West Valley swimmers back, and looking for golden glory
By Dick Sparrer
It may be a while before they can develop another Carrie Steinseifer, but that's certainly the goal of the coaches of the reborn West Valley Swim Club.
The club, formerly the West Valley Aquatic Team, is back in action and competing in two Olympic pools at West Valley Community College and Saratoga High.
The goal is simple, according to head coach Norm Havercroft: "To bring aquatic prowess back to the Los Gatos and Saratoga communities, and to return to the gold medal glory of years past."
Steinseifer was responsible for much of that past glory. She tied for Olympic gold in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles after starring locally at Saratoga High and for the West Valley Aquatic Team.
Steinseifer was the "last true local Olympian," said Havercroft, from the club that stopped operation in 1989. But three years ago the West Valley Aquatic Team was reborn as the West Valley Swim Club, and this past season the squad started to make its mark.
Jancy Thompson and Will Quist are West Valley standouts who are also currently enjoying success at the collegiate level.
Thompson represented West Valley at the Speedo Long Course Junior Championships in San Antonio, Texas, last year, competing in the 400, 800 and 1,500 free events. She went on from there to compete for Arizona State University at the Pac-10 women's swimming championships.
Quist brought back the Olympic dreams for West Valley when he competed in the Olympic trials in Indianapolis last year. He is currently swimming at UC Berkeley.
Fred Huang, 12, is an up-and-coming West Valley star. He won four events in the Pacific Age-Group Championships.
Fred Huang starred for West Valley at the Pacific Age-Group Championships during the winter months. The 12-year-old nailed wins in the 200, 500, 1,000 and 1,650 free events. His times in the 1,000 and 1,650 were new Pacific records in his age group.
The West Valley Swim Club finished third as a team behind powerful Santa Clara Swim Club and San Jose Aquatics at the Zone One South Championships held earlier this year. Will Havercroft was first in the boys 8-and-under 25-yard butterfly, and he teamed with Connor Still, Jason Shiuan and Adam Hinshaw for seconds in the 200-yard medley and 200-yard free relays.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
