in the 100 backstroke with a time good enough to set a Central Section record.

Best swimmer: You don't see section titles in all four years of a career very often. Swimming might be more susceptible to that sort of feat than most sports, but it's still a heck of an accomplishment. I mean, first off to win as a freshman is fantastic but a necessary first step. But then to stay healthy, focused, consistent and yes, lucky, for three more years? Simply amazing. But that's Emily Irvin, ladies and gents. Four-time Central Section champ in the 100 breaststroke. (She's headed to Boise State next year, of all places. I say, good on ya, Boise State.)
Honorable mention: Mary Hanson, Ridgecrest-Immanuel; Tiffanie Boe, Stockdale; Sara Ramos, Stockdale; Erica Becker, BHS; Stevie Hughey, Frontier

Best team: Like the boys, there was just no touching Stockdale this year. Yes, there's some natural advantages to having your school district encompass some well-off (let's just say pool-friendly) neighborhoods in this sport, but you've still got to tip your cap to this kind of dominance: Stockdale was third in the section with 209 points, and the next area team was baby Frontier, in eighth with 103. Yeah, that's more than doubling up the competition.
Honorable mention: Frontier, Bakersfield

Best event: The spectacle of winning that fourth straight title — there's just something about it that seems really, really special to me. And to see Irvin hit the wall a second or so ahead of everyone else, that small of a margin, for four years, must have been something special. Not to mention seeing her lead the team to another championship in the 200 medley relay. What a day.
Honorable mention: SEYL meet, Garces Invitational

A look ahead: Irvin is gone, but basically no one else is. So who steps up to the spotlight? That's the storyline for next season. It could be Becker, it could be Frontier's Stevie Hughey, or even Hanson, despite her location making her largely unknown in these parts. That backstroke is still pretty darn impressive. Anyone have a problem with an All-Area Swimmer of the Year coming from Ridgecrest? It could happen.

Year in Review index
July 3: Football
July 4: Volleyball
July 5: Boys cross country
July 6: Girls cross country
July 7: Girls tennis
July 8: Girls golf
July 9: Boys basketball
July 10: Girls basketball
July 11: Wrestling
July 12: Boys soccer
July 13: Girls soccer
July 14: Baseball
July 15: Softball
July 16: Boys track and field
July 17: Girls track and field
July 19: Boys swimming

Tomorrow: Boys tennis