SWIMMING: Q.H.-HIGHLAND IS A SHOWCASE FOR SPORTS.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

The final scores of the year's most anticipated dual meet demonstrated that Quartz Hill High is still the elite team in the Antelope Valley, but its coach - and Highland's - said the real winner Wednesday was the sport of swimming.

``(Wednesday) it became a spectator sport,'' said Highland coach Mike Timperio, whose boys' and girls' teams suffered their first losses this season. ``I've never seen it like this before. I saw more passion from (our swimmers) than I've seen all year.''

The Golden League rivals went back and forth for nearly three hours in front of a near-capacity crowd at Eastside Pool. At the meet's midway point, the Rebels held only a two- point lead in the girls' competition and a one-point advantage in the boys'. The pulled away down the stretch.

``I've been waiting a year for this meet,'' said Quartz Hill coach Mark Thibault, who swam with Timperio at Palmdale High in the early 1990s. ``This is what Mike and I have been talking about. We want to get high school swimming to be at a level like this all the time. There were more people here than there will be at (Wednesday's) league finals.''

Motivated by a large group of supporters, Quartz Hill's boys won the final five events for a 109-69 victory, extending their run of league dominance to a decade.

Although Highland's girls won the final three events and seven of 11 overall, the Bulldogs couldn't overcome the Rebels' performance in the 500-yard freestyle and 200 free relay in a 95 1/2-82 1/2 setback.

After finishing 37 points ahead of Quartz Hill at the April 22 Royal of Simi Valley Invitational - offsetting a loss to the Rebels at the Knight Invitational the week before - Highland hoped for its first victory in 11 meetings. But Quartz Hill's depth and the performance of freshman Brittany Blankenship were the difference, and the Rebels remained unbeaten in league for the sixth consecutive year.

``This is what it's all about,'' said Blankenship, who won the 100 butterfly and 500 free and swam the leadoff leg on Quartz Hill's victorious 200 free relay. ``It's always good when there's competition. This is what we've all trained for. I'm really proud of how we did, because we put in a lot of hard work. Highland is a really great team, but we showed we have a lot of heart.''

Timperio remains optimistic the Bulldogs can score well at Wednesday's league finals at Eastside. Highland swimmers will be favored in as many as seven events.

``I think we'll get more medals because each team is only allowed to submit two entries per event,'' Timperio said. ``And after (Wednesday), (my swimmers will) be hungry.''

The fast lane: Highland's Billy Bishop finished second in the 50 free at the Royal Invitational, clocking 22.33 seconds to 22.02 by Thousand Oaks' Hank Yan.

It was his fastest mark of the season, but Bishop said it was one of his worst races, citing a poor start and a bad turn. He returned to competition four days later at Eastside and clocked an area-leading 21.92, feeding off a challenge from Quartz Hill's Daniel Colvin (22.85) in the first 25 yards to propel him to a lifetime-best mark.

``That's what's so good about this meet,'' Thibault said. ``Neither one of them have gone that fast this season.''

A rain check: Thibault got the celebratory plunge at Eastside following Wednesday's victories, but fellow Quartz Hill coach Jennifer James wanted to save her triumphant dip until the league championships.

Thibault couldn't wait for his opportunity to join his swimmers.

``I can't stress enough how excited I am for these kids,'' he said. ``Highland showed great class and sportsmanship, but this is just a great moment for our kids. I'm so proud of all them.''

erik.boal(at)dailynews.com

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