LCC Swimmers Make a Splash at CIF Division I Finals

Kendyl Stewart may not always be able to control what goes on with the pen, but she can control what goes on in the pool.

Denied a chance to swim in her signature event, the 100-yard butterfly, due to a clerical error involving entries, the La Costa Canyon High School junior continued to show her versatility Saturday at the San Diego Section CIF Division I swimming finals. She won two individual titles, setting a section record along the way in a highly-anticipated 100-yard freestyle matchup against San Pasqual’s Chandra Lukes.

“CIF is the kind of meet that’s huge and exciting,” Stewart said. “My club coach told me that one of the biggest things he looked forward to was CIF, and that’s a big thing for a club coach to say.”

Stewart was sharp off the starting blocks in both events. Her pursuit of a third straight title in the 100 backstroke resulted in Stewart breaking her own Division I record with a time of 54.61.

It was earlier in the meet that the standing-room crowd on hand at Del Norte High School was treated to the race of the day. Lukes had already set a section record just a few events earlier when she won the 50 freestyle in 23.21 for the Golden Eagles. That made Stewart nervous, which she indicated was a good thing.

“Whenever I get nervous before a race, I go faster,” said Stewart, who edged Lukes in a 100 free that had both swimmers finishing under the previous section record for the event. Stewart’s time of 49.77 was just ahead of Lukes’ 50.52.

“I always seem to swim out of my mind at CIF,” said Stewart, a junior who will focus on training for the U.S. Olympic Trials next year. “All three years, I have swam faster than I thought I could swim."

“It’s like facing an Olympian,“ Lukes said of swimming against Stewart. “She is super-fast.“

Torrey Pines easily repeated as girls Division I team champion with 295 points, with Carlsbad (174) edging out Rancho Bernardo (171) for runner-up honors. La Costa Canyon (134) and Granite Hills (119) rounded out the top five girls teams.

The Falcons boys also won the team title to complete a section sweep for the Palomar League champions. Torrey Pines scored 203½ points to easily outdistance district rival La Costa Canyon, the boys runnerup with 160 points on the strength of solid showings by Mickey Mackle and Stefan Knight. Granite Hills placed third with 134 points, with Rancho Bernardo (117) and Vista (103½) rounding out the top five teams. Carlsbad slipped to eighth place with 90 points, ending an eight-year run as boys section champions.

LCC’s Mackle, a junior, won two events (200 individual medley, 100 backstroke) for the Mavericks’ boys team, while Knight, a senior, won the 50 free and was a close second in the 100 butterfly. Both swimmers were members of LCC‘s winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Rancho Bernardo junior Trent Williams swam a 1:37.77 in the 200 free to break the section mark set by Mira Mesa’s Mike Picotte in 1989. Williams has won the event three years in a row. He also was first in the 100 free in 45.48, the second straight year he has won that event.