DIVISION I & III SWIMMING: IN SHORT, GYURIS ON TARGET FOR THOUSAND OAKS SQUAD.

Byline: Scott Magoloff Daily News Staff Writer

When Thousand Oaks junior Aron Gyuris swam a disappointing 1:45.56 for an eighth-place finish in the Southern Section Division I 200-yard freestyle championship Friday night at Belmont Shore, it seemed his mood was indifferent.

When Gyuris had a smile after taking second in the 100 freestyle (47.05), perhaps it suggested this meet had more meaning to him than he had earlier indicated.

``It's just a middle-of-the-season meet (for me), but it's still to be taken seriously,'' said Gyuris, who has qualified for the junior nationals in four events in July. ``This was right around my best (time); it's pretty much what I expected.''

The Mission Viejo boys' team won the team competition in Division I with 370.50 points. Irvine won the girls' title with 393 points.

The Westlake and Royal girls' teams finished 14th and 15th, respectively, with 61 and 54 points. The Westlake boys' placed ninth with 90 points.

Thousand Oaks coach Craig Rond second-guessed Gyuris' decision to swim the 200 freestyle, saying it is too far of a distance for such a pure sprinter. He also expects Gyuris to begin focusing solely on short distances from this point on in his career.

``He chose not to do the 100 butterfly and maybe it was a mistake in hindsight,'' Rond said. ``Next year, he'll probably do the 50 and 100 fly or 50 and 100 free.''

Gyuris took third in the 100 butterfly in last year's finals and the first and second-place finishers were seniors, Rond said, noting that he thought it was the best event for Gyuris in which to shoot for a championship.

Westlake freshman Sarah Bultema had much more than just her first Southern Section championship meet to be nervous about. In her only individual event, the 100 butterfly, she was swimming two lanes over from Olympic gold medalist Amanda Beard.

Bultema completed the event in 58.69 for fifth place. Beard took first in 55.82.

``I can't be too disappointed losing to her,'' she said. ``(This meet) is a lot more intimidating than any other meet I've been to. It inspires me to work a lot harder.''

Bultema will only have a little more work to do to make her junior national qualifying time in the event. She missed it by two-tenths of a second.

Royal senior Ingrid Salazar swam a 500 freestyle with redemption on her mind. After barely missing the cut for the final on Thursday, she came back Friday to win the consolation heat in 5:00.07, her lifetime best mark. She edged Canyon High's Erin Volcan by five-hundredths of a second.

``I knew I had it in me, with the disappointment from (Thursday),'' she said. ``Those last 50 yards, no matter how much it hurt, this was the last race in my high school career and I didn't want to be disappointed.''

Westlake's Elliot Myhre, who sat out of swimming last year to focus on water polo, finished seventh in the 50 freestyle finals in 22.03. It was his fastest time ever.

``He swims just to stay in shape for water polo,'' Westlake coach Kurt White said. ``He's got tons of untapped talent.''

Westlake's Taryn O'Leary dropped six places from her finish in last year's 50 freestyle. This year, she took 11th, completing the event in 25.21.

``I was hoping for a little better time,'' she said. ``The only thing I can do is race against the clock.''

In the Division III prelims, La Canada's Alyssa Chin finished second in the 100 backstroke, completing the event in 58.71. She placed fourth in 2:10.99 in the 200 individual medley.

TOP PERFORMERS

Division I finals

Aron Gyuris, Thousand Oaks: second place (47.05), 100 freestyle; eighth place (1:45.56), 200 freestyle.

Ingrid Salazar, Royal: ninth place (5:00.07), 500 freestyle; 11th place (1:54.75), 200 freestyle.

Sarah Bultema, Westlake: fifth place (58.69), 100 butterfly.

Taryn O'Leary, Westlake: 11th place (25.21), 50 freestyle; 16th place (55.94) 100 freestyle.

Elliot Myhre, Westlake: seventh place (22.03), 50 freestyle.

CAPTION(S):

Box

Box: TOP PERFORMERS (See text)