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Strong finish by McConica brings home national crown Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming By Kevin Goff APPLEGATE LAKE � Jim McConica has made the water his second home for the majority of his life. On Saturday, the 49-year-old resident of Ventura, Calif., outlasted the competition in winning the U.S. Masters Swimming Open Water National Championship 10-kilometer race with a time of 1 hour, 46 minutes, 39 seconds. Amy Imivalle grabbed the women�s overall title in 1:52:23. The distance of the race actually measured 8.5 kilometers instead of 10. But that didn�t deter the 87 competitors � a record total for an open waters national championship race � from enjoying the conditions and the 72-degree water. The open water nationals are usually held in Southern California, and the previous high for participants was 42. Saturday�s record turnout was the first such race held in Oregon. McConica, who took off with the first of four heats after entering a predicted finishing time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, was in the thick of things from the get-go. A third of the way through the race, at the third buoy, McConica stood in second and remained there until the ninth and final buoy. With a last gasp, McConica streaked to the finish line a good minute ahead of the nearest competitor. "It was a fun swim," said McConica. "I really had a good time, and the scenery was beautiful." It didn�t all go as planned, though, for McConica, who holds the world record for his age group (45-49) for 1,650 yards, recently set in Indianapolis. Around the fourth buoy, he strayed from the course and fell back into fourth place. "Between the fourth and fifth marker, I veered off a little," said McConica. "I had to take a hard right after the buoy and ended up going about an extra 300 yards out of the way. "That was a little frustrating because I had just made a move at the third buoy and was in first when I went off course." McConica has had breaks from the sport during his illustrious swimming career. After college, he stopped swimming and didn�t pick it up again until his early 30s. Not long after that, his left leg was paralyzed for two months after a freak back injury. Surgery corrected the problem, but it took time to get back into swimming shape. "I had to work hard to get back to where I�m at now," said McConica. "I�m really lucky because in back surgery, a little snip here and the doctors could accidentally cut your spinal cord. But I had great doctors." Finishing behind McConica was Chris Yortez of Santa Monica, Calif., with a time of 1:47.56. Yortez fell back a bit toward the middle portion of the race but made a frantic push toward the end. "I felt really strong for the last three markers," said the 35-year-old Yortez. "I caught up with Jim (McConica) on the last buoy and then he just put me away." Finishing third was Greg Jablonski at 1:48.21, while Jeff Erwin, with a time of 1:49.48, grabbed fourth. On the women�s side, Imivalle cruised past the finish line just ahead of Sarah Quan. Imivalle is a 20-year-old senior-to-be at Oregon State University. "The race went pretty smoothly for me," said Imivalle, who, along with Quan, competes for the Central Oregon Masters Association out of Bend. "The only problem I had was stiffening up during the race. "The water, being outdoors, is a little colder than I�m used to. And I did the whole thing freestyle, which can make your muscles a little tighter if you don�t switch things up." Quan, 29, finished 10th overall and second in the women�s division in 1:54.38. Jill Gellatly, 32, took third in 1:55.17 and Amy Hallegan finished fourth in 2:01.52. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA