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Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_07.25.08 - Index

It’s an opportunity most
athletes will never know, but
one that Oakley swimmer Kate
Dwelley has already experienced
twice.
Dwelley, along with her
older brother John and Brentwood
Terrapins teammate
Sean Mahoney, were among
hundreds of the nation’s best
swimmers competing for a spot
on the U.S. Olympic team late
last month in Omaha, Neb.
The 19-year-old Stanford
student was invited to the 2004
U.S. Olympic Trials in Long
Beach just after her freshman
season at Liberty High School.
She narrowly missed the cut
in the 200-yard freestyle event
that year, but said she felt fortunate
to experience that level
of competition at such a young
age. Since then, Dwelley has
matured physically and is more
technically sound than ever before.
“Over the past four years
I’ve gotten so much stronger
and I’ve been working on having
a faster tempo in the water,”
Dwelley said. “My turns are a
lot better too. In 2004, they
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were bad. I got behind in most
of my races. I’ve improved a lot
since then.”
In Omaha, Dwelley set a
personal best time of 1:58.90
in the semifi nals of the 200 free
but failed to make it to the fi -
nals by just tenths of a second.
“I went into the semifi nals
thinking all I can do is get a
best time and hopefully make
the fi nals,” she said. “The race
just felt great. As we were going
into the wall I could tell I was
right there with everybody else
but in the end a few too many
people touched the wall before
me. It was really close.”
Once her performance in
the 200 free was over, Dwelley
had to gear up for the 100 free
– a feat that challenged her
both mentally and physically.
“I was really proud of how
I did in the 200 but I was still
a little disappointed. I really
wanted to make the team,” she
said. “But I knew I had to be
positive and try and do my best
in my last event.”
Dwelley fi nished 20 th in the
100 free with another personal
best time of 55.3 seconds.
“I felt like I had a great
July 25, 2008
HOMES | DINING | HEALTH | RECREATION | CLASSIFIEDS
Dwelley remains Olympic hopeful
by Jennifer Birkland
Correspondent
Oakley’s
Kate Dwelley
advanced to
the semifi nals
in the 200yard
freestyle
event at the
2008 U.S.
Olympic Swim
Trials late
last month in
Omaha.
Photo courtesy of
Stanford University
see Swimming page 6B
Diamonds sparkle in first season
by Avi Burk
Staff Writer
The Oakley-based Delta Diamonds
fastpitch softball team recently wrapped
up its fi rst season of 12U competition, and
although the team didn’t fare as well at the
national NSA World Series tournament in
Reno as its players or coaches would have
liked, its inaugural season was a smashing
success.
Speaking of his team’s 1-4 record at
the event in Reno, head coach Dan Kaleialii
said, “Not good. But we played up
a division all year and had a relatively
good year, going 29-21, and did some good
stuff. We were in most of the games, even
at nationals. Overall, it was a pretty good
year; the girls learned a lot and the coaches
learned a lot and everybody had a good
time. We’re already looking forward to the
fall season.”
Kaleialii started the Diamonds as
an alternative for girls who wanted to escape
the intense scrutiny, and, according
to Kaleialii, verbal and emotional abuse,
that many other competitive travel softball
teams put their girls through. At fi rst, he
wasn’t sure he’d be able to fi nd enough girls
to fi eld a team, but as word spread about
the budding program, more and more players
fl ocked to the Diamonds’ diamond.
“I always had trouble with the way that
coaches coach girls softball. I don’t believe
that coaches should be yelling or demean-
Photo by Tess Kaleialii
The 2008 Delta Diamonds players, top row from left, are Kaitlyn Bourque,
Morgan Van Ausdal, Kyleigh Richardson, Shelbi Graifman, Kenna Wright and
Kennedy Silay; front row: Madison Williams, Kahea Arrieta, Olive Paredes, Maleia
Namauleg, Danielle Leones and Niki Kaleialii. Not pictured are manager Dan
Kaleialii, coaches Tony Arrieta, Paul Stevens, Peter Namauleg and Pat Morreira.
ing in any way shape or form, and so, as a
parent, I got involved,” said Kaleialii. “We
started with four girls at the fi rst practice
and were worried that we weren’t going to
be able to fi eld a team, but when word got
out about the way that we wanted to coach
and the way we were going to get things
done, all of a sudden we had 10, 11 and 12
see Diamonds page 7B
THIS WEEK
Palate for
the patriotic
A new restaurant in town is
serving up ultimate American
ambiance and classic American
cuisine.
Page 12B
Twain takes
the stage
The Liberty Playmakers are
ready to hoist the curtain on
two engaging productions,
one of which is Mark Twain’s
lone work for the theater.
Page 14B
Friends race
to the rescue
The community rallied to the
cause of a local racecar driver
seriously injured in a crash.
Page 2B
Landmarks
of our lives
The arrivals, departures and
accomplishments of those dear
to us are chronicled in our
Milestones section.
Page 9B
Classifieds
Looking to buy or sell something?
Looking for a job? Look
no further than this section.
Page 15B