West Hills swimmers make a splash

By Phillip Brents
Posted May 3, 2005

West Hills’ Justin Canty and Caitlin Macky both figuratively and literally made a splash at last year’s San Diego Section Division II championships. Canty won both the boys 200- and 500-yard freestyle events to end his junior season while Macky put the perfect cap on her freshman season by winning the girls 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke events.

Both are back in the water this season and once again look to make an impact.

Canty currently leads the San Diego Section in the 200 freestyle (1:47.27) while ranking second in the 500 freestyle (4:52.14). Macky ranks second in the section in the breaststroke (1:06.78).

Canty timed 1:43.78 in the shorter distance and 4:44.49 in the longer distance to win the events at last year’s Division II meet. Macky timed 2:07.61 in the 200 IM and 1:05.90 in the breaststroke to win her events at last year’s CIF finals.

East County swimmers, in general, had a chance to showcase their talent at the Granite Hills Invitational on April 23. Canty set two meet records to earn the boys Swimmer of the Meet award while Macky also set two meet records to earn the girls Co-Swimmer of the Meet award.

Canty swam to a time of 1:48.24 in winning the 200 freestyle and won by more than seven seconds in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.87.

Macky’s meet record swims were 2:11.90 in the 200 IM and 1:08.45 in the breaststroke. She shared the Co-Swimmer of the Meet award with University of San Diego High School’s Blake Hayter, who set meet records in the 200 freestyle (1:53.08) and 500 freestyle (4:57.97). Hayter won Division II CIF titles last year in the 100 freestyle (51.74) and 200 freestyle (1:50.07).

Overall, there were eight meet records set in the girls meet. Torrey Pines set meet records in winning the girls 200 medley relay (1:55.36) and 400 freestyle relay (3:42.02). Besides two meet records each set by Hayter and Macky, Horizon’s Rachel Heim also grabbed two meet records in the 100 butterfly (58.46) and backstroke (59.02).

This year’s Granite Hills Invitational drew several top teams from throughout the section and served as a midseason barometer of where teams stood heading into their respective league finals.

Valhalla and Grossmont finished second and third, respectively, to Valley Center at last year’s boys Division II championship meet. At the Granite Hills Invitational, Valhalla finished in a tie with meet host Granite Hills in the team standings with 190 points, trailing meet champion Torrey Pines (290 points).

Rounding out the top 10 boys team standings, Scripps was fourth with 188 points, followed by Eastlake (fifth, 118 points), West Hills (sixth, 102 points), Steele Canyon (seventh, 72 points), Grossmont (eighth, 54 points), Monte Vista (ninth, 50 points) and Mission Bay (10th, 48 points).

Torrey Pines also won the girls team championship at this year’s Granite Hills Invitational. The Falcons, finished third at last year’s Division I finals, topped the Granite Hills Invitational field with 384 points. Runner-up University of San Diego High School followed with 196 points. Granite Hills (153 points) edged West Hills (152 points) by one point for third place.

Rounding out the top 10 girls team standings, Scripps Ranch was fifth with 133 points, followed by Valhalla (sixth, 63 points), Eastlake (seventh, 55 points), El Rancho (eighth, 50 points), Monte Vista (ninth, 33 points) and Horizon (10th, 32 points).

Granite Hills, Torrey Pines and Eastlake will all compete in the upcoming Division I championships, scheduled May 21 at Rancho Bernardo High School (3 p.m. start). Carlsbad, La Costa Canyon and Poway were the top three boys teams, in descending order, at last year’s Division I finals. The top three girls teams included Rancho Bernardo (first), Mt. Carmel (second) and Torrey Pines (third).

Valhalla, West Hills, Grossmont, Monte Vista and Steele Canyon will all compete in the upcoming Division II championships, also scheduled May 21 at Rancho Bernardo High School (9 a.m. start). USDHS (first), Valley Center (second) and Coronado (third) were the top finishing girls teams at last year’s CIF finals.

In other top performances at this year’s Granite Hills Invitational:

In boys events, Valhalla won the 200 medley relay in 1:48.28 ahead of Scripps Ranch (1:48.71), Eastlake (1:49.35) and West Hills (1:49.86) and also topped the field in the 400 freestyle relay with the top time of 3:28.13 ahead of Torrey Pines (3:31.11) and Granite Hills (3:35.27).

Grossmont’s David Lefstein won the 200 IM in 2:03.61 ahead of Valhalla’s Carlos Rivera (2:04.54). Rivera came back to win the 100 butterfly in 53.99

Valhalla’s Joe Rizk finished first in the 50 freestyle (22.69) and also swam to the best time (50.19) in the 100 freestyle. Grossmont’s Matt Clements was second in the 100 freestyle (50.32). Valhalla’s Weston Thompson finished second in breaststroke (1:03.82).

Granite Hills’ Justin Lekos was second (behind Canty) in the 200 freestyle (1:52.11).

In  the 200 freestyle relay, Valhalla (1:35.32) was third behind Scripps Ranch (1:34.74) and Torrey Pines (1:34.97). West Hills (1:36.22) and Granite Hills (1:40.07) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

At last year’s Division II finals, Grossmont’s Clements finished second in both the 100 freestyle (48.79) and 200 freestyle distances (1:46.74) while Lefstein placed second in the 200 individual medley (2:01.27) and fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:04.21). Valhalla took a first-place finish in the 200 medley relay while in individual events, Rivera finished second in the butterfly (53.05) and fifth in the backstroke (57.18), Rizk placed second in the backstroke (54.27) and fourth in the 200 free (1:48.38) and Thompson was fourth in the breaststroke (1:03.61). The Norsemen also placed third in the 400 freestyle relay (3:20.56).        

In the girls meet, West Hills’ Tarolyn Robertson captured third-place finishes in the girls 200 freestyle (2:00.92) and 500 freestyle (5:19.14). The Wolf Pack took a second-place finish in the girls 200 freestyle relay (1:44.86) and third-place finish in the girls 200 medley relay (1:59.49).

A pair of returning CIF medalists, Justine Elgas and Christine Johnson, also excelled in the water for Granite Hills. Elgas was third in the 100 freestyle (56.99) while Johnson was third in the breaststroke (1:10.64).

Section leaders
Grossmont ranked fourth in the boys 200 medley relay (1:46.44), first among Division II teams, while West Hills was ranked fourth in the girls 200 freestyle relay (1:44.86).

Among individuals, Valhalla’s Rivera ranked second in the boys 200 IM (2:02.70) while Grossmont’s Lefstein was third (2:03.61). Rivera also ranked fifth in the boys 100 butterfly (53.99).

Valhalla’s Rizk (22.58) ranked third in the boys 50 freestyle, followed by Grossmont’s Kyle Oates (22.69). Rizk (49.88) was also ranked third in the boys 100 freestyle ahead of Granite Hills Lekos (50.05). Valhalla’s Thompson was ranked fifth in the boys 100 breaststroke (1:03.13).

An all-around swimmer, Canty also held section rankings in the boys 100 backstroke (second, 55.63) and 200 IM (fifth, 2:04.33).