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.
Kelly Pace of Homestead and Courtney O'Hagan of Cupertino also nailed places at the section finals.
Pace was 14th in the 500 free in 5:25.37 and O'Hagan was 16th in the same event in 5:29.21. Both are sophomores.
Earlier, the two had starred at the El Camino Division finals.
Pace was a winner in the 200 IM in 21.48 and she added a second in the 500 free in 5:30.58 to lead the Mustangs to a team third.
O'Hagan was tops in the 500 in 5:29.30 and first in the 200 free in 2:03.96 to lead the Pioneers to a team fourth.
Megan Tipton came through with a second in the 50 free in 26.55 and a fifth in the 100 breast in 1:18.72, and Gina Dhom was second in the 100 fly in 1:04.04 and fourth in the 200 free in 2:10.95 for the Mustangs.
Jennifer Christensen was fifth in the 100 free in 1:01.73 and sixth in the 50 free in 27.93, and Magda Michalowicz was sixth in diving with 293.15 points with teammate Heather De Bord 10th at 250.80 to round out the list of Homestead placers.
Fremont's Melissa Westgate finished a solid second in the 100 free in 1:00.62. She was also sixth in the 200 free in 2:14.15.
Kim Mills was sixth in the 500 free in 5:57.16 for the Indians and Jessica Jocius added an eighth in the 100 free in 1:02.61.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, Wed., December 6, 1995.
©1995 Metro Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.