The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Burton, Kilian star at swimming nationals

By Dick Sparrer

There's nothing like a cool, relaxing swim to combat the blistering days of the August heat.

Loni Burton and Caroline Kilian took the plunge last month, but there was nothing relaxing about it. Burton, Kilian and other members of the DeAnza-Cupertino Aquatics Club did their swimming at the USA National Swim Championships in Clovis over the Aug. 11-15 weekend.

Burton and Kilian were certainly cool competitors in the rugged national field, cool enough, in fact, to earn places on USA National Swim Teams.

Burton won a place on the U.S. team that will compete in the Pan American Games in Winnepeg, Canada, and Kilian earned a berth in the World University Games in Majorca, Spain.

Burton finished fifth in the 200-meter freestyle in 2:01.59, and she was also ninth in the 100 butterfly in 1:01.19, a new Pacific Swimming record.

Kiliam came through with a 14th in the 200 free in 2:02.33.

The two joined with Andi Finlay and Heidi Schmidt for a fourth in the 400 medley relay in 4:16.83. Finlay swam the backstroke leg with Schmidt in the breaststroke, Burton the butterfly and Kiliam the freestyle.

Finlay came through with an 18th in the 100 back, and the team of Kilian, Adriennce Mattos, Finlay and Burton ended up 11th in the 400 free relay.

DACA's women finished 15th in the team standings at the nationals.

Earlier in the month, DACA finished fourth overall at the Junior National Championships in San Jose. The women finished second and the men 12th for a combined fourth place finish.

Burton breezed to an individual championship in the 100 free in 58.26. She was also third in the 50 free in 27.0 and she teamed with Naoka Watanabe, Schmidt and Hilary Peterson for a second in the 400 medley relay in 4:24.52. Burton, Kilian, Nicole Braida and Asheley Elliott ended up eighth in the 400 free relay in 3:59.55.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 2, 1998.
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