One put the finishing touches on an outstanding high school career.

The other is just getting started.

Sierra High teammates Josh Revives and Kara Hall are the 2009 Bulletin All-Area Swimmers of the Year.

After qualifying for his third-straight Sac-Joaquin Section trials in both the 100 and 200 freestyle events, Revives ended his career at Tokay High May 16 with a 15th place finish in the 200.

“I’ve always placed top-eight (in the 200),” Revives said. “So I was really disappointed in myself this year. But I was like, ‘Okay, I’m just going to swim it and see how it goes.’ In the 100, everyone was so close that I just didn’t make it.”

With the added pressure of college looming on the horizon, Revives was admittedly less focused this season than he has been in the past.

But after tasting a bit of adversity for the first time in his sterling career, Revives says that he is more focused than ever to take his swimming to the next level.

The Sierra graduate has already started school at Delta College in hopes of moving onto the University of California at Davis somewhere down the line.

“I’ve been to Delta and I’ve looked at the school records,” Revives said. “My goal is to get at least two or three of them next year. I’m already close to the records I want, the 200 and 100 free, so my goal is to go in as a freshman and make my mark there.”

Revives will coach swimming this summer at the University of the Pacific, and will continue to work with his club swimming program, the Swim Club of Northern California out of Quail Lakes.

“I really want to thank Katelyne Harrington and Riley Smith for pushing me, we help each other a lot,” Revives said. “Also Brittany Aoyama and my coach Joe Plaine. Even though we can hate each other one day and love each other the next, he’s a really great coach. If it wasn’t for those four people, I probably still wouldn’t be swimming.”

Hall, a sophomore at Sierra, is a rising star for a girls program that has captured the Valley Oak League championship outright for the past two seasons.

At sections, Hall finished with a 1-minute, 7-second finish in her best event, the 100 breast, to finish second overall in the frosh-soph finals.
“I was pretty proud of my season,” Hall said. “My first meet was probably my best one. That’s where I hit my first 1:07, and I was really excited about that.”

Hall, a Ripon Aquatics club swimmer, says she prefers the high school season because of the repetition of single events. High school is also where Hall joins a very talented group of teammates who, as both Revives and Hall pointed out, represent a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

“We have a lot of club swimmers, so we definitely have a lot of strong swimmers,” Hall said. “Everyone has their one thing that they’re really good at. Especially in relays, that makes us really good, because everyone contributes.”

During the Sierra girls’ three-year championship run, it’s been the relay events that have consistently brought in the most points.

“You have to have teamwork in relays,” Hall said. “The adrenaline is much more intense because you’re swimming for your team, there’s more pressure on you. I really enjoy the relay events.”

Heading into next year, Hall says her goals are to return to Tokay as a varsity swimmer and continue to rack up medals along the way.

“I really want to go to sections,” Hall said. “Since I’ll be in the higher group, I want to see if I’ll still be able to do well. I want to place, and that’s pretty much my main goal, but I also just want to continue to improve my times and work harder on my strokes.”