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Haley Porter
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Elitt Golnik and Zack Humphries prepar ee to dive e into a practice lap at Nevada Union Wednesday.
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Members of Nevada Union's 200 individual mmedley are , from left, Zach Humphries, Nicholas Ingersoll, Mike Saturnino and Elitt Golnik.
Brian Hamilton
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Breaking News Candidates
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Swimming championship trials open today
By Brian Hamilton
» More from Brian Hamilton
12:01 a.m. PT May 8, 2008
Back when Haley Porter made her first appearance at the Sac-Joaquin Section Swimming Championships, she dove into the competition with quite a few butterPhoto:4509738,left;flies in her belly.
But thanks to some of her more experienced Nevada Union teammates, she was able to get past the nervousness in her first dip with the best the section has to offer.
Now, three years later, Porter's role has reversed.
The defending 50-yard freestyle section champ is headed back to the sections for a third time. And now she's the one sharing her wealth of experience with the young pups on the Miners squad.
"I was really nervous my freshman year because I didn't know what to expect," she said. "Now if (the NU freshmen) ask me questions, I tell them what I know.
"You don't want them to get too nervous, but it's good to get the adrenaline-type nerves going.
"Now it does seem like just another meet for me, but it's also what we've been training for this whole season. It's what we've been looking forward to."
Porter, a junior who owns several school records and Sierra Foothill League championships, will lead a young NU girls team into competition today, as the section trials open at 10 a.m. at Tokay High School. The boys trials follow at 10 a.m. Friday, with the finals for both boys and girls slated for 10 a.m. Saturday.
In addition to defending her title in the 50 free, Porter will also swim the 100 freestyle, in which she finished fourth last season. Three other Miners expected to produce points this weekend are Claire Garcia (100 breaststroke), Shiloh Fish (100 butterfly) and Justina Dunne (100 backstroke).
Two of the up-and-coming members of Jeff Kirkpatrick's girls team will be making their maiden voyage in the sections, as freshmen Sierra Kleiber and Maria Giuliani are now dipping their toes into section competition for the first time - just as their top teammate experienced a few years back.
"It's a little intimidating," said Kleiber, who will compete in the 50 and 100 freestyles of the frosh/soph competition. "Knowing there are so many fast people going, and being young, you kind of feel like the underdogs."
"Yeah," added Giuliani, who will swim the 200 and 500 freestyle, "I've just followed what Haley's been doing, because she knows what's going on.
"I swim club, too. So, I know big meets and have been to big meets before, so I'm not that nervous. But it will be something different."
Nevada Union boys
Touching the wall on the final lap of practice Wednesday, NU senior Mike Saturnino suddenly realized he'd just swam his final training session of his high school career.
Reaching across the adjacent lanes, he shared high fives and smiles with senior teammates like Elitt Golnik as practice came to a close.
"We've been so looking forward to the end of the year, nearing the sections, that I didn't think of it like that," Golnik said.
"I didn't think of it (being the final practice), until that last set," Saturnino added. "I'm so stoked about sections, so stoked about this meet. I've been looking forward to this since my freshman year."
As have many other members of the Miners, including three captains in seniors Golnik and Nicholas Ingersoll along with junior Zach Humphries.
"The goal is be among the top three at section," said NU coach John Sultan. "I think that's a realistic goal and we may have an outside chance at winning it.
"But the usual suspects will be there in Jesuit, Granite Bay, Davis and Rio Americano. All of them are very good and very deep."
Team depth turned out to be a deciding factor in the Sierra Foothill League championships, where the Miners fell short of Granite Bay for the title. But, as Saturnino suggested, the section meet could level the playing field for an NU team with some strong swimmers at the top of its own depth chart.
"Sections is one time that the size of a team doesn't play that much of an effect," said Saturnino, who will compete in the 100 fly. "Each team has pretty much one standout swimmer for each event."
For the Miners to be in the mix though they'll need strong showing from each qualifier competing. Humphries will be among the favorites in the 100-yard backstroke, in which he's swam just a hundredth of a second off an All-American time. He'll also compete in the 100 butterfly.
Golnik is the team's top sprinter, showing as much by taking first place in the 50 free and second in the 100 free at the SFL meet. Ingersoll is the hailing league champ in the 100 breaststroke.
All three will join Saturnino on the 200 individual medley relay team, which also is on the cusp of an All-American time and is expected to deliver high marks to the team scoring.
"That's where you score double points, with the relays," Sultan said, explaining relay events are worth twice as much in team scoring than individual events. "I think that's where we are going to be up there in team scoring. We're going to score a lot of points in relays."
If that's the case, the Miners just might achieve another goal in topping SFL foe Granite Bay.
"On or off the record, nobody likes Granite Bay," Saturnino said of the SFL powerhouse with a laugh.
To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.
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