By Dick Sparrer
Loni Burton wasn't the first member of her family to strike gold in a swimming pool when she won a pair of events for Monta Vista at the Central Coast Section girls' swimming championships.
Her dad, Mike, turned the trick a few years back when he won a pair of Olympic gold medals at the 1968 Games in Mexico City. And he struck gold again in 1972 in Munich.
And Loni? Well, she continued the family tradition when she hit gold twice at the CCS championship at Stanford's deGuirre Pool.
Burton took the 100-yard butterfly in 56.30 and she was tops in the 200 freestyle in 1:49.44 to lead the Monta Vista effort at the CCS finals.
The effort came on the heels of an outstanding showing by Burton at the finals in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Burton came through with a pair of individual league titles for the Matadors with a first in the 200 individual medley in 2:09.24 and a win in the 100 fly in 58.93. The Mats, though, finished seventh as a team in the finals.
Burton topped the list of swimmers from the SCVAL who placed the CCS meet.
Watanabe leads Falcons
Saratoga had a strong enough showing to get 13th overall in the team standings.
Machiko Watanabe breezed to a third in the 500 free in 5:05.45 and she added a seventh in the 200 IM in 2:11.67. Teammate Rebecca Shephard was 15th in the IM in 2:16.28, and Shephard was also 15th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.06.
Whitney Dotzler came through with an eighth in the 500 free in 5:18.61 and an 11th in the 200 free in 2:00.18, and Kerry Scialabba
was 13th in the 100 free in 56.25.
The Falcons added an 11th in the 200 medley relay in 1:57.66 and were 12th in the 400 free relay in 3:47.61.
Watanabe had led the Falcons to a team fifth at the league finals with a second in the 500 free in 5:10.93 and a third in the 200 IM in 2:14.92.
Lynbrook runner-up
Santa Clara won the team title at the SCVAL El Camino Division finals, but Lynbrook finished a solid second thanks to tremendous depth.
Lynbrook didn't win an event at the finals, but Yvonne Leo came through with a second in the 100 backstroke in 1:05.29 and Joanna Chung was third in the 100 fly in 1:07.51.
The Vikes were also second in the 200 free relay and third in the 200 medley relay, good for valuable team points.
Leo added a fifth in the 100 fly in 1:09.26.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, Wednesday, December 6, 1995.
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