SOUTHERN SECTION SWIMMING PRELIMS: ERVIN STEALS SHOW WITH RECORD TIMES DURING QUALIFYING.

Byline: Scott Magoloff Daily News Staff Writer

Championships were neither won nor lost at Thursday's Southern Section Division I and II swimming preliminaries. But the ovation that filled Belmont Plaza Pool after Hart High's Anthony Ervin swam the 50-yard freestyle suggested something big had happened.

Indeed, Ervin had posted a Division II-record time of 20.21 in the event, breaking the mark of 20.52 set by El Dorado's Brian Malich in 1997.

But that was only a start for the Cal-bound senior. Ervin repeated the feat in the 100 freestyle, shattering Malich's record of 45.15 with a 44.11. Not bad, considering he had just spent four hours in a classroom taking his advanced-placement calculus exam and had a knot in his back during the meet.

``What I've been working for all these years is paying off; it's feeling good,'' said Ervin, who had planned throughout the season to break the records. ``I don't know if it was destiny, but I was pretty sure I could get it.''

Ervin, who won section championships in the same events last year, will defend his titles in the finals, which begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Also in Division II, Alemany's Maureen Farrell posted an All-American time of 56.76, finishing first in the 100 backstroke.

Chaminade's Kristine Ross fared well in her team's first Division II appearance since moving up from Division III before this season.

Ross overcame a hip defect she was born with - one that was not discovered until she was in the eighth grade. She placed fourth in both the 200 individual medley (2:10.86) and 100 butterfly (58.59).

``This is the best I've ever done in high school,'' she said. ``It was a really good year for me. I couldn't have asked for a better year.''

In Division I, Thousand Oaks junior Aron Gyuris is on track to achieve his goal of top-three finishes in the 100 and 200 freestyles. He placed second in the 100 (47.67) and fifth in the 200 (1:44.14).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Royal senior Ingrid Salazar was crushed after not qualifying in the 500 and 22 freestyle. The 500 was especially difficult - her 5:04.16 time was 0.09 of a second slower than the eighth and final qualifying time.

``That hurts the most; if I just pushed off the wall a little harder,'' she said. ``I underestimated the competition a little.''

Westlake freshman Sarah Bultema placed fourth in the 100 butterfly, completing the race in 58.66. Olympic gold medalist Amanda Beard, of Irvine High, placed first in 56.21, the only time below 57.00.