Alex Valente of the Santa Barbara Swim Club broke the Southern California record in the 15-16 boys 200 butterfly at a USA Swimming Sectional Championship meet at East Los Angeles College.
Alex Valente recorded the fastest 200 fly time for 15-16 boys in Southern California.
Valente, a junior at Dos Pueblos High, won the race in 1:44.75. He beat the previous mark of 1:46.37, set in 2010 by Young Te Sero.
Valente’s time is a full two-second improvement and is the second fastest mark for a 16 year old in the event. Michael Phelps owns the fastest time.
Corey Okubo of Aquazot, Irvine, finished second in the race in 1:47.11.
Valente’s accomplishment qualifies him for a USA All-Star team that will travel to Japan in February.
Valente seeks to break the national record in the 100 fly on Monday. He is only three-tenths of a second behind the record of 47.10. The race can be seen online at takeitlive.tv at around 6 p.m.
