COC NOTEBOOK: MORE MARKS TO MAKE.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

VALENCIA - While the rest of her classmates spent this week enjoying a restful spring break, Christine Castellano couldn't help but stay busy. After all, there's little downtime for the most decorated swimmer in College of the Canyons history.

Instead, Castellano rolled out of bed to endure a week's worth of 7 a.m. training sessions. She attended her weekly ballet practice with Studio 84, and she discussed with her coach the tentative plan of swimming against the men at next month's state championship.

All just a week in the life of Castellano, a 19-year-old sophomore and former Hart High standout.

``It's just a break from school,'' Castellano said of her spring break. ``It's not really a break from anything else.''

But the work has more than paid off for Castellano, who has rewritten the college's record book from top to bottom during her two years at Canyons. Every one of the school's 14 records is hers, with the exception of the 1,650-yard (mile) freestyle.

Castellano also has notched Western State Conference-leading marks in the 200 individual medley, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly and 500 free.

``I can't say enough good things about her,'' Canyons coach Diana Stanich said. ``She works so hard every day. She's missed one practice while she's been here. She's just phenomenal.''

With Castellano leading the way, the Cougars' men's and women's teams have been the strongest in Stanich's 16-year tenure. The men are 3-3 and the women 4-2 heading into next week's conference championships, which begin Thursday in Santa Monica. Canyons took third out of 19 teams at last week's Pasadena Invitational.

The state meet will follow May 1. and so will Castellano's bid to make history. Stanich said she talked with her sophomore star about possibly entering the men's 400 individual medley and swimming the championship heat in an outside lane.

At the community college level, the women only swim a 200 IM. But Stanich said she thinks Castellano will swim the event next year in NCAA competition. Several scouts from four-year schools will be in attendance, and the coach would like to showcase her standout.

There's only one catch: No woman has ever swam against the men at the state championship, Stanich said.

``I think she has a pretty good chance at beating some of them,'' Stanich said. ``They won't let her qualify in the event, but we're going to try to get her added in an exhibition lane. We're going to see what we can do.''

Castellano, meanwhile, said she is still deciding between swimming for the University of Redlands - a Division III school - or Pepperdine for next year, but she is leaning toward Redlands. Stanich added that Castellano definitely has the ability to swim for a Division I program.

Coming out of Hart, Castellano originally was headed to San Diego State. But she returned home and asked Stanich whether swimming at Canyons would be possible. It is a moment the coach never will forget.

``She came up to me in the hall and said, `Diana, would it be OK if I swam for you this year?' '' Stanich said. ``I just said, `No problem.' ''

She hasn't stopped swimming since. And the work will resume in earnest for Castellano beginning Monday.

--Runners-up: In only its second year of existence, the club hockey team came within a minute of winning the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association championship last weekend in San Diego. Canyons lost 5-4 in the title game in a rematch against Fresno State.

Canyons, which finished its seven-month season with a 14-4-0 record, routed Fresno State 7-2 in the first round. But the Cougars were heavily penalized in the championship, including a 10-minute major against Jason Diamond in the third period, and lost.

On the way to the final, Canyons crushed San Diego State 6-1 and Santa Rosa Community College 12-0. Forward Jimmy Hock, who scored in every tournament game, led the Cougars with six goals and six assists.

The team also finished third at a national tournament last month in Muskegon, Mich. Hock ended the season as the team's leading scorer with 23 goals and goaltender Matt Crumlish was third in the league with a 2.61 goals-against average.

--Breaking away: How quiet was the Canyons' campus on Monday? The combination of spring break and a steady rainstorm left only six cars in the school's main parking lot and no coaches in any of the Physical Education Center's basement offices.

Even the school's pool, in use about 16 hours a day during the high school and college season, was locked with the lights turned off.

The small schedule of games then grew smaller when the softball team's game Tuesday against Cerritos was canceled a day early due to rain. It will not be made up.

But the work didn't stop on the Cougars' stadium. Construction workers spent much of Thursday installing the stadium's new FieldTurf, which is expected to be complete by the end of the month.

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College of the Canyons' Christine Castellano has rewritten the school's swimming record books, and now she's hoping to challenge the men at next month's state championships.

David Crane/Staff Photographer