Santa Margarita swimmer Teagan O’Dell balanced more than usual this high school season, and made a few hard decisions.

As the junior geared her training toward the upcoming Olympic Trials, she didn’t rest much for the CIF-SS Division 1 finals in early May. She also didn’t race at the CIF State championships so she could remain focused on preparing for Indianapolis next month.

“What was so wonderful in a way,” Santa Margarita co-coach Ron Blanc said, “was that she was nervous about telling us that she couldn’t go to state. We obviously told her that we 100% supported (her) … but it told us how much her team and her teammates meant to her.”

And so did O’Dell’s racing.

Despite the challenges of training for the Olympic Trials, she delivered another dominant high school season and remained a positive force for the CIF Southern Section and state juggernaut.

O’Dell posted county-leading times in five events en route to being selected Orange County girls swimmer of the year for the third straight season.

The 200-yard individual medley at the Division 1 finals provided a peek into O’Dell’s drive.

With limited rest, the Cal commit still challenged her national high school record by touching in a meet-record 1 minute, 53.63 seconds, less than three-tenths of a second off her standard from last spring at the state meet.

“I think she was surprised how fast it was,” Blanc said.

O’Dell’s list of highlights was again long as she remained arguably the county’s best high school swimmer since the legendary Janet Evans at El Dorado in the late 1980s.

She also won the 100 butterfly at the Division 1 finals in a swift 52.12. In prelims, she clocked a lifetime-best 51.99 that ranks second in county history only to Olympian Katie McLaughlin (51.53).

O’Dell saved plenty of speed for her teammates. In the 400 free relay, she led off in 48.37 — an Orange County record for the 100 free — to help the Eagles cap their 10th consecutive Division 1 crown with a victory.

At the Trinity League finals, O’Dell shifted to the 200 freestyle and challenged McLaughlin’s school and county record. O’Dell blazed to a lifetime-best time of 1:43.26, about two-tenths of a second off the record.

“Definitely something that I’m going to chase next year,” said O’Dell, who also won the 100 backstroke (51.38) at league finals.