A Late Starter, She Finishes Early

MISSION HILLS —  Maureen Farrell is relatively new to competitive swimming, but she has already made a big splash.

The Alemany High senior-to-be tied a Southern Section Division II record in the 100-yard backstroke and set a career best in the 50 freestyle to claim two individual titles in the Southern Section Division II championships in May.

Her backstroke time of 55.56 seconds tied the division standard set by Meredith Booker of Beverly Hills in 1992 and improved on a second-place finish in 1999.

Farrell clocked 23.61 in the 50 freestyle, successfully defending her 1999 title.

“I wanted to win two events, so it was a good meet for me,” Farrell said. “I didn’t really think about the backstroke record. But when it was over, everybody was cheering really loudly, so I knew I did it.”

Farrell earned high school All-American status for her winning times and shared girls’ swimmer of the meet honors with Jessica Hayes of Irvine University.

Farrell is The Times’ regional girls’ swimmer of the year.

Farrell, who began swimming competitively with the Canyons Aquatics club team three years ago as an eighth-grader, made dramatic strides at the Phillips 66 Spring National Championships in Federal Way, Wash., in April.

“[My times] dropped a lot,” she said. “I think I was just really ready for this nationals.”

She proved it by posting career-best times of 2:17.40 in the 200-meter backstroke and 1:04.32 in the 100 backstroke, both good enough to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials in August.

“I think she’s getting a little more focused on what she’s doing and she’s at a point where swimming’s making a lot more sense,” said Coach Bruce Patmos of Canyons Aquatics. “She’s crossing over into that next level and she’s just showing a lot of confidence.”

Her recent success surprises Farrell, who endured a disappointing summer in 1999, when she posted a time of 1:06.02 in the 100 backstroke prelims at the U.S. summer nationals after placing seventh in 1:05.31 in the spring nationals four months earlier.

“Last summer, I did horrible,” she said. “But this winter, I just put that behind me.”

It showed in her performance during the high school season.

She hopes it will again this summer.

“It’s pretty amazing sometimes,” Farrell said. “There was an article I saw about Olympic hopefuls, and I thought, ‘That’s me.’ ”

* * All-region girls’ swim team. Page 15