ESTANICA FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:Barloon carried load for Eagles

Sydney Barloon will soon be ready to say goodbye to Costa Mesa and hello to the University of Washington.

As she leaves at the end of September, the Estancia High Female Athlete of the Year will also bid farewell to a horse.

For the past two and a half years the horse, Kali, has belonged to Barloon. Four times a week, Barloon would ride.

But in order to have money for her big move to Washington, Barloon is selling the horse, a German Holsteiner.

Times are changing for Barloon, who competed four years on the varsity teams for cross country and swimming. She’s not planning to compete in sports at Washington, but, despite selling Kali, she’ll continue to ride horses.

“I’ve been in equestrian for eight years,” said Barloon, who will be teaching horseback riding at the Orange County Fair. “It’s awesome and I love it. It’s a lot of time you have to put into, but it’s something I’ll keep doing. It’s a big part of my life.”

While contributing to the Estancia cross country and swim teams, Barloon made sure to stick with equestrian. But that doesn’t mean she neglected her commitment to the Eagles.

She was in her element, bonding with teammates and rising to eventually become a team leader, though a quiet one.

“For me as a freshman, going straight on the varsity, I was really quiet and shy, and I wasn’t really connected to the team,” Barloon said of cross country. “I just went out and ran. As the years went on I figured it out. I got to know some of the girls better. We came together and really bonded.”

For Barloon, it was an extraordinary bond.

“I was the only white girl all four years,” Barloon said of being on the team that’s made up of Latinas. “It was cool. I got invited to a Quinceañera (15th birthday). I got to do all this cool stuff.”

Barloon went to Blanca Morales’ Quinceañera. It was memorable for her and also a symbol of the relationship that formed between teammates during her senior season. It was a special year.

The Eagles won their first league title, a championship in the Orange Coast League.

“It was very exciting for us,” said Barloon, who was among the top two runners for Estancia. “It was a cool thing to do in my last year.”

Barloon also enjoyed sporting pink shorts at meets and drawing various compliments from competitors.

“We just went out and had fun as a team,” Barloon said. “I’m going to miss it next year.”

Estancia will miss her, too.

“There were a lot of qualities that made her outstanding,” said Estancia Coach Charlie Appell, who is entering his 18th year with the Eagles. “She was caring for all the team. This year she did a great job of leading and following. She helped the girls get to the league championship by helping them jell as a group instead of being an individual.”

Cross country wasn’t actually Barloon’s main sport. Since she was a child she was involved with swimming.

“My dad had me in the pool before I could walk and I started to swim at Orange Coast College when I was 4.”

At Estancia, Barloon was a big part of the Eagles’ impressive run of 42 straight dual-meet victories. That also included two consecutive league titles.

Aside from the success, Barloon will also remember the camaraderie.

“Our swim team was the craziest in the league,” she said. “We had tons of fun. Before meets, we would dance or sing.”

As a junior, Barloon teamed with Carolina Barnes, Katie Mahan and Susan Cloud to win the Golden West League championship in the 200 freestyle relay. Barloon was also part of the 200 medley relay team that finished sixth in CIF Southern Section Division III.

In her senior year, the Eagles moved up to Division II. Barloon’s season ended by finishing 28th with her teammates in the 200 medley relay at the CIF Division II preliminaries.

It was hard to believe, after four years, that her time at Estancia was over.

“I don’t think I realized it was over then,” Barloon said. “There was so much going on at school … I don’t think it has still sunk in. I’m definitely going to miss it.”

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or at [email protected].