Valente’s winning time among nation’s best

Alex Valente, of Santa Barbara Aquatics Club, is one of the top swimmers in the country in the 100-meter butterfly among 15 year olds.

Competing at the Southern California Junior Olympics meet in Thousand Oaks on Friday, Santa Barbara Aquatics Club’s Alex Valente won the 100 butterfly with a time among the nation’s best 15-year-old swimmers.

Valente, a soon-to-be sophomore at Dos Pueblos High School, recorded a pace of 55.73, which is the sixth-fastest time this year in his age-group nationwide.

The result qualified Valente for the Junior Olympic National Meet.

Janelle Nguyen, also with Santa Barbara Aquatics Club, won the gold in the 400 free.

Maelyn Adornetto, who came in second in the 200 IM on Friday, topped that performance with a victory on Saturday in the 200-meter breast stroke. Her time was 2:43.48.