ALL-SCV GIRLS SWIM
Swimmer of the Year: Valencia’s Nikol Popov
Asked for her absolute favorite memory from the 2017 high-school swim season, recent Valencia High graduate Nikol Popov could’ve picked her CIF title in the 200yard individual medley.
She could’ve picked her crown in the 100 breaststroke, too.
Instead, the University of Tennessee recruit pointed to a moment outside the pool. In fact, it came moments after her prep career had technically ended.
On May 13 at Riverside Aquatics Complex, Popov watched from the pool deck as the Saugus High boys team, which featured a few of her club teammates, made a furious surge toward the finish in the 400 free relay.
It wasn’t so much the drama that Popov soaked in as it was the nostalgia.
“I’ll miss the team and the atmosphere of high-school swimming,” Popov said. “I learned so much through it and have great memories and met a lot of great people.”
That, in a sense, embodies the 2017 All SCV Girls Swimmer of the Year’s senior campaign, one defined by pure enjoyment and camaraderie.
As a junior, Popov skipped high-school swimming as she trained for the U.S. Olympic trials. She missed competing with the Vikings, especially on days she showed up to the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center for Foothill League dual meets or league finals.
The sacrifice was worth it, she said. It was necessary. But it amped her up all the more for one final run.
She wasn’t the only one who felt the energy, either.
“She’s happy to be back, and we’re obviously excited to have her,” Valencia junior Julia Wolf said of Popov after the Santa Clarita Valley Relays in March. “She’s a great girl and a great swimmer.”
Said Valencia coach Kathy Rosenast, “Her return did a lot for the team. Obviously her ability and her talent helped us, but her leadership and role modeling played a huge role for the younger kids. She’s really an All-American girl: beauty, brains and talent.”
Besides the two individual titles – the fourth and fifth CIF crowns of her career – Popov teamed with Wolf, Kaila Wong and Sonaly Wintermute to form a fearsome
foursome in the relay department.
At CIF, the group took second in the 200 free relay and fourth in the 200 medley relay, both setting new alltime Foothill League records.
Valencia finished third at CIF as a team.
“It was so much fun,” Popov, who also set the Foothill League all-time record in the 200 IM (1:59.52), said afterward. “I love this meet. It’s always a great energy on the pool deck. … It was good to win some events for Valencia. It’s kind of sad because it’s senior year and my last one, but it’s good.”
Popov will now take her talents to Tennessee, where she looks forward to competing in the Southeastern Conference.
“It’s going to be tough and kind of scary,” she said. “But I’ll try and ride off of that and use that crazy energy toward my swimming.”