Fisher stellar at Junior Olympics

MISSION VIEJO — Costa Mesa resident Tom Fisher swam a personal-best 25.74 seconds to win the 50-meter freestyle event in the 13- and 14-year-old boys’ division at the recent Southern California Swimming Junior Olympics in Mission Viejo.

The 14-year-old Fisher, representing the Newport Beach-based Central Orange Coast YMCA junior swimming program, also placed in the top 10 in three other freestyle events.

In the 100, Fisher was fourth in 57.63 seconds, sixth in the 200 in 2 minutes, 5.85 seconds, and 10th in the 400 in 4:30.25. The 400 mark was an 8.14-second improvement.

Other locals faring well at the Junior Olympics were Marissa Robertson of Santa Ana Heights and Scott Grew of Newport Beach.

Robertson, 12, was 12th in the 50 breaststroke in the 11- and 12-year-old girls’ competition. She finished in 39.96, but in the preliminaries she posted a personal best of 39.46.

Grew, 12, was in the 11- and 12-year-old boys’ division. He swam the 100 butterfly (1:19.32), 100 freestyle (1:10.59), 50 backstroke (37.19) and the 50 freestyle (30.65). In all the events, Grew bettered his times by one or two seconds.

Newport Beach’s Stephanie Van Valkenburgh qualified for the Junior Olympics, but the 16-year-old could not attend.

— From staff reports