Santa Margarita swimmer Teagan O'Dell is SBLive's Southern Section Athlete of the Year

(Lead photo by Mission Viejo Nadadores and Santa Margarita swimming)

Welcome to a continuing tradition at SBLive California – honoring the male and female athletes of the year in every CIF Section.

Because the SBLive crew gets so immersed in specific sports seasons, it is nice to take a step back to pick a section honor on a broader scale.

The criteria isn’t too expansive: The starting point is finding athletes who are all-league/all-state performers. Totality of career is also a factor as is winning. Administrator/coach/fan recommendation plays a role as well.

Enjoy as we honor some of California's top athletes!

Teagan O'Dell wasted no time in establishing herself as one of the top swimmers in the United States' high school ranks.

As just a freshman at Santa Margarita in 2021-22, she won state in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke. In the latter, she set a California state meet record time of 52.27 seconds. O'Dell also helped the Eagles set a new national record in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:14.80) and a state meet record in the 200-yard medley relay (1:39.04). 

For her efforts, she was named runner-up for national swimmer of the year by Swimming World Magazine. And she was just getting started.

During the 2022-23 school year, O'Dell smashed her 200 IM time by nearly two seconds, setting a new national record of 1:53.38 seconds in the state finals. In those same finals, she also improved her freshman year mark in the 100 backstroke by well over a second, setting a state meet record with a time of 50.96. And she became a state champion/record-holder in the 50 freestyle, too, at 22.40 seconds. 

Additionally, the Eagles again broke a national record in a relay with O'Dell involved, as they went 1:29.61 in the 200 freestyle on March 28th, and went on to win state in that event in May.

In the OC Register's post naming her the county's athlete of the year in June, Santa Margarita coach Ron Blanc described O'Dell's sophomore season as "arguably the greatest O.C. swim season in history."

Simply put, O'Dell has already proven herself as a world-class high school swimmer just halfway through her high school career. For her record-breaking sophomore campaign, she is SBLive's Southern Section Athlete of the Year.

While O'Dell's burst onto the high school scene has been quick, she didn't exactly come out of nowhere. At 12 years old, she broke Missy Franklin's national age group record in the 200-meter individual medley (2:18.69), and two years later, she set a new record in the same event for the 13-14 age group with 2:12.53.

That success at a young age would lead one to believe that O'Dell has been a dedicated swimmer since before she knew how to talk. But her decision to pursue swimming at the highest levels was surprisingly recent.

"When I was younger, I enjoyed playing in all sports – football, baseball, soccer – so swimming was kind of just something I did for fun," said O'Dell.

"When I turned 12, I decided to solely focus on swimming and begin training five/six days a week. Since then, swimming has been a main priority in my life, as I practice nine times a week."

O'Dell, a member of Mission Viejo Nadadores swimming club, chose to attend Santa Margarita because of both SMCHS's swimming program's distinguished history and the fact that many of her friends from surrounding clubs attended the school.

"My favorite part about being a swimmer at SMCHS is the friendships I have built," said O'Dell. 

"I eat lunch every day with my swim team friends, trying to hang out with them as much as I can. Being able to engage in conversations with my [swimming] friends about non-swimming related topics has better allowed me to develop a life away from the pool, ultimately strengthening my love for the sport."

"I was so excited and proud of my teammates for setting a national relay record in the 200 free relay," said O'Dell. "We all enjoy practicing and competing with each other daily, so to accomplish that feat with them was so fun!"

Needless to say, hopes and goals are high for O'Dell in the coming years, as she's on pace to contend for a spot on the national team in future Olympics and status as an all-time great high school swimmer. She feels the pressures that come with the terrain, but she's up for the challenge. 

"Like every young swimmer, my dream is to compete for Team USA in the Olympics. Only as of recently have I really understood that if I keep training hard each and every day, I have a chance to make my dream come true," O'Dell said.

"As my [club] coach Logan Redondo always tells me, 'Pressure does not go away, but if you can recognize it without letting it consume you, then you will be great.' [That's] a very difficult thing to do, as I am still not perfect at it, but every practice and every meet I attend I still try my best to welcome the feeling without being scared."

So far in her career, versatility has been O'Dell's strongest trait as a swimmer – thus her dominance in the short course 200 individual medley. And don't expect that to change, as O'Dell says it's her favorite event for incorporating all four strokes.

"I am very grateful and proud to have set a national record in the 200 IM. My coaches and teammates on Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo Nadadores have pushed me every day to try and help me achieve my goals. Going 1:53 has been a goal of mine for a year now, so I was very happy to see my hard work to reach that goal pay off."