I'll second what I said yesterday. It's hot, and talking about swimming somehow helps.

2008-09 Kern County GIRLS SWIMMING

Overview: The north part of the Central Section was especially dominant in girls swimming this year, leaving precious few bread crumbs for Kern County. There were some bright spots, like Frontier’s Stevie Hughey winning the section title in the 100-yard breaststroke and a very deep Stockdale team placing third in the section despite having just one individual place as high as second — Olivia Ramos, who was runner-up in the 100 butterfly and third in the 100 backstroke. The Mustangs also boasted top-10 finishes from Tiffanie Boe, Olivia Ramos, Emily Myers and all three relay teams. Garces’ girls made like the school’s boys and won a Division II Central Section title the week before.
It was outside the realm of consciousness of Bakersfield that Kern County’s best swimmer did her work. Out in Ridgecrest — and not even at the town’s public school, Burroughs, but at tiny Immanuel Christian — Mary Hanson was busy with some really special swimming. She won the Southern Section (and swimming is a sport that’s much, much deeper down south) in the 100 backstroke with a time, 53.48 seconds, that’s the second-fastest high school time in the nation this year. Hanson also placed second in the 100 freestyle with an impressive All-American time of 50.39.
Karlee Grundeis of East and Brooke Shuford of Bakersfield led the SEYL with a combined five titles and three top-10 finishes at the section meet (third in 200 IM and eighth in 500 free for Grundeis, and third in 100 breaststroke for Shuford). Liberty’s Jordan Reed and Frontier’s Kristyn Kirschenmann both finished in the top five in diving after battling to be Kern County’s best all year.

Best team: Like I said yesterday, swimming is one sport where it’s going to be very difficult to knock Stockdale from the pedestal. Between the Ramos sisters (there are three, including freshman Natalie), Boe and Myers, plus section contributors Brooke Meeler, Amber Nelson and Franchesca Wyatt, it was very easy for the Mustangs to rack up big points — even in the section meet, where they didn’t have a truly elite swimmer to compete with the Clovis and Clovis West stars. Still, the team’s prowess was evident in relays — they easily won all three in the SWYL, then finished in the top five in all of them in Porterville.
Honorable mention: Frontier, Bakersfield, Liberty, Garces

Best athlete: Hanson belongs in the conversation with Shafter’s Anna Jelmini, Stockdale’s Alex Collatz and Foothill’s Chris Schwartz from the track and field world — she is a competitor on the national stage. Hanson competed with the country’s best of any age at the USA Swimming National Championships and World Championships Trials in Indianapolis earlier this month. But no one around here knows much about her because she does her thing out in Ridgecrest, where her dad, Grant, coaches her team at Immanuel Christian. Do yourself a favor and keep an eye on Hanson as she goes through her senior year with a chance to really make some high school history.
Honorable mention: Stevie Hughey, Frontier; Sara Ramos, Stockdale; Olivia Ramos, Stockdale; Karlee Grundeis, East; Brooke Shuford, Bakersfield

Best event: The Central Section’s Division II concept in a bit strange in individual sports because the smaller schools, or those perceived as weak in a certain event, have a chance to earn a championship — and then they go for the gusto with all of the section’s schools in the Division I (or Masters) championship. It’s the same in track and field, wrestling and swimming. And because the smaller schools usually fade from the spotlight when they’re put up against the shine of a Stockdale, Bakersfield, Bullard or Clovis, we tend to forget about the D-II title completely. But this year’s battle to the wire between Garces and Kingsburg at the D-II finals in Tulare was one to watch. The Rams — much like Stockdale at the D-I level — didn’t have the horses to win a bunch of individual titles. They did get one, from Paige Lifquist in the 500 freestyle, but they were still considered underdogs to the Vikings. A bunch of points earned from top-10 finishes, though, left Garces close, and when the 400 free relay came along to end the day, they needed just a fourth-place finish or better to win the team crown. Kingsburg was first, but Garces touched the wall in second to claim an unlikely 294.5-290.5 victory.
Honorable mention: Central Section masters meet, SEYL Championships

A look ahead: Unlike in boys swimming, there’s bad news for those schools hoping to get a piece of the success pie on the girls side. Looks like Stockdale will be hoarding most of it again next year. Yes, Tiffanie Boe and Olivia Ramos have graduated, and two-time Californian Swimmer of the Year Emily Irvin has already been gone a year, but the Mustangs’ aquatic assembly line keeps churning out fast swimmers. Sara Ramos probably was the most impressive of any Stockdale girl this year, and she’ll only be a junior when school reconvenes next month. Her little sister Natalie, who’s not far behind Sara, will only be a sophomore. And a host of other swimmers I talked about above are coming back, too. Don’t know that it’ll be enough to challenge Clovis West’s 15-year reign of supremacy, but the Mustangs should have a fine team.
And on the other side of things, many of the best swimmers from other teams are headed off to college. Hughey, Grundeis, Shuford, Bakersfield’s  Erica Becker, Bakersfield Christian’s Kara Grant. None will be back. We do have another year to keep an eye on the battle between top divers Reed and Kirschenmann, who both will be seniors seeking an elusive Central Section title. Garces was also young this year, and the Rams might get a chance to be the favorite at the D-II meet.
That leaves Hanson. It really is a shame in a way that such a great Kern County athlete competes in a remote location in a sport that’s out of the mainstream. Do what you can to follow her times, and if you’re a swimming fan and she’s in town — Hanson does compete for the Bakersfield Swim Club — get out to a pool near you and see one of the fastest high school back-strokers in the nation.

Year in Review Index
July 1: Football
July 2: Volleyball
July 3: 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 13: Boys soccer
July 14: Girls soccer
July 15: Baseball
July 16: Softball
July 18: Boys track and field
July 19: Girls track and field
July 20: Boys swimming

Tomorrow: Boys tennis