Sophomore swimming sensation Kelsey Louden completed a dream
season at the North Coast Section Championships in Walnut Creek on
Saturday with a surprise win in the finals of the 100-yard
breaststroke in a time of 1:05.69.
An NCS swimming title is among the rarest and most difficult of
all local athletic achievements, since the meet involves the entire
North Coast Section, including the East Bay, making it one of the
most competitive high school meets on the West Coast. The
accomplishment in just her sophomore year earned Louden
All-American status and stamps her as an Olympic hopeful.
³I came into the meet hoping for a top-three finish and I was
shocked and amazed that I was able to win,² Louden said. ³In the
last lap I could hear the meet announcer and the crowd screaming so
I knew I had a chance.²
Louden¹s victory was the first ever for a WHS swimmer and came
on the heels of a great showing at the Sonoma County League finals
on May 13, where she won individual titles in both the 100
breaststroke and 200 IM.
The 16-year-old star swims year-round for the Santa Rosa
Neptunes and is considered one of the top athletes on the junior
swimming circuit, but until this month was stuck at a time of just
under 1:08 in the 100 breaststroke.
That all changed at the SCL Championships on May 13, where she
set a Petaluma Pool record in the event in 1:06.27, a nearly
two-second improvement. In a Her-culean effort on Saturday, she
bested that mark by almost another second. Louden also captured
11th place overall in the varsity girls¹ 200m IM at the NCS
championships.
³I¹d been stuck at 1:08 for about a year and it became sort of a
mental plateau,² Louden noted. ³In fact, I considered not swimming
the 100 breast this season. It just comes down to all the hard work
really paying off.²
In addition, Windsor was represented at the NCS meet by the
girl¹s 400 freestyle relay team of Louden, Jenna Patalano, Nina
Menth and Jenna Millan. The foursome competed in a preliminary
heat, but didn¹t qualify for the finals on Saturday.
