Granite Hills hosts CIF Swim Championship

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Finishing its final lap, the swim and dive season of Grossmont Conference high schools came to a close in familiar waters. Granite Hills High School hosted the 2016 CIF Division I Swim Championship on Saturday, May 14. 

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Granite Hills Boy’s Swim Coach Rhett Gaeir. “Over the last couple of days we averaged about 900 hundred athletes and spectators, so it’s really neat to see all the kids out here.”

Finishing its final lap, the swim and dive season of Grossmont Conference high schools came to a close in familiar waters. Granite Hills High School hosted the 2016 CIF Division I Swim Championship on Saturday, May 14. 

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Granite Hills Boy’s Swim Coach Rhett Gaeir. “Over the last couple of days we averaged about 900 hundred athletes and spectators, so it’s really neat to see all the kids out here.”

Granite Hills’ boy’s swim team placed 10th in overall team score with 88 points, the best finish of the East County schools competing over the weekend. Grossmont placed 12th with 69 points, followed by Steele Canyon in 16th with 48 points. Torrey Pines High School took first place with a whopping 446.5 points, a 253.5 point-lead above second place Poway High School. 

Torrey Pines had the best team score for the girl’s teams as well, with 476 points. Steele Canyon came in 8th with 96 points. 

Swim prelims were held on May 11 at Granite HIlls and dive finals were on May 13 at San Diego Mesa College.

Granite HIlls Junior Cody Dreesen won Boy’s 1 Meter Dive with a final score of 321.5, making this his second section championship win. 

“There’s a lot of good competition,” said Dreesen. “I won it last year so I was coming in with a positive attitude, trying to do the best I could, hoping to win it again.”

Dreesen’s brother Kevin holds the current county record, 368.70.

“I’m working to break his record but he didn’t win his twice in a row so there’s a bit of a sibling rivalry,” said Dreesen. 

Kara Justeson, Helix junior, got bronze in Girl’s 1 Meter Dive. 

CIF Championship Director Mike Saltzstein said the weekend shaped up nicely.

“Granite Hills has done a wonderful job preparing a championship facility for us and it’s really nice to have it in an East County venue,” he said.

Saltzstein said a number of schools would be putting their best stroke forward to vie for the coveted team championship. It would be a close race, he said.

“It’s the olympic/pre-olympic year for a lot of our high school athletes who have aspirations,” he said. “They are swimming at their very best.”

CIF State Championships will be held at the end of May.

Girl’s Team Scores:

Torrey Pines HS – 476

Carlsbad HS – 370

San Marcos HS – 145

Scripps Ranch HS – 135

El Camino HS – 129

Fallbrook HS – 118

Rancho Bernardo HS – 104

Steele Canyon HS – 96

Westview HS – 95

Eastlake HS – 95

San Pasqual HS – 92

Patrick Henry HS – 66

Helix Charter HS – 64

San Diego HS – 60

Otay Ranch HS – 58

Poway HS – 58

Granite Hills HS – 56

Mission Hills HS – 29

Bonita Vista HS – 28

Rancho Buena Vista HS – 23

Escondido HS – 16

Grossmont HS – 8

Vista HS – 4

Boy’s Team Scores:

Torrey Pines HS – 446.5

Poway HS – 193

Rancho Bernardo HS – 193

Carlsbad HS – 187

San Pasqual HS – 131

San Marcos HS – 124.5

Westview – 119

Vista – 112

Fallbrook HS – 105

Granite Hills – 88

Scripps Ranch HS – 71

Mission Hills – 69

Grossmont HS 69

Rancho Buena Vista HS – 64

El Camino HS – 62

Steele Canyon HS – 48

Eastlake HS – 46

Escondido HS – 37

Patrick Henry HS – 33

Otay Ranch HS – 28

Helix Charter HS – 17

Olympian HS – 15

Hilltop HS – 14

San Ysidro HS – 1